My wife and kids always ask me what I want for my birthday.
I really do not need anything. At this point in my life I do not need any item, in fact I need to start getting rid of things I once thought I needed just so I can find things I actually use.
It’s always a stretch for me to come up with ideas.
My mother comes up with ideas like the cycling jersey in the photo above all the time. She is gifted.
She had the guys over at Block Alternatives make one. I didn’t know you could make just one of anything like this.
I need a whole cycling team racing allover town advertising Aven’s!
First stop Lancaster BLVD…next stop the Tour! I think I need to reduce my hours at the store so I can train…
Thanks God for my mother’s unfailing imagination…and never ever listening to me when I say “oh Mom…I don’t need anything”.
In 1928, cousins Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker partnered and invested in the furniture business in the small town of Monroe, Michigan.Together, the duo set out to design a chair for “nature’s way of relaxing.” Using orange crates to mock-up and refine their idea, they invented a wood-slat porch chair with a reclining mechanism. Knabusch and Shoemaker then upholstered their innovation and marketed it as a year-round chair. The chair was a success, but it needed a name. Combining promotion with necessity, the partners held a contest. Entries included such names as Sit-N-Snooze, Slack-Back and Comfort Carrier, but one in particular — La-Z-Boy — was the winner.
In 1969, after years primarily as a manufacturer of recliners, La-Z-Boy started designing other products including reclining sofas, sleep sofas and modular groups. In 1983, La-Z-Boy introduced its first line of stationary sofas and occasional chairs. Today, La-Z-Boy offers a full line of home furnishings.
Aven’s and La-Z-Boy have been a team since 1986. Wow…25 years. That’s a lot of La-Z-Boy. I would estimate about 26,000 units of La-Z-Boy products have moved in and out of our warehouse.
For Fathers Day Aven’s has hundreds of Genuine La-Z-Boy Recliners and dozens of Reclining Sofa and Love Seats in stock and ready for delivery or immediate pickup from our attached warehouse.
Memorial Day is a time for remembrance and gratitude. It also indicates the beginning of summertime fun and vacations. Celebrate Memorial Day and the beginning of a great new season with some fun-filled activities with family and friends.
Grill out. Entertain family and friends at outdoor gatherings with food and festivities. Invite friends over and celebrate on your back patio with hotdogs, burgers, kabobs and chips for an easy activity.
Hang out. If the wind is howling…grill out in your garage and dine together in your dining room or relax in your living room and enjoy some of the days popular sporting events, like baseball, the Indianapolis 500 or the Coca-Cola 600.
Take a trip. Enjoy the three-day weekend and head to the beach. Mammoth Mountain will have skiing and snowboarding until July 4th! Head out to Devils Punch Bowl for some hiking in a truley remarkable area before it gets too hot out.
Go Shopping. You no doubt need new furniture! Stop by Aven’s for our Huge Memorial Weekend Sale.We deduct an amount equal to the sales tax Storewide on everything except Hot Buys!
With a 70 plus year history of selling and servicing Antelope Valley’s best furniture and accessories, you could say that we have a passion for beautiful finishes, the smell and feel of great genuine leather, and the way a room can come together with stunning fabrics and accessories.
Aven’s and La-Z-Boy have been a team since 1986. Wow…25 years. That’s a lot of La-Z-Boy. I would estimate about 26,000 units of La-Z-Boy products have moved in and out of our warehouse.
Since the beginning we have worked to always hit price levels that people like the most. The magic numbers for recliners are $299, $399, and if its a great chair $499. We struggled to hit these prices way back in 1986; and somehow we still hit them today…Over 25 years later.
What other industry can you say that about? Hot price points held stable for 25 plus years!
I can’t think of any.
Every time I need to buy recliners for inventory I start with those hot buys. Do we have enough $299 and $399 recliners. Lately it looks like $299 may actually disappear. But $399 is safe for now.
I always exclude “Hot Buys” for any additional discounts in any promotion. They aren’t subject to “No Sales Tax” or “take an extra percentage off” promotions.
