About Raymour & Flanigan
As of January 2008, Raymour & Flanigan operates 68 retail showrooms, plus five clearance centers, 16 customer service centers and two distribution centers serving customers in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Please refer to our showroom locator for a complete list of locations. Raymour & Flanigan Furniture currently employs more than 4,000 Associates (including more than 1,400 in New York State).
History of Raymour & Flanigan
The Early Years: Raymour's Furniture Company
Family owned and operated, Raymour's Furniture Company – the predecessor of Raymour & Flanigan Furniture – was established by brothers Bernard and Arnold Goldberg in 1947. Beginning with a single, modest store in downtown Syracuse NY, today Raymour & Flanigan is the largest furniture retailer in the Northeast and the 11th largest in the country as ranked by Furniture Today May 2007.
Current CEO and President Neil Goldberg joined the family business in 1972. By the late 1970s, Raymour's had expanded to four stores, and both Steven Goldberg, (Neil's brother) and Michael Goldberg, (Neil and Steven's cousin), joined the company.
Expansion and Growth
In 1986, with continued growth on the horizon, a 200,000 sq. ft. office and distribution center was built in Liverpool, NY.
The 1990s ushered in a period of virtually non-stop growth and expansion for Raymour's beginning with the purchase of 14 Flanigan Furniture locations in Western NY. The acquisition made Raymour & Flanigan the largest furniture retailer in New York State.
The 1990s also saw our expansion beyond New York's borders with a move into New England and Pennsylvania as well as the acquisition of three existing Furniture Unlimited stores in Quakertown and Southampton, PA and Deptford, NJ, giving Raymour & Flanigan Furniture a foothold in the Philadelphia market and a location in New Jersey.
Raymour & Flanigan entered the new millennium on the strong momentum of the previous decade's success. The New England and Philadelphia markets both continued to grow rapidly and major developments included a new, 320,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art distribution center in Gibbstown, NJ, and the launch and expansion of the Raymour & Flanigan website to reflect greater online functionality and online sales.
We received industry recognition of our accomplishments as well. In April 2001, Raymour & Flanigan received the highest award in the retail furniture industry, "Retailer of the Year," by the National Home Furnishings Association. In 2004, Raymour & Flanigan Furniture received the "Retailer of the Year Award" from Furniture Today, the industry's premier trade publication.
Raymour & Flanigan Furniture's main Liverpool NY Campus grew significantly in 2006 with a sizeable addition to the North Distribution Center, bringing its total to 591,080 sq. ft. under one enormous roof.
2007 and Beyond
2007 marked the Company's 60th year with considerable changes in our growth and ability to enhance our customers' experience.
We deem leadership excellence vital for our business given our focus on providing an exceptional customer shopping experience. Our fervent commitment in fostering our Associates' professional growth was the motivation for opening the Raymour & Flanigan Leadership Development Institute in January 2007 on the main campus in Liverpool NY. Graduates of our program in this state-of-the-art facility embrace the principles of our custom-designed curriculum to achieve tremendous success in our company. The LDI develops our people to achieve their full potential by building relationships, recognizing excellence and advancing their dreams to drive our strategic company goals.
We experienced notable growth into new markets in 2007.
- We added our seventh state of Rhode Island with the purchase of Alpert's Furniture in March 2007 to serve customers in Southeastern MA and the Providence RI market.
- Metro New York gained density as we opened the first New York City location in Manhattan in July 2007. The 12,000 sq. ft. showroom maximizes space efficiently employing high tech, online catalogs to show our full product offerings. This showroom was featured in a consumer article on furniture purchasing in The New York Times in September 2007. More locations are expected to open in the five boroughs and Long Island in the coming months.
- West Springfield MA relocated to an elegant, newly constructed, two-level store celebrated with the ribbon cutting ceremony by state and local officials and substantial media exposure.
- Brick, the 73rd showroom, opened December in Brick Township in Southern New Jersey for a total of 12 showrooms in the state.
Raymour & Flanigan increased environmental practices substantially in 2007. Employing green practices is part of our mission to take care of our communities and support our customers' concerns to be environmentally responsible.
- The Recycling Center opened and began full production in June 2007. Raymour & Flanigan owners decided to renovate a 41,000 sq. ft. building on our main campus to handle the mixed office paper, cardboard, plastic and Styrofoam from our stores, service centers and offices. The recycled materials are used by other manufacturers to create new consumer products. Over 15.2 million pounds of waste was recycled in 2007 that would otherwise have gone to Northeast landfills.
- The newly built, 12,000 sq. ft. Transportation Center on the main Liverpool Campus opened in summer 2007. Green practices are employed here as well with the installation of a waste oil heating furnace. The garage is heated solely from this furnace by waste oil collected from our 500+ fleet vehicles.
