City Furniture plans four new stores in three years

City Furniture plans to open three more Ashley Furniture HomeStores and another multi-line City Furniture store over the next three years in South Florida and is studying sites for stores in Tampa and Orlando, Fla.

The announcement came with the opening of the retailer’s latest HomeStore in Cutler Bay, Fla., a move that completes a $17.5 million, multi-year expansion initiative.

The 34,000-square-foot Ashley store on South Dixie Highway adjoins a City Furniture showroom that opened in October, creating a 90,000-square-foot superstore with an interior walk-through from one showroom to the other.

“This opening is a significant milestone in our strategic plan,” City Furniture President Keith Koenig said in a release.

“We’ve added or renovated five South Florida stores since 2012, reconfiguring our company to do a better job meeting customers’ needs,” he said. “At the same time, we’ve geared our expanded product lines and great values to consumers’ evolving tastes.

“Now, with full confidence in Florida’s vibrant economic outlook,” the retailer is pursuing four more South Florida stores over the next three years and is also reaching sites for future expansion the Tampa and Orlando markets,” Koenig said.

City opened its first two Central Florida stores at The Villages, Fla., in late 2013.

In South Florida, the Miami-Dade County area, City is targeting sites in North Miami/Miami Gardens and the Dadeland/Pinecrest markets for the HomeStores expansion as well as the Dolphin Mall in Miami for a superstore pairing both brands.

The company also noted it has been facing a challenge finding enough quality sales help to keep pace with its growth, and in response, it has developed its Sales Academy to provide training.

“We have to work extra hard to find enough team members with great interpersonal skills, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic built on good education and communication abilities,” Koenig said. “We aren’t necessarily looking for prior sales experience. We’ve had great success in college recruiting, and that’s given us a strong pipeline of terrific associates who help make what I do a lot of fun.”

Source: Furniture Today