Rooms To Go

Rooms To Go is an American furniture store chain. Based in Seffner, Florida, the company operates 226 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Puerto Rico.[2] The company was founded in September 1990[3] by Jeffrey and Morty Seaman, when they sold Seaman Furniture Company.[4] According to Furniture Today, Rooms To Go is the 3rd largest furniture retailer in the US.[5]

Rooms To Go
TypePrivate
IndustryFurniture
FoundedSeptember 7, 1990 (1990-09-07)
FounderJeffrey Seaman
Morty Seaman
HeadquartersSeffner, Florida, U.S.
Number of locations
132 (July 2016)
Area served
United States
Key people
Jeffrey Seaman
(Founder and CEO)
Morty Seaman
(Founder)
Eyal Rappoport
(President)
RevenueUS$2.2 billion (2016)[1]
Number of employees
7,000 (2016)[1]
WebsiteRooms To Go Official Site
Rooms to Go in Durham, North Carolina
Rooms To Go Kids in The Woodlands, Texas
Map of Rooms To Go locations in the USA, including Puerto Rico

History

1933–1990: Seaman's
Main article: Seaman's Furniture

Julius Seaman opened his first store in 1933. His enterprise gradually increased to an annual $150,000 in sales and allowed him to send his two sons to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "His big[gest] goal in life was that his boys would follow him and build up his business," Morton Seaman told Forbes. Julius Seaman died at the age of 48 of a heart attack. He left Morton, the elder son and college graduate, to help his mother save for the business, while Carl, still in school, worked at weekends and during vacations.[6]

In 1955, they spent $1,000 on the store's first ad. It was a full-page spread in a local paper. When sales tripled, the same week the ad was published, Morton decided to open a second store to reduce the cost of advertisement per unit. By 1971 there were seven Seaman stores.[6]

In 1988, Seaman's Furniture was taken over in a buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.. Jeffrey Seaman, son of Morton Seaman, was 28 at the time, but he shouldered a large portion of the buying duties for the company. He and his father developed an overseas program during Seaman's restructuring phase.[7]

1990: Founding of Rooms To Go

Rooms To Go was founded in 1990 by Jeffrey and Morty Seaman after selling Seaman’s Furniture. They opened the first Rooms To Go in Orlando, Florida on September 7, 1990. Rooms To Go’s founding concept was the sale of whole room packages, using the slogan: “Buy the piece, save a little. Buy the room, save a lot!” Furniture was offered in predesigned rooms, targeted at consumers looking to save both time and money, without sacrificing quality, when shopping for home furnishings. [8] Jeffrey Seaman envisioned a different merchandising approach that reflected his experiences as well as successful trends in retail, not necessarily the furniture business alone. This included trends such as bright, colorful stores, large glass walls, and a friendly atmosphere. Seaman was comfortable sharing authority and information leading to the assembly of his executive management team. Throughout this time, Morty Seaman took on an advisory role to his son which Jeffrey Seaman has said was essential to the early success of the company. [7]

1991-Present: Rooms To Go

After its founding, Rooms To Go implemented an advanced computer system to manage inventory flow and streamline the operations process. Additionally, stores were designed with an open layout so customers could easily view the merchandise from any vantage point. [7] Rooms To Go became the first major furniture chain to offer stores exclusively for children’s furniture, filling a large gap in the youth market. [7] By 1996, Rooms To Go had become Florida’s fastest-growing furniture retailer. In order to avoid saturating the Florida market, Rooms To Go expanded into Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee. In 1998, Rooms To Go expanded to the Texas region, a move that led to a 20 percent growth in revenue from the previous year. [7] In 2018, Rooms To Go acquired outdoor furniture store chain Carls Patio and created Rooms To Go Outdoor, a division specializing in outdoor furniture. [9]

Distribution centers
  • Suwanee, Georgia
  • Dunn, North Carolina
  • Arlington, Texas
  • Katy, Texas
  • Seffner, Florida
  • Lakeland, Florida
  • Pearl River, Louisiana
  • Lebanon, Tennessee

Products

Rooms To Go Kids

In 1997, Rooms To Go opened its first Rooms To Go Kids location in Marietta, Georgia, a division which specializes in baby and children's furniture. [7]

Cindy Crawford Home

Rooms To Go has been partnered with supermodel Cindy Crawford for over 10 years. The Cindy Crawford Home collection focuses on living room, bedroom, and dining room furniture.

Disney Collection

Rooms To Go landed Walt Disney's first license to produce kids' bedroom suites featuring Disney characters. Rooms To Go's Cinderella, Winnie The Pooh, and Pumpkin Carriage bedrooms were nominated as the most innovative new products launched under the Walt Disney & Co. label in 2005. [10]

NFL Collection

In the summer of 2008, Rooms To Go rolled out a licensed line of customizable NFL furniture after striking a deal with the National Football League. [7]

Sofia Vergara Collection

In March 2013, Rooms To Go announced a partnership with Modern Family star Sofia Vergara. On her partnership with Rooms To Go, Vergara has said: "My relationship with Rooms To Go began over 15 years ago when I moved to the United States as a single mother, and furnished my first apartment entirely from their store." The Sofia Vergara Collection offers contemporary living room, bedroom, and dining room sets.[11]

Eric Church "Highway to Home"

Rooms To Go began selling Eric Church's "Highway to Home" furniture collection in 2016. "This collection of bedroom, dining room, upholstery and occasional pieces is inspired by Eric's eclectic music and lifestyle."[12] Before moving to Nashville, Church worked in a furniture manufacturing plant, and his father continues to work in the industry.[13]

Rooms To Go Outdoor

In 2018, Rooms To Go acquired outdoor furniture store chain Carls Patio and began a rollout of Rooms To Go Outdoor stores, a division which specializes in patio and other outdoor furniture. [14]

See also

References
  1. https://www.forbes.com/companies/rooms-to-go/
  2. "Rooms To Go Store Locator - Furniture Store Locator". Rooms To Go, Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  3. "Rooms To Go Business Review in Seffner, FL - West Coast Florida BBB". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  4. "Rooms To Go Company Profile - Yahoo! Finance". Yahoo. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  5. "Top 100 US Furniture Stores by Sales — Furniture Today". Apartment Therapy. Apartment Therapy. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  6. "Seaman Furniture Company, Inc. - Company History". Funding Universe. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  7. "Rooms To Go, Inc. - Company History". Funding Universe. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  8. "Room to Grow - Gulf Coast Business Review - Tampa Bay, Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples". Gulf Coast Business Review. April 30, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  9. Clint Engel, "Rooms To Go Buys Carls Patio", Furniture Today, January 23, 2018
  10. Mark Albright,"Furniture Chain Goes Hollywood With Celebrity, Disney Appeal", The Ledger, March 22, 2006
  11. "Sofia Vergara's New Gig: Furniture?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  12. "Highway to Home - Eric Church". Eric Church. Retrieved 2016-07-22.
  13. Russell, Thomas (Oct 17, 2015). "Pulaski finds hit product with Eric Church collection".
  14. Clint Engel, "Rooms To Go Buys Carls Patio", Furniture Today, January 23, 2018
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