Local Players A Force In Oklahoma City Furniture

Oklahoma City, OK, June 19--The recent acquisition of Evans Furniture by Mathis Brothers Furniture has further consolidated Mathis' grip on the $223 million-a-year furniture market in Oklahoma City, according to the Daily Oklahoman. But it also highlights another side of the furniture business in the city: It's a high-volume market dominated by local players, with national chains making few inroads. Pier 1 outlets and Ethan Allen stores, both part of bigger national chains, have a presence here. But there's no sign of the No. 1 furniture retailer in the country, Rooms To Go, which had $1.3 billion in sales last year, according to trade newspaper Furniture Today. "They're scared to come in here," joked Frank Bruno, owner of Bruno's Home Furnishing in Oklahoma City. "That's not something I dreamed up. The (sales) reps that call on us tell us we're the most competitive market in the country." Bruno, who's been in the furniture business more than 40 years, said national chain Levitz in the 1970s made a short-lived attempt to get a foothold in Oklahoma City. Haverty's Furniture had plans a few years ago but later cooled to the idea, he said. National chains looking to expand into Oklahoma City are at a natural disadvantage, said Calvin Worth, vice president of Mathis Brothers. Most of the locally owned furniture stores own their buildings at good locations and can pass those savings on to consumers, he said. "There's other markets that would be easier for them and that's what they look at," he said. "Competition and pricing here is something they can't compete with." Market research firm Claritas said Oklahoma City area furniture retailers had an estimated $223 million in sales in 2002. Mathis Brothers had about $92 million in sales last year in the Oklahoma City area, Worth said. He declined to comment on closely held Evans sales figures. With the addition of Evans Furniture, Mathis Brothers now owns five showrooms in Oklahoma City: the giant Mathis Brothers outlet at 3434 W Reno; Thomasville Home Furnishings; Drexel Heritage Home Furnishings; Factory Direct Furniture & Beds at 219 S Portland; and Evans Furniture. Mathis Brothers also owns furniture stores in Tulsa and Indio, Calif, as well as a mattress manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City. The Evans acquisition, which closed last week, also adds an Evans store in Tulsa. The sale price was not disclosed. Mathis Brothers bought land in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a possible store, but has since sold it and scaled back those expansion plans, Worth said. Instead, the company has been concentrating on doubling the size of its California store to attract a bigger slice of the lucrative and fast-growing housing market around Palm Springs. Overall, Mathis Brothers had sales of $201.5 million last year, putting it 34th in the nation, according to Furniture Today's ranking of the top 100 stores. That kind of buying power pulls in customers from surrounding states such as Kansas and Texas. Worth said about 10 percent of Mathis Brothers' sales come from out-of-state customers. Oklahoma is just one of several states that are dominated by locally owned giants, said Robert Nightengale Jr. of the Home Furnishings Council, a trade group based in North Carolina. "Generally speaking, the chains have moved into the places that are weak or faltering or there's a broad marketing opportunity," he said. "The furniture business is a very close-margin business. Everybody thinks the furniture people get rich and there's certainly those that have, but it's a retail business that's very close to the bone." Furniture retailers who dominate their regions also have become attractive targets for Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company founded by investor Warren Buffett. In the past 20 years, Berkshire Hathaway has bought Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha; R.C. Willey in Utah; Star Furniture in Houston; and Jordan's Furniture in Massachusetts.

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