City Furniture Opens High-Tech 120,000 SF Orlando Superstore Near Mall at Millenia, Adding 150 Jobs

From wine bar to tech innovations and home accessories Marketplace, massive “green” showroom previews furniture retailing’s future

ORLANDO, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Expanding aggressively in the Orlando market, City Furniture has opened a 120,000-square-foot superstore near the Mall at Millenia that’s geared to redefining the industry’s in-store furniture shopping experience.

From sipping a glass of wine or craft beer from the KC Café & Wine bar, to browsing home accessories at the City Marketplace store-within-a-store, the new showroom gives customers fresh reasons to shop in-store. The second of three planned Orlando locations, the two-story showroom at 4779 Vineland Road opened July 26. It’s the largest showroom in City Furniture’s 32-store Florida network and is creating 150 new jobs.

The national Top 100 furniture retail company entered the Orlando market in November 2018 and employs an additional 150 associates at City Furniture’s 85,000-square-foot Ocoee showroom and adjacent Central Florida distribution center. A 114,000-square-foot superstore in Altamonte Springs along I-4 is expected to open in 2020.

“We’re running ahead of sales goals at the Ocoee showroom and are excited to open the doors at our Millenia location,” said City Furniture President Andrew Koenig. “Orlando shoppers tell us they value our blend of full online shopping, plus next-generation showrooms where they can relax and have fun, while finding great values with a tremendous selection of furniture styles and home accents.”

“Growing in today’s crowded furniture industry demands constant innovation, to engage customers and make shopping enjoyable and streamlined,” said Koenig. He oversees the firm’s $100 million expansion in Central and South Florida. The top-selling furniture retailer in Southeast and Southwest Florida, City Furniture also has two showrooms in The Villages, Fla.

City Furniture’s advanced point-of-sale technology – the first of its kind in the U.S. furniture industry – is a retail game-changer. Customers can learn availability and complete purchase of any item while relaxing with a glass of wine on a sofa, testing a mattress, or from anywhere in the store. City Furniture pioneered the customized iPad sales system, working closely with Apple and IBM. In real time, it enables sales associates to check all items in stock and at all City Furniture stores and distribution centers – and to take payment and complete scheduling the delivery almost instantaneously, making the experience faster, easier and more pleasant for customers.

“Our values and our customers’ concerns drive City Furniture’s innovation,” Koenig said, “whether it’s our 2040 Green Promise to be fully carbon neutral by 2040, or our 5% Giving Pledge that commits us to give back at least five percent of annual profits to charities in the communities we serve.”

As a 48-year-old furniture brand known for its community leadership, City Furniture is a long-time supporter of Covenant House Florida, recently making a $1 million commitment to the non-profit agency that serves Central and South Florida children and youth who are homeless or at risk. City Furniture is also active in Central Florida community initiatives with the Orlando City Soccer Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the One Pulse Foundation.

Delivering on its 2040 Green Promise, City Furniture has built eight showrooms – including the Millenia and Altamonte Springs stores – to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Transforming its approximately 100-truck delivery fleet to run on clean-burning, compressed natural gas, the retailer has logged over 12 million miles with the green trucks since 2014. City Furniture has also pre-ordered five Tesla Semi all-electric trucks.

City Furniture operates 19 showrooms from Miami through Vero Beach, and in Fort Myers, Naples, The Villages and Orlando, as well as 13 Ashley HomeStore showrooms as that brand’s Southeast and Southwest Florida licensee. For information: www.cityfurniture.com.

Download high-res photos at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/arufb6k1mx9o1lt/AABnsT6b9LfkOtyoCjt3vCJda?dl=0.

Contacts

Linda Lewis

954.428.4477

llewis@smith-knibbs.com