Town & Country bounces back from adversity
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, 11/24/2008 12:00:00 AM
Id: 14328
In this story:
A united team
Building on strengths
IUKA, Miss. — Two years ago, Town & Country Furniture was the scene of the largest fire in this town's history.
Today, in a new home, the retailer is a testament to perseverance and some unexpected industry kindness, stocked with goods from suppliers that stood by it in tough times.
In November 2006, Town & Country owners Jeff and Deedra Hollis were having dinner with friends in Florence, Ala., about 45 miles from home. Jeff Hollis got a call from one of his employees, who had heard on a police scanner that the main store was on fire.
“We high-tailed it home,” said Hollis.
He saw the smoke and fire from miles away. Soon after the Hollises reached the scene, the upstairs warehouse collapsed in flames on the 30,000-square-foot showroom below.
Believed to have been started by faulty wiring, the fire destroyed furniture in the store and warehouse, as well as records on orders, deliveries and payments due. No one was injured.
Before Hollis left the site, he changed the marquee sign to say, “Pray for us. We will be back.”
A united team
The next morning, the couple — who had acquired the 35-year-old business from Deedra's uncle about two years before — met with all employees at their nearby outlet store. Jeff Hollis laid out the tough road ahead and let everyone know that if they didn't think they could handle it, he would understand.
“But those who would stay and help us rebuild this company … you won't miss a paycheck or a meal,” he said. “You'll eat before I do.”
All 22 employees stayed.
Town & Country was insured, but not for enough to rebuild. The couple borrowed money to get back up and running. They started by acquiring an abandoned gas station and bingo hall across the street from their original site.
Jeff Hollis said he had thought furniture retailing was a cutthroat business.
“But,” he added quickly, “I was extremely wrong.” Sure, a few sales reps looked for new customers to replace Town & Country, but for the most part the industry stuck by the retailer.
“Furniture reps were on the scene the next morning while the building was still smoking, asking, 'What can I do to help you?'” Hollis recalled. Other retailers offered to send product from shared lines. They included Miskelly Furniture in Jackson, Miss., and Great American Home Store in Memphis, Tenn.
While the business was getting back on its feet, the Hollises decided they would only work with vendors willing to extend 120 days dating. But Jeff Hollis is proud to say now that the retailer never used more than 30 days of that grace period.
And Town & Country repaid that loyalty, deepening its relationships with key suppliers such as Broyhill, La-Z-Boy, Magnussen Home, Franklin, Stanley, Steve Silver, Viewpoint Leather and Stearns & Foster.
On the Saturday before Christmas — a month after the fire — Town & Country re-opened its doors, with loyal customers waiting to get in.
Building on strengths
Before the fire, the retailer had sales of more than $3 million a year. With the disruption and weak economy, sales dipped to $1.3 million for the 12 months after the fire. But expenses and overhead were down, too, Hollis said.
This year, the retailer is on track to do $2.5 million.
Since the reopening in 2006, the Hollises have been expanding and renovating the new location. A 15,000-square-foot addition created a stylish new front and expanded the showroom to 40,000 square feet.
The new Town & Country — a $1.6 million investment — features many firsts for the retailer.
One is a cinema seating area with a movie theater environment featuring a 110-inch high-definition television, which the retailer also will use for sales training and entertaining consumers. The area showcases seating from La-Z-Boy, Franklin, Lane, PeopLoungers and Coaster, and also serves as a great tool to show consumers how to set up a home theater.
The Hollises also opened a Seattle's Best coffee shop in the store. The store sometimes gives coffee away but usually sells it, and has regular customers who come in for their morning brew.
With the café, Jeff Hollis said, “We've actually increased traffic count through the door by maybe 1,000%. Traffic is traffic.”
About a year ago, the Hollises also opened a third store, the 3,500-square-foot Town & Country at the Lake, selling upscale home accents and casual furniture in the resort town of Pickwick Dam, Tenn., about 15 miles north of Iuka. That store now represents about 11% of the retailer's business, and the Hollises will soon nearly triple its size by taking over an adjacent building.
With the expansion, Jeff Hollis expects to recoup the company's lost revenue despite the tough economic climate.
“I felt like the reason we would be back in business and make it as we have is because of the good name we have in the industry, the resilience of our employees and the loyalty of our customers over 30-plus years,” he said. “Those three things were the key to us either making it or just shutting the doors.”
Talkback
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Thanks to Clint and the whole FT team for your support through this challenging but rewarding...
Jeff Hollis - 2008-11-24 16:01:20
