Clint Engel
BECKER Minn. — Retailer Becker Furniture World has taken a leap toward its goal of becoming a true destination for the

home, expanding into categories from fireplaces to spas to kitchen appliances and cabinetry.

The Huseby family, which has been building Becker’s business for years, developed a plan this past summer to ramp up the growth at the 300,000-square-foot complex.

It has scaled back on its furniture display slightly — mostly by eliminating duplication — and partnered with what it calls the best operators in flooring, home electronics, appliances, building supplies and other categories, to turn the business into Becker Furniture World Home Center. The new departments are run by local retail leaders or distributors selected by Becker.

New features include a home entertainment department with sectionals, theater seating and other furniture blended with name-brand electronics from partner Robert Paul TV of Minneapolis; a flooring department run by Clearwater Interiors; a pool and spa area by Valley Pools and Spas; a Lights on Broadway lighting department; and a Benjamin Moore paint center.

In all cases, the Home Center aims to be a category killer, one-stop shopping destination for consumers looking to remodel existing homes or furnish new homes, as well as for builders and designers looking for a convenient way to work with clients on options and selections.

“Our goal is we don’t want to be perceived as a furniture store in the future,” said Jim Huseby, a Becker co-owner. “We feel we’re doing something completely different and, if it’s executed properly, will have a big draw.”

Huseby declined to disclose sales projections.

“We’d just be guessing, but it’s got great potential,” he said.

Becker Furniture World, with its main store here and outlet store in the St. Cloud, Minn., area, was listed among the “Stores to watch” in Furniture/Today’s Top 100 report with estimated furniture, bedding and accessories sale of $49 million in 2012.

The Home Center aims to appeal to women who might not enjoy shopping the big box stores, including home improvement retailers. Becker’s layout is warmer and open, with departments that flow logically from one to the next.

Inside the complex, Becker is building a 4,300-square-foot Idea House — not a shell or facade, but a full-scale home with three bedrooms, a game room, gourmet kitchen and other spaces that Huseby said will show off “the latest and greatest products from all of our partners.”

“You could literally buy the entire home at Becker,” he said.

It will be landscaped by a Becker partner and will feature a pool, deck and spa. The building supplies come from another partner, United Building Centers Pro-Build.

With furniture sales flat to down for many stores and gas prices on the rise, Becker’s owners say they knew that in order to keep growing, their flagship store — about a 40-minute drive from Minneapolis — had to be more than just another big furniture store box. Becker has been expanding almost since its inception, but in recent years it has seen increased competition from players such as HOM, Slumberland, Furniture Outlets USA and Ashley Furniture HomeStores (operated by Furniture Outlets in the area).

Valley Pools and Spas shows a wide offering of both its product lines in the redesigned Beck Furniture World Home Center. The above-ground pool in the background features a fountain.
In every new category, Becker will show a broad range of product that should appeal to the owners of homes in the $150,000 to $3 million range, Huseby said.  

The two-level “west wing,” of the center still is devoted to furniture, and includes a new Broyhill gallery as well as a home theater experience room and home entertainment department. The displays on the lower level have walls finished in paint by Becker partner Benjamin Moore paint.

By the end of May, Becker will open a kitchen appliance cabinetry and countertops area, with four partners showing their products in fully functioning gourmet kitchen settings.

Overall, the store is trying to be “above the do-it-yourself experience but below the high-end experience,” Huseby said.

“We really went after (partners) who would provide the best service to our customer,” he added.

He said that previously, the store had small offerings in some categories, such as area rugs and game tables, with too little depth in service and selection to best meet its customers’ needs.

But the store says its new partners are all leaders in their field, such as fireplace products supplier and installer Fireside Hearth and Home from the Pacific Northwest, or local flooring leader Clearwater Interiors.

“He did more flooring business in his first weekend here than we did in a month,” said Huseby.

He said the deals with its new partners are complex and varied. He declined to disclose the details except to note that they involve leasing and revenue sharing arrangements.

The partners are required to participate in advertising and will benefit from one another’s traffic pull, Huseby said.

Professional designers staffing a new studio at the store will be accessible to all Becker customers, from builders to the consumers who need help with the selection process. Becker also will partner with other interior designers who want to use the center for their clients.

In addition, kiosks with information about other home products, from non-Becker partners, will be installed in the garage of the Idea House and possibly other areas of the store.

Becker will begin promoting the whole-home concept to consumers this month.

The first store within the store — the home entertainment area — opened in the fall. All the key partners will have their presentations in by the end of May. Work on the Idea House began in January and will be completed this month, as workers pound away 24 hours a day.

To make room for expanded and new categories without cutting deeply into its furniture display, Becker freed up some former warehouse space. The primarily midpriced Becker did trim some furniture, mostly by eliminating duplicate looks. It also cut the size of its outlet center by about 15,000 square feet and closed its 12,000-square-foot attached Thomasville Home Furnishings store.

“We eliminated SKU count in certain categories, but not to the detriment of selection,” Huseby said.  “We reset our whole floor plan, and it has forced Becker to be better editors.”