HOM to open two stores in new markets next year

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today -- Casual Living, 11/5/2012 11:32:13 AM

A rendering of HOM Furniture’s planned 130,000-sq.-ft. Rogers, Minn., campus shows the retailer’s second Dock 86 store and the new format HOM Furniture showroom with store-within-a-store specialty shops including Sleep Express, World Floor & Rugs and Seasonal Concepts.COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- HOM Furniture will open two new store complexes next spring, including one in Rogers, Minn., that features its second Dock 86 four-day-a-week, bargain-oriented format.

In Rogers, the company is redeveloping a 130,000-sq.-ft. former Lowe's home improvement location, and in Onalaska, Wis., the retailer will open a 70,000-sq.-ft. HOM store.

Both are new markets for the retailer. In Rogers, just northwest of metro Minneapolis along Interstate 94, HOM will dedicate 78,000 square feet to its full-line flagship brand, and the remaining space to Dock 86.

The HOM format features several store-within-a-store departments, including Seasonal Concepts outdoor furniture, Sleep Express, World Rugs, a newly expanded HOM World Floors area selling carpet, tile, vinyl, wood flooring and granite counter tops, UPtown Urban Furnishings and Amish Craftsman.

The warehouse-like format of Dock 86 "eliminates additional costs of other furniture retailers and passes the savings onto the consumer," the retailer said in a release.

"Operating only during the busiest four days of the week when most furniture customers shop, not building fancy showrooms, and producing low budget commercials helps keep overhead and prices low," said Jerry Underwood, Dock 86 marketing director.

Products range from large-volume cancelled orders, closeouts and factory showroom samples.

"With this treasure seeking approach you might find a close-out sofa meant to sell for $599 for just $299 or a designer sofa sold in high-end stores for $5,000 for only $2,000," the press release said.

In Onalaska, just east of LaCrosse, Wis., HOM said it purchased a former Gander Mountain store and will build out the location, more than doubling its size to 70,000 square feet for its store-within-a-store retail format. Flooring, however, will not be offered in this location.