Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture Fact Sheet
Description: Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture is one of the largest furniture retailers in New England. Started by the Rubin family in 1983, the company has grown into one of the fastest growing furniture retailers with six stores and over 500 employees. In 2002, Bernie & Phyl’s was named national “Retailer of the Year” by the National Home Furnishings Association – the highest honor in the retail home furnishings industry. Bernie & Phyl’s has made the list of the Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores in the country for the past five years. With a focus on high quality furniture at great prices, the family-run business has created a successful niche in a competitive marketplace.
The Family Connection:
While most companies aspire to have a “family atmosphere,” Bernie & Phyl’s has the real thing. The company was founded by the husband and wife team of Bernie and Phyllis Rubin in 1983. Their son Robert joined the company in 1985, and son Larry joined in 1987. Although their daughter Michelle doesn’t work for the company anymore, son-in-law Robert Pepe has been a Bernie & Phyl’s employee since 1990.
Headquarters:
Corporate office and distribution center in Norton, Massachusetts
Retail Stores:
• Braintree (50,000 s/f)
• Nashua, NH (86,000 s/f)
• Raynham, MA (55,000 s/f)
• Saugus, MA (50,000 s/f)
• Westboro, MA (50,000 s/f)
• Weymouth, MA (bedding and clearance center)
Philosophy:
Bernie & Phyl’s has a unique approach to buying and selling furniture. The company’s buyers work closely with well-known manufacturers to purchase only the best furniture at the best value for its customers. By making deals with furniture vendors, buying in large quantities, and buying direct on imported goods, Bernie & Phyl’s is able to give its customers the lowest prices all the time on brand name furniture and accessories. Bernie & Phyl’s also has special relationships with its vendors (due to the high volume they purchase) which allow them to offer customers next day delivery on in-stock merchandise and 30-day delivery on special orders. No other furniture retailer can match Bernie & Phyl’s commitment to offering only the highest quality furniture – with fast delivery and great service – at prices below their competitors.
Awards:
• 2004 Better Business Bureau Local Torch Award for Excellence
• 2004 Community Pride Award from the Business & Economic Development Commission of Raynham
• 2003 Executive Technology Retail Community Service Award
• 2002 Retailer of the Year Award from the National Home Furnishings Association
• 2002 Home Furnishings Association of New England’s Robert E. Richmond Award of Eminence
• 2000 Retailer of the Year by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts
Selection:
Bernie & Phyl’s has a huge selection of American and imported furniture and home furnishings for every area of the house including:
• Living Room/Family Room (sofas, love seats, recliners, chairs, leather furniture, motion furniture, coffee/end/sofa/console tables, etc.)
• Dining (formal dining sets, hutches, buffets, tables, casual dining sets, etc.)
• Bedroom (sleigh beds, poster beds, head/foot boards, dressers/chests, armoires, mirrors, night stands, etc.)
• Bedding (Bernie & Phyl’s carries the largest selection of Sealy Posturepedic mattresses in the greater Boston area and an extensive selection of Stearns and Foster bedding)
• Youth (bunk beds, captain’s beds, decorative beds, twin head boards, dressers/chests, etc.)
• Entertainment (wall units, home entertainment centers, television/stereo stands, etc.)
• Home Office (desks, office chairs, computer work stations, bookcases, computer carts, filing cabinets, etc.)
• Accessories (lighting/lamps, decorative items, wall hangings, mirrors, etc.)
Brands:
Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture sells many well-known brands of furniture.
A sampling of manufacturers includes:
• Aico
• Ashley
• Berkline
• Craftmaster
• Decoro
• Douglas
• England/Corsair
• H.M. Richards
• Klaussner
• Legends
• Magnussen Presidential
• Master Design
• Sealy Bedding, Upholstery, and Leather
• Stearns and Foster
• Vaughan
• Vaughan-Bassett
• Webb
Charitable Giving:
As a successful business, Bernie & Phyl’s believes it is their obligation to give back to those that are less fortunate. Their Friends In Need program regularly donates furniture to charitable organizations. In the last five years, they have donated over $3 million worth of furniture to Morgan Memorial Goodwill and Teen Challenge New England – organizations that they donate to on a regular basis.
Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture also helped furnish all of the homes the Boston and Nashua Habitat for Humanity organizations built from 2001 to 2004. The retailer donated furniture for over 25 Habitat houses across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Additionally, they provided Habitat with monetary support and volunteers to work at building sites.
Bernie & Phyl’s is involved in many other community initiatives outside of furniture donations. These include holding annual Red Cross blood drives in their stores, the annual Bernie’s Baseball Buddies program, sponsoring youth sports teams in local communities, and many public service television sponsorships with media partners.
Advertising:
Bernie and Phyllis Rubin, who have been married for over 45 years, have become popular personalities as result of starring in their company’s advertising commercials over the years. Their innovative ads are humorous, entertaining, and just plain fun. Both Bernie and Phyl are down-to-earth, don’t take themselves too seriously, and are in real life pretty much the way they appear on television. Customers frequently ask, “Are they real people or just actors doing the commercials?” To which Bernie likes to reply, with a wink of course, “Believe me, we’re real. The way Phyl teases me on TV, that’s real. That’s not acting.”
E-Commerce:
In 2001, the company launched its e-commerce web site (www.bernphyl.com) which features every product in every furniture category that they carry. Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture was the first furniture retailer in Massachusetts to pursue an e-commerce web strategy to support their customers’ furniture shopping needs both on-line and in-store.
Management:
• Bernie Rubin, Co-Founder and Chairman
• Phyllis Rubin, Co-Founder
• Larry Rubin, Chief Executive Officer
• Robert Rubin, President of Merchandising and Marketing
• Robert Pepe, Operations Manager
• Michael T. Leonard, CPA, Corporate Controller
• Nick Perryclear, General Manager
• Michael Guidicianne, Visual Merchandise Manager