Badcock Enters Eighth State With Danville, Virginia Store

Furniture World Magazine

W.S. Badcock Corporation has opened its first store in the state of Virginia, marking the first time in 17 years that Badcock, a 102 year-old family-owned furniture retailer, has entered a new state. The 20,000 square-foot store offers quality and affordable furnishings for the entire home, including furniture, bedding and appliances. The opening of the Danville store is a key piece of Badcock's expansion market plans, which began last year when they opened a distribution center in Mebane, North Carolina. The company has invested more than $15 million as it plans future expansion throughout Virginia and into Eastern North Carolina and Kentucky. Initially, Badcock had looked at Danville as a possible location for the distribution center, but later realized it would be better suited for a retail store. Mebane was ultimately chosen because of its proximity to the Interstate. "When we came to Danville, we thought it looked like our kind of area. It already has great retail development areas and we felt that there was still opportunity to bring our product, our prices and our style of service to Danville to give an extra choice in the home furnishings market," said Don Marks, Badcock CEO and president. The Danville, Virginia store is a corporate-owned store, but the company is actively looking for a local entrepreneur that would be interested in purchasing the store. Seventy-five percent of Badcock's stores are individually owned through a unique dealer system that offers quicker and less expensive start-up than a traditional franchise operation. "The opportunities for a Badcock dealer are endless. We have dealers that own as many as six Badcock stores, and in an area such as Virginia, which is new for Badcock and wide open in terms of available markets, there is that much more opportunity to build on the investment," said Mike Whitten, Badcock's director of dealer development. "One of the benefits to an entrepreneur looking for a business ownership opportunity is that because we have a dealership system, there are no franchise fees. We also consign all furniture to the dealers so they don't have the overhead of purchasing product to fill a large showroom." The Danville Badcock &more store will be also be a flagship store that will be used when working with potential dealers interested in becoming a Badcock dealer. Badcock plans to open two more Virginia stores by early 2007. One is a corporate-owned store and the other is a dealer-owned store. Both are planned to open in Lynchburg. Badcock celebrates the opening on Wednesday, July 26th at 6 p.m. with a reception including local dignitaries, key executives and Badcock family members who traveled from the Florida headquarters. "This is a significant day in Badcock's history as we enter the Danville market and our eighth state," said Marks. "Badcock truly is a community and family-oriented business with a small town approach to our retail business. We offer in-store credit, rely on local distribution and build our business on generations of customers. We look forward to becoming a part of the Danville community as your local Badcock store." About W.S. Badcock Corporation Badcock has more than 330 locations throughout the southeast and is headquartered in Mulberry, Florida, where the company was established in 1904. More than 75% of Badcock's stores are dealer owned and operated. Dealerships are similar to franchises in that they are individually owned and operated, but require less capital (dealers do not pay franchise fees or monthly royalties) and allow for quicker start up than a traditional franchise. Badcock &more is a new store concept Badcock launched in 2000 that includes a product line of more than 4,000 items, a brighter, more spacious store display, and a new logo. Each store offers a wide range of home furnishings including: full line of furniture for dining rooms, living rooms and bedrooms; patio furniture; bedding, including our own line of beds; appliances; electronics; accessories and floor coverings.