Robb & Stucky Interiors
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Robb & Stucky Interiors is a nationally recognized, award-winning interior design and premier home furniture retailer in the United States.
Founded in 1915 in Fort Myers, Fl as a one-store general merchandise emporium, the company has expanded to more than 30 showrooms in Florida, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. The company employs approximately 1,300 people comprising of the largest licensed interior design staff in the country. In addition, it has one of the largest in-house custom drapery and flooring departments among fine furniture retailers in America.
Robb & Stucky is renowned for setting the pace in terms of visual merchandising and “lifestyle” displays (rather than grouping by manufacturer, the industry standard), offering stellar customer service and providing worldwide, white-glove delivery. The corporate office is located in Fort Myers, Florida.
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Robb & Stucky, a nationally recognized leader in home furnishings and interior design, was founded in 1915 in Fort Myers, Florida.
In 1979, Robb & Stucky was purchased by the Mariner Group and Clive Lubner, the company's Chief Executive Officer. At the time of the Mariner/Lubner purchase, there were two small stores, the flagship store in Fort Myers, and a second, smaller operation in Naples, Florida. The company was doing $2 million a year in annual sales. Today, Robb & Stucky has an annual sales volume of over $235 million.
Between 1980 and 1995, the company opened, built and/or expanded its fine home furnishings showrooms and interior design studios in Naples, Sarasota, Clearwater and Altamonte Springs, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona.
In May, 1997, the company relocated its Phoenix, Arizona operation to a custom-built 113,000 square foot showroom and interior design studio in Scottsdale, the largest of its kind in the southwestern United States. In September, 1997, Robb & Stucky moved its corporate headquarters to a new location, which also houses its 65,000 square foot Fort Myers showroom and interior design studio. The Naples facility was expanded and remodeled in October of 1998, to an 85,000 square foot state-of-the-art showroom and design studio. In June of 2000, the company opened a 115,000 square foot showroom and interior design studio in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas. The company unveiled its expanded and remodeled 68,000 square foot Sarasota showroom and design studio in January, 2001.
Robb & Stucky Patio, the company's outdoor/casual division, was launched in 1997 and has nine successful operations in Florida and Arizona, with plans to expand into other markets.
In 1998, Fred Berk joined the company as President and Chief Operating Officer to oversee day-to-day operations. Formerly, he was president of a $400 million national furniture retailer and was named National Home Furnishings Association's 1997 Retailer of the Year.
Robb & Stucky dominates every market in which it has a presence. The company employs over 1300 people, has the largest licensed interior design staff in the US, and operates 30 facilities nationwide. The company ships furniture to clients the world over, and has one of the largest in-house custom drapery and flooring departments among fine furniture retailers in America.
[edit] Industry Awards
Over the years, Robb & Stucky has been honored with numerous industry awards, including being named one of House Beautiful's Top Five Furniture Stores in the United States and 33rd in Furniture Today's Survey of America's Top 100 Furniture Stores. The company is a six-time recipient of the ARTS Award for excellence in accessory merchandising, sponsored by the Dallas Market Center. In 1998, Robb & Stucky Patio was awarded the Apollo Award as the number one outdoor/casual retailer in America, the first company to earn this distinction in its first year of operation. In January, 2000, Robb & Stucky was named retail merchandising champion in the Best Practices survey of the National Retail Institute, the non-profit research and education foundation of the National Retail Federation. Robb & Stucky lifestyle merchandising strategies are recorded in A Key to Best Practices in the U.S. Retail Industry, by R. M. Erik Gordon and Barton A. Weitz. In December, 2000, Robb & Stucky was named Furniture Today's Retailer of the Year, the preeminent industry honor bestowed upon the retailer who most significantly contributes to shaping the profile of furniture retailing in the U.S.
CEO Clive Lubner was named National Home Furnishings Association's Retailer of the Year in 1991 and was named by Furniture Today as one of the top people to watch in the 1990s. Lubner's vision has set the pace in terms of visual merchandising by "lifestyle" display, versus grouping by manufacturer, the industry standard. He is recognized as the one to follow in the high-end home furnishings arena, and his experiments soon become retail paradigms.
The company continues to increase its warehouse space to meet increasing customer demand. Robb & Stucky is building out a 180,000 square foot warehouse facility in North Carolina, designed to hold $28 million in product. The space is expandable to 360,000 square feet, capable of holding a $50 million inventory in the future.
The company's dramatic growth reflects the thinking of a management team that views furniture as fashion and scrupulously heeds the needs of its customers. Management has remained consistent for nearly 20 years, reflecting the company's stability and allure. Expansion planning of its large store format into other markets is ongoing.
Evidenced by its meteoric sales increase of over $233 million in two short decades, Robb & Stucky is acknowledged as America's leader in home furnishings and interior design.