The new Becker Furniture World Home Center is a 250,000-square-foot store in Becker, Minn., that offers everything from furniture to electronics and appliances.

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Aspen Home & Furniture

A destination furniture retailer for buyers from a five-state area, Becker Furniture World has transformed itself into a one-stop shop for consumers who want to make any type of improvement in their homes.

In July 2007, Becker Furniture World completed its transformation into the Becker Furniture World Home Center, a 250,000-square-foot store in Becker, Minn. It expands beyond furniture offerings to include rugs, window treatments, swimming pools and spas, electronics, flooring, wall coverings, cabinetry and appliances. 

“We are continually reinventing ourselves, and the latest is the home center,” President J.R. Wilson says. “The traditional furniture retailer is on the decline, and the consumer is going to demand more from their shopping experience. We’ve adapted and are on the front end.”

Becker Furniture World was founded by Doug and Julie Huseby in 1978, in a 500-square-foot space. Today, it is a “destination store,” according to Wilson, for customers who travel from within Minnesota as well as North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The company’s conversion from a traditional furniture retailer to a one-stop home center has boosted its destination characteristics. Wilson says the transition was necessary because with the decline in the real estate market, more homeowners are electing to improve their current dwellings instead of selling and moving into larger homes.

Becker Furniture World Home Center wants to be the only place customers need to go for all their improvement needs. “Whether a customer is building or remodeling or improving the look or feel of their home, all of their selections are here at the Becker Home Center under one roof,” Wilson adds. “We’ve transformed ourselves from a furniture store to Home Center where you will find anything you need for your home.”

‘Best’ Partners
The company realizes its core competency is still furniture. To fill the home center with the top products available, Becker Furniture World brought in “best-of-class partners,” like Hunter Douglas Galleries, Brunswick, Benjamin Moore and The Maytag Store, to run selection centers for services such as lighting, flooring and electronics. These retailers either lease on a square-footage basis or share their revenues in exchange for space.

“The unique thing about the concept is that it is not set up like a shopping center with multiple retailers lined up,” Wilson says. “It is one store with an open, inviting atmosphere. Big box retailers don’t meet the need of the common consumer, and we’ve created something here that meets that need.”

When the home center opened in July, Wilson says, Becker Furniture World experienced immediate increases in sales.     

Along with the new product lines available, Becker Furniture World also  built the “Idea House,” a 4,300-square-foot house complete with a fully functioning kitchen, three-car garage, billiards room and three fireplaces. Each partner displays the latest in style and technologies in the house, and the rooms feature looks that range from traditional to contemporary.

“The purpose is to give customers ideas on how to integrate those ideas into their own home,” Wilson says. “With the decline in the home market, what we’re beginning to see is the people who would have sold their home to build a new house will instead start making their current house a nicer place to live.”
    
Integrity Matters
Becker Furniture World earned the 2007 Better Business Bureau Integrity award for the states of Minnesota and South Dakota. Wilson says the honor came after the company was nominated.

But he says it was worth the effort because the award serves as a reminder of what is important to the company. “It is the confirmation of who we know we are as a company,” Wilson adds. “The word ‘integrity’ is important to us. We have integrity with employees, customers and vendors; that is just how we do business. The award is a confirmation of that.”

Becker Furniture World instills integrity by putting its salespeople through an extensive training program before they work the floor. Once the training is complete, new employees are partnered with a mentor who they must shadow. Wilson says the company also offers ongoing training for its 200 employees at the company’s main location and the 30,000-square-foot outlet store in Waite Park, Minn.

The company says it lives up to its integrity goals through charitable efforts. The Huseby family foundation, Furnishing Achievements, donates furniture to families who are working their way back to self-sufficiency, according to Wilson. “We help them get into the program to get them back on their feet, which allows them to earn furniture,” he adds.

Staying Relevant
The home center is Becker Furniture World’s latest reincarnation of itself, and Wilson says the company must continue to reinvent itself to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry. “We have to stay out in front of what the consumers are demanding,” he says. “We will continue to deliver to the consumer what they are expecting.”