Q: Where do you see your business in five years?

Staff -- Casual Living, 7/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Bruce Aronson, The Pool & Patio Center, Metairie, LA

I still see us a single location outdoor specialty store. Even though we are upscale now, I see a trend which will allow us to bring in even higher-end merchandise. We will have a larger mix of imported product; however, the product will have a U.S. brand name.

Cushioned goods will be more important than they are now. I think we will be emphasizing outdoor accessories that are just appearing now: outdoor drapes, fire and water fountains, wall-to-wall outdoor carpeting. We will have a more sophisticated Internet presence which will include retail customer service, in-store online catalog kiosks, and e-tail in our local trade area.

Greg Martin, Kolo Collection, Atlanta

I see our business evolving as it has in the first four years into a specialty outdoor boutique that caters to the person who is looking for nice designs. The reason I think we're very successful is because we spend a lot of time educating customers and helping them to create the environment that fits them; we spend a lot of time laying it out, going to their houses and custom-making the pillows.

I think we'll continue to evolve into being that store people come to because they're not so concerned with buying it off the shelf but are creating their own unique environment at their home that fits their personality. We'll continue to search for more unique things or make it ourselves. Maybe this isn't the ultimate location in the heart of Atlanta in a really cool area, but I think the formula we've created could be reproduced in other markets.

Tim Newton, Leader's Casual Furniture, Largo, Fla.

We always aim to be the leading retailer in Florida of casual furniture. In five years, I would assume we'll be over 20 stores and continuing to import and resource and work hard.