Nurturing a successful 'family: sensitive merchandising and a family approach to customers and employees alike has spurred rapid growth at Curtains and Home - HomeMarket Trends Supplement

Discount Store News, Nov 5, 1990 by Frank M. Viollis

Nurturing a Successful `Family'

Current recession fears haven't put a damper on the growth plans of Curtains & Home, a specialty home fashions chain based in Plainview, N.Y.

"Expectations are low, and the public's not in a spending mood," said Arthur Berkell, president of the Long Island headquartered chain. "What most retailers will do is say `bad times are on the way,' and cut down on inventory and on sales staff. As a result, they sell less."

"I take the opposite approach. Have plenty of merchandise to sell, and you'll sell it!" said Berkell, who predicts that this will be the "year of the drapery."

"We're ahead of plan for August, and we're going to be ahead of plan for September and how about year-end. We're not slowing down. We're moving forward."

"With the real estate market falling apart, now's the time to make deals; and, we're making them," said Berkell.

Just where those real estate deals will take him, he wouldn't say. "We want to grow, and that's just what we're going to do."

The company has an enviable growth record to live up to.

Curtains & Home was founded a little over 60 years ago as a one-man operation. Today, Berkell oversees a privately held corporation which it is estimated by year-end will operate 42 stores in three states and the District of Columbia and gross more than $33 million in home textile sales. Curtains & Home's product line includes a full line of bed and bath products and window treatments plus a custom design service.

"We're not afraid of growth," said Berkell, during an interview with HomeMarket Trends in his Carle Place, N.Y., store. "Expansion is always on our minds."

The first major step toward its current high-energy, yet low-key profile, was taken in 1954, when the company began operating as a licensee in such then-notable discount chains as Two Guys and Time Square Stores. Though a profitable venture, it was not good enough. In 1978, the firm began to phase out its involvement with its discount "landlords."

It was then, while operating under the name Curtain Country, that the first independent store opened in Clifton Park, N.Y. (a store which is still open, and "doing very well").

"We didn't want to open in metro New York," Berkell recalled, "because we were still involved with TSS. So, we went upstate [New York], and out to Kansas City [where the firm currently operates three stores]. When we pulled out of TSS in 1984, we hit Long Island, then D.C., and Philadelphia."

What is most impressive about the growth pattern is that in 1984, when the decision to expand into the metropolitan New York area and beyond, was made, Curtain Country operated only nine stores. The other 32 were added as a result of Berkell's aggressive growth of strategy.

The basis for Curtains & Home's success is threefold: well-merchandised stores, superior customer service and treatment of employees like "family."

The feeling of "home" is clearly evident in every store.

From the bedding section, with its fully dressed displays of multicolored bedspreads, matching dust ruffles, pillow shams, and curtains, to detail-rich window simulations neatly festooned with draperies and curtains, the feeling is warm and comfortable.

This is not accidental. Berkell maintains a fully staffed visual merchandising department, whose sole function is to "look for new and better ways to display our product. We're always experimenting," he added. "Most of our basic display techniques have evolved slowly step-by-step."

Though the idea of "family" is very much at the heart of what they do, the staff at Curtains & Home leave no stone unturned in their efforts to display their wares in the best possible light. Quite literally, most of the chain's in-store engineering efforts involve lighting.

This is no small task to accomplish in stores that average 8,500 square feet to 9,500 (possibly up to as much as 12,000) square feet, where aisle space is at a premium, and wall space (with ceilings that must be at least 12 feet high in order to allow for proper presentation of the product).

Creating the right kind of shopping environment for its customers, is only part of the reason for the success of Curtains & Home. Finding the right site for its stores has, likewise, been a challenging process.

The company has tried everything, from malls to free-standing buildings. In the end, Berkell came to realize that, "malls don't work for us."

"Today, we stay away from all but `highly desirable' mall locations. We'd rather position ourselves in power, or regional strip centers. And, we'd much rather spend our money on advertising, most of which is done in-house utilizing our own well-trained staff, and the outside resources of local newspapers (90%), circulars (5%), and radio (5%), and merchandise, than on mall charges."

The ideal location is closely tied with an understanding of its customer-base, which is predominately the "moderately upscale" buyer.

"Let's just say that we go head-to-head with Macy's and Abraham & Strauss," said Berkell. "Obviously, not to sell the same product, since they've both gotten out of C&D (curtains and draperies); but, for the same customer base. Bloomingdale's starts a little higher than we do; but, again, they don't sell this product. On the other side, we could open up next door to K mart, or Caldor without any problem. As a matter of fact, we have a couple of stores next to Caldor locations. There's very little crossover between our customers."