By Denise L. Scott

The slowdown in the real estate market isn’t slowing down furniture business expansions in south Lee County.

Five furniture stores have opened at Coconut Point mall in Estero — World Market, Pier 1 Imports, Z Gallerie, west elm and Design Within Reach.


Nearly a third of the 19 furniture showrooms at the International Design Center in Estero are on the first floor open to the public, including Baker, Casa Italia and Stickley.

Now, even more furniture stores are opening stand-alone locations in Estero and San Carlos Park — Rooms to Go, City Furniture, Ashley Furniture HomeStore and Carls Patio.

That may be a sound business decision, according to consumer spending data collected by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Despite the cooling real estate market, U.S. consumers spent $85 billion on furniture in 2013, up from $80 billion in 2012 and $75 billion in 2004.

That’s not to say local stores aren’t feeling a pinch. Spectrum Home Furnishings, Blocker’s Furniture and Rhodes Furniture all recently closed stores in Southwest Florida.

“The housing market has been a big challenge for the entire industry of home furnishings,” said Scott B. Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation. Like any industry, he said, there will be winners and losers.

He said there’s typically a six-month lag time between the housing market slowing down and sales following suit.

Jessie Vega/news-press.com
• Jane Sullivan, store manager for Carls Patio Furniture, greets Kathleen Metcalf and Mike Ganek, the first customers of the day at the new location on U.S. 41 and Alico Road.
The bright side, he said, is that housing is cyclical.

“A housing market that slows down is eventually going to speed up again,” Krugman said.

And despite the cooling real estate market, south Lee County is still growing.

“Your housing market is dictating the need for furniture retailers,” he said. “You’re seeing an increase in population, whether people are renting or buying.”

And newcomers need furniture, whether they’ve signed the dotted line on a mortgage or a rental agreement.

Carls Patio President Gary Ecoff isn’t letting the housing market slow his plans for growth.

He opened his 13th location early this month on U.S. 41 at Alico Road. The company has 10 stores in Florida, including one in Naples, and a few in California.

“We’re very excited to be in Fort Myers,” he said. “It’s a growth story, even in light of what’s going on in housing. That’s a temporary blip on our radar.”

Ecoff said his company has been fortunate, increasing its profits even during the real estate downturn. He attributes some of his success to the hot trend in patio furniture.
“Nice outdoor furniture is very fashionable right now,” he said. “It’s hard to pick up a magazine or turn on HGTV and not see outdoor living.”

Ecoff said many people who can’t sell their house right now have decided to fix up their backyard to enjoy in the meantime.

“When they plan to sell, it’s something they can move with them,” he said. “They’re not so concerned about whether it will fit within the confines of four walls at the next house.”

Another east coast Florida company expanding into Southwest Florida is City Furniture.

That store, and its offshoot Ashley Furniture HomeStore, will be built in San Carlos Park on the north side of Alico Road just east of Interstate 75.

City Furniture President Keith Koenig signed the deal to build the 75,000-square-foot City Furniture and neighboring 35,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture Homestore during the height of the real estate boom two years ago.

He said county approvals took 15 months.

“The real estate market affects our business pretty substantially,” he said.

“One of the stages when people buy furniture is moving into a new home or condo. In Florida, the housing slowdown has been worse than other markets.”

Koenig has finally gotten approval to begin construction within the next month. He expects to open both stores by October or November 2015, along with two more in Naples.

Koenig’s company is licensed by Ashley, a furniture manufacturing company, to build the Ashley Furniture HomeStore concept in southern Florida.

He said both stores will offer furniture priced in the middle to upper ranges.

Like Ecoff, Koenig isn’t letting today’s housing market dictate his long-term plans to grow the 35-year-old company.

“That doesn’t shake my confidence. We’re in the best part of the best state in the country,” he said.

“There were still 350,000 people who moved into this state. There’s a pent-up demand. They may be sitting on the sidelines, waiting for prices to come down. Sooner or later, they’re going to buy a home.”

Rooms to Go, which recently remodeled its Fort Myers store, has plans to build another stand-alone store in Paradise Shoppes of Estero, at the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Williams Road.

A Rooms to Go spokeswoman did not return a call for comment.

“Florida will always remain a desirable place,” Ecoff said. “It’s not a matter of if it’s going to come back. It’s a matter of when.”