There is nothing worse than saying no to a customer. I just try to explain that a $299 or $399 Hot Buy recliner was a great buy in 1986 and it’s a great buy in 2011. Sorry.
Hot Buys as a category have grown now to include nearly every type of La-Z-Boy product:
All Hot Buys feature selected frame styles in selected fabrics at great prices!
We keep a huge inventory of Hot Buys so you can have it right now. If you pick a hot buy cover we don’t have in stock…delivery on special orders is about 4 weeks on recliners and 6 to 8 weeks on stationary, and motion sectionals.
Over the past few years the most popular category of furniture by far has been furniture for the family room.
Its easy to put off new bedroom, new dining room, new occasional tables, etc…but family room furniture just wears out.
Most of our customers have chosen to buy better quality before they come to the store. Everyone buys the “$399 reclining leather sofa” once, but after a few months they realize that just like everything else you buy…you get what you pay for.
I’m happy to say that the entire staff at Aven’s is intimately familiar with the what makes the products we carry a value, and a good choice for your family.
So its out with the old and in with the new. But what to buy?? Fabric or leather, stationary or motion?
Her are some thought that may help you make that decision.
Stationary Upholstery is non reclining furniture. It doesn’t move. Stationary sofas are more comfortable to sit in, and lay on. You can lounge across the length of the sofa and not feel the framework of the individual reclining pieces in your back. We often see people use a chaise lounge on the end for the ultimate lounging position.
Thomasville Metro Chaise Sectional. In-stock at Thomasville. Allow 3 Weeks for delivery.Stationary Sofas with a matching or correlating Club Chair and Ottoman and the coolest way to decorate a family room. Nothing slouches like a good fitting club chair. The ottoman just gives your feet somewhere to go.
Sectionals are also a good choice…lot of room for lounging. Sectionals can take the same space as a sofa and loveseat, but will give you more seating. Most sectionals are so modular you can find pieces to fit any room.
La-Z-Boy Laurel Sectional. Custom order in you choice of hundreds of Durability Tested La-Z-Boy covers in about 8 weeks.
Another idea for comfortable slouching on a stationary sofa is a cool upholstered cocktail ottoman in front of the sofa. It doubles as a cocktail table, and an ottoman for you to put your feet up on.
Motion Upholstery reclines. Its a great choice for watching movies, reclining for a nap, or just to put your feet up. Some sectional come with sleeper components to pull out when aunt Edna comes to visit.
Companies we carry like La-Z-Boy and Flexsteel offer lengthy warranties on their mechanisms. You need a good factory warranty on motion upholstery. You use it everyday. The mechanism in that Reclining Sectional,Chair, Sofa, or Loveseat is going to need service sometime during its life. You need a retailer like Aven’s and manufacturers like La-Z-Boy and Flexsteel to provide service.
There is nothing more fun; or challenging, in my job than selecting new product. Since the time I was 15 and cleaning toilets I would watch the buyers prepare for the semi annual trip to the “Market”.
This is where all new product is introduced. It’s a perfect envirnment for imagination and ideas. Long before Mrs. Consumer rejects your latest idea in great product. Long before the freight companies can destroy your lastest great idea for your store. No phones, no distractions. Perfect.
Markets have been in various locations throughout the years. There have been regional Markets in San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, Tupelo, Chicago, and a few others I can’t remember. High Point North Carolina has always been the really big deal; although Las Vegas is now trying to dethrone High Point. High Point is the big time because all product was made within 15 miles of downtown High Point
Market locations come and go because the ambitious developer will build a new “Market Center” and set up low leases for the furniture manufacturers to get in on. Then as the years go by and the rents go up the factories simply move on to the next low rent site. It’s hard to justify paying a lot for a permanent showroom space you occupy, and do business in 2 weeks a year. There just is not enough money in furniture at any level to cover the costs.
Anyway… High Point is the big deal and I try to attend twice a year. I have missed very few markets since 1991.
