Oxford, Pa. — Some retailers acquire their skills through years of experience. For others, the business seems to be part of who they are.
Buddy Robinson is one of those blessed with a natural talent for matching buyers with merchandise. Owner of Robinson Furniture here, he could probably buy and sell any type of merchandise, but furniture happens to be his specialty.
Oxford is a small but growing community in southeast Pennsylvania, and Robinson, wanting to discourage new competitors by sewing up as much of the community's furniture trade as possible, opened his second location, an outlet store, last month.
The Robinson Furniture Outlet, a 15,000-square-foot space open only four days a week, is only three miles from the company's primary showroom, specializing lower and middle price points. "I guess I've been here long enough, and I didn't want anybody stealing my thunder." Robinson said.
Specializing in closeouts, dinged-up merchandise and items that weren't moving at the main store, the outlet is a return to the type of salvage buying that Robinson used to do when he first set up shop 35 years ago.
Way back then, when Robinson was hardly out of high school and just married, he was working at a printing plant, making decent money at $12 an hour. But he saw opportunity for some extra cash in the 100 used lawn mowers his father-in-law had in his barn. Robinson sold 50 of those mowers in one summer.
Not too long after that, with a reputation for being resourceful, Robinson was asked if he knew where to find a box spring. As it happened, Robinson had just read an article about a furniture store going out of business. He went down to see what was there.
"The guy has seven or eight box springs, but I took a look around and bought everything he had for $700," he said. One thing led to another, and before long Robinson was a furniture retailer.
Buying the retailer's inventory created an immediate need for storage space, but the owner of the building where the store had been operating told Robinson he could keep it there for $60 a month until he was able to sell off the merchandise.
"I was there one day messing around with all my box springs and furniture, and this guy walks down the aisle and tells me he needs a job selling furniture," Robinson said. "I had to tell him that I couldn't pay somebody to run the store, but he said we'd work it out. I had to do two weeks in the National Guard anyway so I figured we could give it a try. When I got back two weeks later, he had everything sold."
With the addition of Jerry Whiteside, who worked with Robinson for 12 years until he passed away, Robinson had a store and a salesman, but he no longer had any merchandise. By this time, he was working nights for a printer in Newark, Del. During the days and on weekends, Robinson started attending auctions by used furniture with his father-in-law.
"I'd be down there at work, and this guy Jerry keeps calling me telling me he needs a bedroom set for a customer or a dining set," he said. "And I'd be scratching around during the day trying to find it. Finally, I said forget about going to Newark for work. I'm going to try this store." He and his wife, Dottie, both went to work in the store.
Full-time furniture
The first new furniture set Robinson bought was a jackknife sofa, with a screw-on arm, and a matching chair, retailing for $200 and less. "We were selling the (heck) out of these things," he said.
Robinson believes he survived those early years because of Whiteside. "Without him, I don't know if I'd be sitting here having this conversation. Jerry would spend probably two or three hours a day collecting money," he said. "That kept our cash flow going."
Robinson said Spring Air was the first name brand he stocked, a big advance for his small company. "Over the years, I just kept stumbling into new brands and calling people and talking," Robinson said. "It just kept sort of snowballing."
In 1998, he said, "We finally got La-Z-Boy, and that kind of put us on the map." Brands are important to Robinson, although he's more interested to know what styles, looks and colors are hot. "I'm constantly checking my competition, not so much for price but to see what's going on and what's selling," he said.
Over the years, Robinson moved to a new location and expanded, facility and in terms of family members, with his sons Gregg and Bayard joining their parents. That's part of the reason Buddy Robinson opened the outlet: "The store was getting too small. There wasn't enough money to go around."
The grand opening for the outlet proved to be big event for Robinson. Although it took place in early October, the response was powerful. "Our private-letter grand opening was big," Robinson said. "We must have had 600 people. I don't know where they all came from. We couldn't get our vans in to get the deliveries out. I've never seen so many in my store at once."
Robinson believes his small-town marketing strategy — direct mail and cable television backed up by reliable service and value — have contributed to the company's successful longevity. "We just keep putting our name out there and keep plugging away," he said. "We're hanging in there as best we can."
Robinson Furniture at a glance
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Founded in August 1966 by Buddy Robinson
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Location: Oxford, Pa., near the Delaware state line
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Stores: A 20,000-square-foot primary showroom and a 15,000-square-foot outlet that opened in October, also in Oxford.
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Vendors: Broyhill, La-Z-Boy, Lane, Lea, Sealy, Serta, Universal, Vaughan-Bassett
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Estimated 2001 sales: $3 million
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Key to small-town success: Making people happy. "The biggest part of that is taking care of the complaints after the sale. When we get a complaint and we fix it, we get people sending us letters and calling us and sending their whole family in," Buddy Robinson said.
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| Robinson's Furniture Web site offers information about the store as well as links to its key vendors here. |
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| Buddy Robinson, left, with Gregg Robinson, Dottie Robinson, Bayard Robinson and Ed Myers, all of Robinson Furniture in Oxford, Pa. |
