New Mealey's stores generate strong results in Philly and N.J.
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, March 22, 2004
MOORESTOWN, N.J. — MOORESTOWN, N.J. — Mealey's Furniture is doing well with its third suburban Philadelphia store and its first in New Jersey, even in a market already teeming with midpriced competition.
The store's owners say their brand of customer service and their display approach are paying dividends.
Mealey's soft-opened the South New Jersey store here in December in a former HomeLife Furniture after a $1.5 million renovation of the two-level building.
Dan Mealey, co-owner with his brother Kevin, said the store is a model for customer convenience. Its merchandise is laid out primarily by lifestyle and in key specialty categories, its feel is airy and its aisles extra wide, and the retailer emphasizes speedy delivery.
Mealey's gutted the former HomeLife, removing all interiors walls for an open feel that allows consumers to see the perimeter of the store from just about anywhere in the showroom.
"We think it deals with part of our whole message to the shopper, and that's one of convenience," Dan Mealey said.
A typical consumer may browse 20 or 30 room settings, but then wants to easily get back to the one or two groups she likes best. With too many walls, she might lose her bearings and become frustrated.
"We think people hate to be in those rat mazes," he said.
Other conveniences include a café with free snacks and refreshments, including ice cream and gourmet coffee, and a children's play area with free pinball, foosball and other games.
Mealey said the store also aims to get customers out quickly once they've made their purchases, with a number of sales terminals strategically placed throughout the store.
Most of the sales floor is divided into four style display areas with contemporary, traditional and "lifestyle," or urban contemporary and casual looks, on the lower level and country styles on the upper level. Bedding, entertainment, youth and leather departments also are upstairs.
Key suppliers include Lane, Berkline, Rowe, Klaussner, Ashley's Millennium, Natale, Lea, Vaughan, Thornwood and Serta.
At first, Mealey thought the store would draw off some business from the retailer's 67,000-square-foot Oxford Valley store and a smaller unit in Bensalem, Pa. But that doesn't seem to be the case — instead, Mealey's bigger advertising budget appears to be driving more traffic at both older locations.
Overall, Mealey projects sales this year in the $45 million to $50 million range, up from just over $30 million last year.
The chain is planning an advertising budget of just under $4 million this year, the equivalent of 8% of sales, up from 7.2% last year. Mealey's has built on its already strong presence on network television and increased its circular distribution dramatically with a layered approach that includes a full coverage 16-page, all-category piece dropped simultaneously with two- and four-page mailers that rotate to various target markets in the area.
"The traffic counts (in Moorestown) are much higher than we anticipated," Mealey said, and because of that the retailer is bumping its sales force in the store from 21 people to 35.
This summer, Mealey's will start work on a 20,000-square-foot expansion of its Bensalem store, a project that is expected to be completed in the spring of 2005 and will push the showroom to 60,000 square feet. There also are plans for a fourth and largest store — 70,000 square feet — to open in summer 2005, but Mealey said it was too early to disclose details.
As part of the Moorestown opening, Mealey's and its customers donated hundreds of toys for holiday distribution by the United Way's Family Services agency. The retailer also will help furnish the agency's new Center for Families and Children opening later this year. Separately, for the fourth year, Mealey's (with some vendor support) donated three rooms of furniture to a needy family.
"We strongly believe in helping the communities where our stores are located," Mealey said, noting the company has donated more than $300,000 to Philadelphia-area nonprofits.
Kevin, Dan and their late father, Jerry Mealey, founded the company in 1970. In 2003, it was named Retailer of the Year and Advertiser of the Year by the Philadelphia area's Tri-State Home Furnishings Assn. In 2002, it won the association's Best Store Design award.
