Goldberg takes over La-Z-Boy franchise

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Mar 14, 2003 by Spohr, George

CICERO - The owners of Syracuse-based Goldberg Furniture are the new operators of the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries in Cicero, a partnership that Vice President Andrew Goldberg says significantly raises his company's profile.

"La-Z-Boy is one of the very, very few known brands in the business that has a recognizable name," Goldberg says.

At the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries is a design center, the Thomas Kinkade Home Furnishings line, American Home line, and the Screen Test Video Computer System, where customers can see custom-order selections "come to life" with a video-catalog system.

Adding La-Z-Boy to Goldberg Furniture will complement the company's five Syracuse-area Goldberg Furniture stores, Goldberg says. "It

really is not mixed with our present business at all," he adds. "Everything stays the same. The La-Z-Boy gallery is a separate entity. It is its own store."

Terms of Goldberg's taking over the Cicero dealership, located in a 16,000square-foot store directly across from the Great Northern Mall, were not disclosed. The gallery's previous owner "did not want to expand it," Goldberg says, "so, therefore, they approached us about buying his."

The transaction took about 30 days to clear. By March 1, Goldberg had taken over the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries.

La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries has been at its location in Cicero for about eight years. It was expanded from its previous location in nearby Clay. While other furniture stores carry part of the La-Z-Boy line, Cicero's is the only gallery in Central New York. As a result, it is more heavily promoted by La-Z-Boy's corporate parents.

One of the promotions where he gallery gets a special mention is at La-Z-Boy's Web site, at www.lazboy.com. Users who enter a ZIP code to search for a La-ZBoy dealer find that, even though some Furniture stores are closer, the list is topped by Goldberg's gallery.

La-Z-Boy Inc., through its network of dealers and other partnerships, reported net sales of $511 million for the quarter ended Jan. 25, a 6-percent decrease in yearover-year comparisons. Still, its operating margin increased to 7.7 percent, up from 7.3 percent one year earlier.