Bernie & Phyl's Furniture Launches Major E-Commerce Web Site

Furniture World Magazine

Bernie & Phyl's Furniture, the largest independent furniture retailer in Massachusetts with stores in Cambridge, Everett, Saugus, Westboro, and Weymouth, has launched a knockout e-commerce web site (www.bemphyl.com) that features every product in every furniture category that the retailer carries. The new web site allows Bernie & Phyl's Furniture to serve all of its customers' furniture shopping needs both on-line and in-store, and is part of the company's overall strategic growth plans. The site, which was designed by leading internet development company BigBad, Inc., recently won the top 2001 AXIEM (Absolute Excellence in Electronic Media) Award in the internet category for its excellence in design and functionality. "The internet has become an integral part of how many consumers shop, whether they use it for research before going into a store to make a purchase or to buy something they already know they want. Having a multi-channel strategy with a significant on-line presence that supports and expands the reach of our strong retail establishments will help us to better meet all of our customers' needs," said Larry Rubin, vice president who handles information technology for Bernie & Phyl's Furniture. "We are the first furniture retailer in this market to develop an e-commerce site. Yet, it is something consumers want and expect." Bernie & Phyl's Furniture plans to have its entire furniture inventory of over 800 items on-line by the end of August. The site is a combination of great design, easy-to-navigate functionality, and unique features. Customers can shop by room, individual piece, or sku number with a photo, description, product information, and price accompanying each item. Customers can make purchases on-line, save items in a "wish list" and/or email the "wish list" to someone else, make payments (deliveries and layaway), buy gift certificates, and send questions to the sales and customer service departments. On each page of the web site, a prompt asks consumers to type in their zip code to see if Bernie & Phyl's Furniture serves their area. If a prospective customer is outside the retailer's geographic delivery area, then the company will help the consumer locate a retailer in their region that sells the product they are interested in. The site is also a great source of information. A "Phyl's Furniture Facts" section offers advice on style categories, furniture care, and a glossary of furniture terms, while a regular on-line customer newsletter provides stories on topics such as new styles and products, finding the right size furniture, and how-to buy a mattress. "When people come into our stores, they say 'this place is totally awesome' and it is our goal to have them feel the same way whenever they go to our web site," said Bernie Rubin, president and co-founder of Bernie & Phyl's Furniture. "We are confident that our new web site will exceed our customers' expectations, which is what we do everyday in our stores. With this web site, we are simply giving customers every opportunity to buy from us, be it on-line or in-store." The 2001 AXIEM Copper Award was given to Bernie & Phyl's Furniture for its web site's innovation, creativity, technical merit, and overall quality. AXIEM gives its top Copper AXIEM to category winners and its Silver AXIEM to finalists. The organization picks one winner in the categories of television, film, radio, audio, video, animation, internet, and interactive media. Bernie & Phyl's Furniture is the largest independent furniture retailer in Massachusetts and one of the Top 100 furniture stores in the country. Based in Norton, MA, the company has five Massachusetts stores in Cambridge, Everett, Saugus (50,000 s/f superstore), Westboro (42,000 s/f superstore), and Weymouth. The company had $54.1 million in sales for the year 2000 and currently employs over 200 people. Last year, Bernie & Phyl's Furniture was named "2000 Retailer of the Year" by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.