Goldberg's Furniture does what works

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jan 23, 2004 by LeFort, Fran

If you have a television, there's a good chance you've found yourself not being able to shake it off - you know, that Goldberg's jingle. "Goldberg's, the money saver. We're gonna save you more."

In case you haven't heard, Goldberg's can help you save on that new bedroom suite or sofa sectional and, yes, even a refrigerator and stereo.

The local family chain is like the Wal-Mart of furniture stores, says General Manager and Vice President Mark Pregent. "We have a jingle, 'We're your money saver,'" he says earnestly.

Because it has grown into a multi-million-dollar company $14 million actually - the company can buy its furniture pieces in bulk and pass on the savings, he says.

"Before a lot of people understood what Wal-Mart was, we said 'Go out and find the best furniture at the best price.' We work very hard to find those deals and - pass those savings on to the customer. One of the main things that concerns the customer is price. That has served us very well for a lot of years," says Pregent, who has run the company's stores for the past 15 years.

"The philosophy never changed. We had a formula and a business plan that really worked. I know about it because the family is still very, very active and is hands-on," Pregent says of Chairman Frank Goldberg and his son, President Andrew Goldberg, whose grandfather and great-grandfather, respectively, started the business in 1910.

The company has come a long way since Meyer Goldberg opened the first store on North Salina Street with five people.

That store was actually a department store, complete with jewelry, clothes, and toys. "That was before the department stores came along," Pregent says. That store was moved several times along with urban renewal. Meyer Goldberg's son, Ben, carried on the family business as his father did.

It wasn't until Ben Goldberg's sons, Frank and Leonard, came along that the business started to grow. The brothers took over the grow business in 1959 and steered it through many changes, including a change in focus - on furniture and home appliances.

"They decided that they were going to get out of the jewelry business and clothing and lawn furniture and snow blowers, and they really wanted to focus on furniture and furnishings for the home instead of being a jack of all trades," Pregent says of the shift in the 1960s. "When you focus on one item and you really understand it inside and out, you grow. We grew off of that and that was the philosophy that all the other stores came from."

Today, the company has grown to five Goldberg's Furniture and Appliance showrooms employing 135 people.

While the company has stuck to its philosophy of niche retailing, it has diversified its approach somewhat.

Ten years ago, it branched out into the rent-to-own furniture business and has run two such operations called Right Choice Sales and Leasing in Syracuse. Just days ago, however, the family agreed to sell the stores to Rent-A-Center because it wanted to focus on a second La-Z-Boy store and on remodeling existing Goldberg's stores.

"We thought that was exciting to align ourselves with the world's premier furniture manufacturer," Pregent says of La-Z-Boy, which offers reclining furniture in more than 500 fabrics.

The original Goldberg's furniture stores remain the core business, however, bringing in 70 percent of the revenues.

In a geographic area that isn't growing and offers plenty of competition from the likes of Raymour & Flanigan, Dunk & Bright, and Sears, Pregent says offering a variety of the latest styles and delivering them quickly are among the keys to success.

Aligning yourself with top manufacturers is also important, he says. Goldberg's offers furniture, bedding, and other home furnishings from Lane, Broyhill, Sealy, Sony, Maytag, Frigidaire, Pioneer, and others.

Customers, whom Pregent describes as "definitely middle-class America," come from a 50-to 75-mile radius of store locations.

"It's extremely competitive. Syracuse is a shrinking market, and none of the competitors are going away. It's one of the most competitive industries in Syracuse right now," he says.

And, of course, there's the marketing. Goldberg's spends a million dollars a year on marketing, Pregent says.

"It's a combination of a lot of things that will hopefully set yourself apart from your competitors. A lot of it is how you market yourself," he says. "That's one way we try to distinguish ourselves and stick out of the pack."

The familiar jingle that's been around for 10 years isn't going away anytime soon, Pregent says. Like it's niche-product offerings, the company has learned to stick with what works.

"We have kids in here singing it," he points out. "It's top-of-mind awareness, and so we're going to continue to use it because we've branded it so well."