t doesn't yet have a Web site, nor does it send out fliers, but Flegel's Home Furnishings, Inc., of Menlo Park and San Rafael has something else: hand-crafted pieces of heirloom-quality furniture and a team of designers -- all A.S.I.D. (American Society of Interior Design)-certified -- who work with customers to furnish their homes. And they're not just Silicon Valley abodes, either. From condos in Trump Towers to a Saudi Arabian palace, the Flegel's team has turned customers' visions into reality around the world.
"I'll give that young couple six months," one customer was overheard saying when Art and Cleora Flegel opened a small store on Santa Cruz Avenue in 1954 (now the site of Dal Baffo). Mr. Flegel had been managing a San Mateo store, and one day his wife said that if he could manage for someone else, he could do it for himself.
At that time, Menlo Park was a bedroom community for San Francisco, with many young families moving to the area, so the Flegels decided to sell their San Mateo home and move to a small place on Live Oak Avenue in Menlo Park.
"We had a very simple, humble beginning," Mr. Flegel says. At the time, there were 13 furniture stores in a five-mile radius. Only Flegel's remains today.
Art and Cleora Flegel slowly built a reputation for providing excellent customer service. One of their early innovations was to employ interior designers -- an unusual feature for a furniture retailer at that time. As the local economy grew, the store began carrying higher-end furnishings. The rationale, according to the Flegels, was that customers would be able to say, "Maybe we can get that next year."
The Flegels have three sons, all of whom grew up working in the store. In 1970, after receiving a master's degree in philosophy, Mark, their middle son, went to work at the store temporarily -- there being a shortage of jobs in his chosen field. Twenty-nine years later, Mark Flegel is the president and CEO of Flegel's, and his passion and pride for his product are evident as he examines the engraving on a tea table imported from France. What's more, his corporate philosophy -- "Everyone here is part of the Flegel's culture" -- has been put to good use.
Witness Martin Carbajal. In 1975, the 15-year-old non-English-speaking immigrant filled in for his cousin by cleaning the store. Today he is the store's director of delivery and service, and longtime customers know to ask for him whenever they have special needs.
"Everybody's a team player," says Mr. Carbajal. "We're all connected -- from the designers to the delivery people." He notes that it would take a lifetime in his native Mexico to earn what he earns in one year in his current position.
"It's been a wonderful experience because people treat me with a lot of respect, and they get really excited when they see their furniture. I see children in diapers, then when they are teenagers, and when they are going to college."
But not all has been rosy for the store. A devastating fire gutted Flegel's in 1983, and a large site across the parking lot from the present location was rented to keep the business going. In 1984 they moved back into 870 Santa Cruz Ave., adding a second story to increase retail and office space. The San Rafael location opened in 1996.
The business has expanded to serve customers nationally and internationally as well. Currently, the Flegel's design team is working on a Hong Kong residence. Other requests have come from customers with homes in Palm Springs, Aspen, New York City, Sweden, Greece, Taiwan and Australia, to name a few locales. Designers will either fly out to the site to evaluate the job and supervise the final installation, or work from blueprints.
And then there are the special projects. The most unusual request ever made of Flegel's was to design a dog house, complete with carpeting, window coverings and paint.
Should a young couple just starting out even think of entering Flegel's?
"Absolutely," says Ian Fraley, COO of the store and stepson of Mark Flegel. "If I go out today and spend $4,000 on a laptop computer, as many people don't hesitate to do, I'll have a $4,000 paperweight in four years. But if you buy a sofa for $4,000, in 10 years you'll still have it. You're going to get more value. It's a choice."
Mr. Fraley went to work for the store right out of Harvard in 1994, setting up a computer system and doing an operations analysis. While Mark Flegel's zeal is for the product, Mr. Fraley concentrates on business operations -- measuring what they're doing and finding better ways of doing things.
"Lead times are incredibly long in the furniture business," Mr. Fraley notes. He points to a button-tufted leather chair. "We might need six of these chairs, and there's only two guys in the factory who know how to do that particular kind of work. Most of our pieces are built by highly skilled craftsmen."
As for the Web site, they hope to have it operational by the end of the year. But don't look for any fliers in the mailbox.
"Our business is very personal," says Mark Flegel. "You're entering someone's home and reflecting who and what they are. There's a lot of hand-holding. Even though we've grown, we manage to keep the personal touch."
When asked about competition from larger stores, he replies, "There's always competition, but success is measured not by looking over your shoulder to see what others are doing, but looking straight ahead and keeping your eyes on the vision."
Flegel's Home Furnishings, Inc.
870 Santa Cruz
Menlo Park, CA 94025
326-9661
1654 Second Street
San Rafael, CA 94901 (415) 454-0502
