— Furniture Today,
WESTBURY, N.Y. — Fortunoff’s new CEO said the company enjoyed double-digit sales gains in furniture last year, but he’s still looking to make big changes in the segment.


Arnie Orlick, a retailing veteran who in early May became the first CEO from outside the family that owns the chain, wants to keep the traditional styles that now dominate the furniture sales floors but also broaden into a more casual, lifestyle vein. And he wants to add some higher price points.

This will mean changing as much as 25% of the furniture lineup, said Orlick.

He maintains, however, that he is determined to protect and enhance the retailer’s presence with its core customers while also attracting new ones. Furniture accounts for about 10% of sales at the company, a metro New York institution specializing in jewelry, gift, home and outdoor products.

Fortunoff’s doesn’t disclose sales, but Furniture/Today estimates the total is in the neighborhood of $450 million.

The company has four full-line stores, the largest and newest of which is the 185,000-square-foot White Plains, N.Y., unit that opened in October 2003. It also has 11 satellite stores of 10,000 to 25,000 square feet that sell outdoor products in spring and summer and indoor furniture the rest of the year.

“We have an incredible brand, and our customers trust us,” Orlick said during a walking tour of the store in Westbury on New York’s Long Island. “We are known for the breadth of our assortments and the knowledge and tenure of our sales staff.”

In furniture, he said, his goal “is to add to our assortments to attract a new customer base — a younger, more casual customer.” Now, he said, “The stores are 90% to 95% traditional. It’s too much.”

While the offerings will broaden in style and price, Orlick can’t say yet whether the floor space devoted to furniture will grow. Product will be moved and edited, he said.

As the changes take place, Fortunoff wants to keep 75% to 80% of the furniture offering exclusive from key suppliers or developed internally, on direct import — a program the retailer began in 2000.

Key vendors now include Hooker and Legacy Classic in case goods and Chateau D’Ax, DeCoro, Alan White and Lea-thercraft in upholstery. Orlick said that while much of the furniture lineup is imported, it’s also important to keep some domestic suppliers.

“We need a better balance. And as we do more special-order merchandise, we will need these (domestic) suppliers. We also need more consistency and more newness,” he said.

Fortunoff’s furniture price points are focused on upper medium, and the retailer will be looking to move into some higher prices as it changes product, he added. 

Fortunoff’s has been in two categories, recliners and mattresses, for a year or less. Orlick said the recliner assortment and presentation needs some work, while bedding “is the most profitable part of the furniture segment.” Bedding brands include Sealy, Stearns & Foster and the private-label Hotel Linens line, which also includes home textiles.

Rugs also are “very profitable,” he said, although the category needs more space on retail floors. “They’re just on a rack with no lay-down presentation,” he said.

Pictures, mirrors and wall décor also are likely to gain more space as store floors are reconfigured, starting this year, said Orlick.

Beyond the shifts in merchandise, the company is working out the details of a customer loyalty program it plans to introduce in the fall. This will include encouraging the use of the Fortunoff’s credit card, which will have the added bonus of allowing the retailer to build on its customer database to identify purchase trends and needs.

Also look for the company to expand its bridal registry program and invest in information technology, said Orlick, who plans to pursue improvements in areas ranging from merchandise analysis to delivery.