- Plastic water bottle recycling is the next program to launch in early 2008. Raymour & Flanigan distributes over 1 million water bottles annually to customers across our showrooms. Collection bins placed in each showroom will hold bottles that will be shipped to the Recycling Center in Liverpool for processing.
- Brick, the 73rd showroom, opened December in Brick Township in Southern New Jersey for a total of 12 showrooms in the state.
In 2008, we are adding a 40,000 sq. ft. studio in the Field Support Center of the main campus that will afford us full production for furniture photography, TV commercial production and teleconferencing with our field locations.
Enhancing the Customer's Experience
Inventory, technology and products
Raymour & Flanigan continues to provide the same outstanding customer service and value that distinguished the furniture retailer from the start.
Our model for inventory control helps us achieve our commitment to our three-day delivery guarantee. We refined our performance to pinpoint delivery to our customers within a two-hour window. Distribution software and planning allows us to fill and empty our distribution centers more than 12 times per year, and move over 8,000 pieces of furniture daily.
Our e-commerce and online shopping capabilities have expanded since the site's original launch to include online interactive catalogs, enhanced search and navigation features, expanded product information and content, dynamic imagery and an advanced online interactive room planner. Customers use these enhanced features to pre-shop before visiting one of our 68 retail showrooms or to order furniture online and receive delivery within three-days or less. Continuous improvement and additional website features are part of our ongoing commitment to enhance the customer experience.
Our quality product line includes top manufacturers like Berkline, Bernhardt, Broyhill, Clayton Marcus, H. M. Richards, Hooker, Kincaid, La-Z-Boy, Legacy, Natuzzi, Sealy, Stanley, Stearns & Foster®, Tempur-Pedic®, Universal and Vaughan-Bassett. Our dedication to exceeding customer expectations has been the bedrock for our success, and combined with highly trained sales professionals and a three-day delivery guarantee we set the industry standard for the most satisfying furniture buying experience.
Good to Customers
We all strive to live the company mission of enhancing the customers' shopping experience –the most important service we can provide.
Customers want to deal with someone who knows what he/she is selling. Raymour & Flanigan Sales Associates receive more than 350 hours of training on product, presentation and approach in their first year, including 140 hours of training before they begin working with customers while shadowing someone more experienced. Sales Associates receive an average of 200 hours of training in subsequent years. There are no furniture retail industry requirements for sales associate training; so many other retailers provide less than 40 hours training, if any.
Warehouse, furniture preparation/repair and delivery Associates are encouraged with financial incentives to make the perfect, polite delivery in three days or less to every customer's home.
Our stores offer an inviting atmosphere for customers to shop and view our full line of beautiful merchandise in a well-lit, easy-to-navigate environment.
Store decorators work closely with our real estate division staff to manage the physical impression of the furniture and showrooms. Raymour & Flanigan also manages the environment outside its stores, maintaining a consistent store façade and choosing appropriate neighboring tenants.
Good to Associates
Our success is attributed to the hard work and dedication of our more than 4,000 Associates who have worked diligently, and have contributed enormously to our growth.
We believe in taking care of our Associates, our greatest asset. Even part-time Associates can take advantage of health, dental, short-term disability benefits, as well as retirement plans, after 90 days of employment. After the same benchmark, full-time Associates can also purchase long-term disability or income protection insurance. Periodic profit sharing is offered after six months of continued employment and some other nominal criteria. As a result, we have many long-time Associates, despite the volatile retail market, and have dozens of successful professionals who have been promoted extensively from within the company.
Good to the Community
Taking care of people and communities where we work and live is fundamental to our business. Raymour & Flanigan Furniture annually designates a substantial amount of free television and radio airtime; in-kind materials; and/or financial support for children and women's educational and health-related causes throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Raymour & Flanigan focuses its community efforts on helping children to read, collecting needed items for those who often go without; and supporting further research, prevention and treatment of diseases affecting women and children. Raymour & Flanigan Associates can often be found volunteering for causes.
An Exciting Forecast
What does the future hold for Raymour & Flanigan?
We continue our commitment of building the preeminent retail furniture brand in the Northeast and beyond.
Plans for further expansion into the New England and New York City Metropolitan markets are currently underway, and the company looks toward the future with the same confidence and optimism that has helped it become a leading furniture retailer. Home Furnishings Business named Raymour & Flanigan Furniture "2007 Newsmaker of the Year" based on our growth, innovation and e-commerce model.
Today, Raymour & Flanigan Furniture is the 11th largest conventional furniture and bedding retailer in the nation, according to Furniture Today and based on 2006 revenue. We are also proud to be the largest furniture retailer in the Northeast, operating throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Because we strive to raise the bar a little higher every day, we look forward to a bright future at Raymour & Flanigan Furniture. The concepts of good value, excellent customer service and convenient credit programs that began in the 1940s are the principles that we are committed to today.
