With some of its competitors fading away because of bankruptcies and closings, furniture retailer Raymour &


Flanigan is moving quickly to fill the gap at the Shore.

The company a month ago opened its second Shore-area store in Freehold Township. And it plans to open its first Ocean County store on Route 70 in Brick, possibly in September, a company spokesman said Friday.

“We seem to be thriving,” spokesman Brian Burmeister said. “We know our competitors are having troubles, but we have a plan of action and footprint that continues to grow.”

Liverpool, N.Y.-based Raymour & Flanigan sells medium-priced furniture and promises delivery within three days. The privately owned company wouldn’t reveal its annual revenue, but it said its strategy has helped it become the biggest furniture retailer in the Northeast.

The company, which first entered the Shore market a year ago with a store in Ocean Township, has expanded as some of its competitors have faltered.

For example, the parent company of Huffman Koos filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2004. And Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and closed some of its stores, including one in Wall, in 2012.

Raymour & Flanigan is fighting for customers at a time when the real estate market has softened, leading some experts to wonder whether consumers are spending on furniture even if they aren’t moving into new homes.

Nationally, home furnishing sales in February fell 1.7 percent, while overall retail sales in February were virtually flat, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Pete and Amy Johnson, both 45, of Millstone, were shopping at Raymour & Flanigan’s new Freehold Township store a couple of weeks ago and said their family room was in need of an upgrade.

And they said they were referred to Raymour & Flanigan by relatives. “They were very happy with the customer service, which is huge for us,” Pete Johnson said.

Raymour & Flanigan’s blueprint has allowed it to carve out a niche that other furniture stores don’t match, said dt ogilvie,1 associate professor of business strategies at Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick.

The company has a staff of sales representatives who roam the store and a customer service desk to answer questions. By comparison, a store such as Ikea relies on customers to do most of the work themselves, including putting the furniture together, she said.

And, she said, with more than 70 stores, the company has enough buying power to strike deals with furniture makers and keep prices competitive.

“If you have a mom-and-pop store, you might not have the efficiencies that Raymour & Flanigan might have,” ogilvie said. “When you have 70 stores, you have a lot more buying power. You can bargain much better for the deals you want.”

Burmeister said the company has expanded, in part, because it has invested in its
distribution system, allowing it to deliver its orders in three days. The company keeps its furniture in stock at distribution centers in Gibbstown and Liverpool, N.Y. The furniture then is prepared for delivery at one of 15 customer service centers.

“We buy in volume and maintain a very efficient turnover of the inventory,” Burmeister said.

Burmeister wouldn’t disclose how much the company is spending on its expansion or how it is paying for it. But he said it is convinced there is more room for expansion.

“There’s a great need to fill,” Burmeister said.

Michael L. Diamond: (732) 643-4038 or mdiamond@app.com