Business Q&A
By CONNIE TORRES, ctorres@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8263
When Bratton’s Home Furnishings became Ashley Furniture Homestore in June, it gained world-class style and managed to keep a local feel.
Rodney Bratton and Tad Lanford own and operate San Angelo’s Bratton’s Bargain City and franchise store Ashley Furniture. Bratton serves as the chief executive officer of Bratton’s, and his business partner, Lanford, is the CEO of Ashley Furniture.
While the new store is at the 50,000-square-foot location that Bratton’s furnishings occupied for 10 years, its look is completely different.
”We basically constructed a new building,” Lanford said. ”The only thing the same is the roof and walls.”
Along with contemporary furniture, Ashley includes online catalogs, video games in the children’s section, and cookies and juice for customers as they browse.
”It’s an elegant atmosphere, but it’s also very fun and relaxed,” Lanford said.
Why the change to a franchise?
Lanford: Ashley is the number one furniture retailer in the world. They’re also the fastest-growing. That’s somewhat unusual to be number one and the fastest-growing.
How usual is it to have a chain completely locally owned and managed?
It’s not real common. That’s why we’re so excited. It’s a rare opportunity to work with a large company and still retain local ownership.
What makes this store different from other furniture stores?
You get to shop in a beautiful environment. The pricing is so affordable. With Ashley, they make all the furniture, and they sell all the pieces. There’s really no middleman between the retailer and the customer – that saves the customer typically 50 to 60 percent off a product.
Did Bratton’s Furniture have as much as Ashley Furniture has?
We had nothing to this extent. It’s a whole different world. At Ashley they have the latest and up to beat styles.
How much are Ashley Furniture and Bratton’s Bargain City linked?
The companies are separate. There’s no shared employees or advertising.
What have been customers’ reactions to Ashley Furniture?
It’s been incredible. We are probably doing five times the business we did before.
