As Home Sales Rise, City Furniture Opens Ashley Furniture HomeStore in West Palm

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Aug. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- City Furniture (http://www.cityfurniture.com) is adding new jobs and an industry-leading “green” showroom to the resurgent Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. retail corridor with the opening of a 35,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore at 2101 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.

 “With the rebound in housing sales and prices, plus some key changes we’ve introduced in recent months, our sales are growing at the fastest rate since 2005,” said City Furniture President Keith Koenig.

“We’re seeing all types of home buyers out shopping for new furniture – more first-time buyers and people finally able to sell their existing home and move into a larger or smaller one, depending on their stage in life,” he added. 

 

The new store is the third in a five-store regional expansion now underway by City Furniture, which is Ashley Furniture HomeStore’s (http://www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.com) licensee in southeast and southwest Florida.   The company is moving its sales team from a smaller, temporary Ashley Furniture HomeStore location on Okeechobee Blvd and adding 13 sales and support positions.  The new store adjoins the existing City Furniture store that’s at 2121 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., with a walk-through for customers’ convenience.  The company will donate a portion of Grand Opening sales to Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County.

 Koenig has long been bullish on West Palm Beach.  He said the new store’s high-value location was one of several the company purchased years ago on the belief that growth would come in its key markets.   Construction of the nearby Palm Beach Outlets is confirming that vision, and Koenig said he expects the revitalized mall will be a major draw for the Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. shopping district as the economy recovers.

 City Furniture, South Florida’s top selling furniture retailer, has made strategic moves this year that Koenig said has helped drive sales up about 10 percent year-over-year in the region  - literally the most competitive furniture market in the U.S. and globally.

 “We’ve added e-commerce so shoppers can purchase all City Furniture merchandise through our website, and our online business is the fastest growing segment,” he said.  “We added Bernhardt galleries to our City Furniture showrooms and completely revamped our mattress line, adding Sleep Specialists to help customers get a better night’s sleep at the best values in Florida.”  Another competitive factor: for all its City Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore showrooms, the firm offers its hallmark Same Day Delivery 7 Days a Week.

 Locating City Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore showrooms on adjoining or nearby sites in its existing markets is City Furniture’s long-term strategy – an approach that’s already proving on-target, according to Koenig.  “Our customer wants exceptional value, real respect for her time, and inspiring ideas in a range of styles.  Opening Ashley Furniture HomeStore locations just steps from our City Furniture showrooms lets our customers and guests ‘drive once, shop twice’ for a richer shopping experience, with far more choices.”   

 Reflecting the City Furniture team’s longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship, the new Ashley Furniture HomeStore was built by Miller Construction Company to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.  Leading the furniture industry nationally, the retailer now has four locations built to stringent LEED standards, including its high-profile Boca Raton showrooms along I-95.  A new City Furniture store, the firm’s fifth “green” location, will open in Cutler Bay in September.

 For information visit www.cityfurniture.com.