Mostly I go for the inspiration. New product, fresh opportunities, and to spend time with people I do business with. If a decision on distribution is to be made, putting a face to a company name is always a good thing.
It’s not by chance that Aven’s in Lancaster California is the only store on the west coast that represents Thomasville, La-Z-Boy, Flexsteel, Hooker, Stanley and Canadel all under one roof. I hone these relationships and work hard to justify their business.
That bit of horn blowing having been said…
The economic collapse has changed the way I need to buy for the store. Upholstery is all people are buying today.
I spent all day Saturday with Thomasville, La-Z-Boy and Flexsteel designers selecting new upholstered product for the floor to cover the next 6 months. Did I get it right…who knows? There is no shortage of effort trying. As I tell people who wonder why I would buy goods that don’t sell…”It took Ford 25 years to get the Mustang right again, despite years of trying”.
Trends in upholstery are going blue and teal this year. Grey is still the new black, and silver is very strong in finishes and in fabrics. It all follows women’s ready to wear.
Traditional is also making a comeback. I bought some skirted upholstery frames from La-Z-Boy and Flexsteel, and one very nice traditional bedroom from Thomasville, and 2 from Magnussen.
Casual upholstery is still most popular with color coming back. We won’t just have a floor of brown anymore…thank God.
Casual is the key to all our sales right now. Casual dining, casual occasional tables, casual upholstery. It’s just how we live.
All 3 upholstery factories we deal with produce all their fabric products here in the US with some leather now being more competitively priced here as well.
Thomasville is also expanding Casegoods production in North Carolina as well. Nice to see!
Wood product is far more difficult to buy than upholstery. Casegoods as we call them need to reek of value today in-order to sell in my store.
I visited Thomasville, Stanley, Hooker, Magnussen, and Howard Miller and only bought 3 curio cabinets, 3 bedroom, and 4 table groups among them all. In fact 2 bedrooms and all 4 table groups are all on order from Magnussen. The third bedroom is from Thomasville.
I ordered nothing from several of our traditional suppliers. One of the Reps; and my friend, told me that he was “very disappointed…very disappointed”.
I was disappointed also. I didn’t fly all the way to NC only to spend 6 hours hours going thru showrooms only to find nothing I thought we could sell.
After so many years of bad business…why are these big importers so out of touch with what people will buy?
At Aven’s we did $280,000 with Hooker in 2009. We did $100,000 in 2010, and this year so far we have done about $15000. Pretty disappointing I would have to say. All the volume sold at levels of profit below what I need to stay open.
Our Thomasville volume and profitability is equally bad. From $350000 in 2009 to, $150000 in 2010.
The big old time factories in the east have been dictating what is offered to the consumer because they have controlled what is produced…shown at market…and therefore shown on furniture floors across America.
Now these old time decision controllers are just importers like thousands of others. They are frustrated by the fact that Mrs. America no longer sees value in what they offer. They are also frustrated by more efficient importers providing new opportunities to retailers across the county savvy enough to see the difference.
Given the thousands of choices now made available…consumers now buy what they want, and spend only as much money on it as seems a value.
We need to show value. And show products people actually want to buy.
There are still quality differences between varying price levels. The saying that you get what you pay for is still valid. There will always be consumers at every price level. Now however the bulk of America can choose reasonable quality at a reasonable price. The better quality goods simply are more stylish, better made and better finished. We will continue to show some of those higher quality products, just in a more sensible way. The question is whether or not the consumer cares enough about her bedroom set, formal dining set, or occasional tables to pay the extra money to have it.
For me the days of recreational buying are over. For me to order it for my floor I need to be very sure it will sell…and sell at a price that defines me as a business and not a garage sale. The consumer needs to feel the value.
So how do I make up all that lost volume? I need to find something we can sell. Not continue to order goods at Market to make the big importers happy with me.
Lately we have been making up for it with more upholstery, casual dining, and TV console sales.
Lancaster Blvd 