Sofa Express Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Furniture World Magazine

Sofa Express kicks off its 40th Anniversary year with plans of a yearlong celebration. To mark its 40th Anniversary, Sofa Express is donating 40 sofas to Habitat for Humanity. "The loyalty of the community and our customers has always been a large part of our company's great success," says Sofa Express founder, Townsend Quinn. "This is a great way to say thank you." The Sofa Express story started 40 years ago with the strong entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, Townsend "Towny" Quinn. In 1959, Mr. Quinn started his business selling a large selection of items door-to-door. When furniture became the most dominant part of the product selection, a permanent showroom was established. Westgate Furniture opened its doors as a one stop home-furnishing store catering to every room in the home. Westgate Furniture continued to serve the home furnishings needs of the community as a single store for the next 25 years. After market research from The Ohio State University indicated the lack of a strong market position, Mr. Quinn ended the Westgate Furniture era in Columbus and opted to become a more, specialized retailer. In 1984, the company changed its name to The Living Room, "Central Ohio's first and only living room specialist". With the new name came a more narrowly defined product selection, which included furnishing for the living and family rooms only. Five years later, again in response to market research, the Living Room evolved into Sofa Express, further differentiating itself from other furniture stores by having every item in stock for next day delivery and promising quicker custom orders (35 calendar days) or paying the customer if late. Sofa Express has grown to eight stores over 10 years in Central Ohio and recently has added four stores in Cincinnati. Sales revenue has grown 695% since the inception of Sofa Express. In 1997, Sofa Express was ranked 88th on the Discovery '98 top 100 privately owned companies in Central Ohio. Sales growth in 1998 topped 22%. Through the tremendous growth of Sofa Express, the company has remained a family owned business. Mrs. Jane Quinn and four of their eight adult children are involved in the every day operations of the company. The Quinn family involvement has allowed the company to maintain a small business feel in a company that now dominates market share in its product categories, selling approximately 1 out of every 4 sofas in Central Ohio. Over the past 18 years, Mr. Ken Paul, president, has been a major contributor to the success of Sofa Express. Mr. Paul engineered the transition of Westgate Furniture into the Living Room and subsequently, Sofa Express. His forward thinking and guidance have helped the company grow to the prominent position it holds today. "As much as this anniversary year is a celebration of our past, it is also the beginning of an exciting future for the company. We intend this year to be our finest to date," says Ken Paul. Sofa Express operates stores in Central Ohio, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The corporate offices are located in Groveport, Ohio, attached to its 153,000 square foot distribution facility. Sofa Express employs 320 associates company-wide.