“We had some offers, but selling would change the whole culture,” Griffiths said. “It sounds corny, but you have an obligation to the people who got you where you are.”
It’s the kind of attitude that has kept customers and employees loyal to Riley’s since it first opened in Middletown 40 years ago, opening in Monroe four years later.
“I won’t say I was surprised because I knew he was that type of person, but it was exciting and encouraging to know that is the way he feels, and he actually did it,” said Anthony Hunter, a sales associate at Riley’s for about 10 years.
Eric Abrams said it’s that “outside-of-the-box” attitude that led him to work for Riley’s for 21 years, starting at age 23 in deliveries and moving up to inventory control and sales.
“I see (the recession) as a challenge; he sees it as a challenge to be conquered,” he said.
It’s the thinking of a man who was schooled as a metallurgical engineer, but decided sales was his calling. It’s a man who said when he found U.S. Census data indicating Middletown had more furniture stores than any other Ohio locale, that meant “everyone was just sharing the pie, so we came out with a discount store and really made waves.”
Engineer thrives in furniture sales
The 65-year-old owner of Riley’s Furniture Gallery said he’s used his uncoventional experience to guide his business for 40 years, which started in Middletown, grew to its current Monroe location and recently added its first outlet location at Cincinnati Premium Outlets.
Despite first being trained as a metallurgical engineer, Griffiths said the furniture business is always fun, but the current recession has made it “fascinating.”
“It’s much more interesting. You have to do things a little different, you have to do things a little smarter and a little better,” Griffiths said. “So when an opportunity like this mall comes around, you have to grab it.”
Maybe other companies wouldn’t think a recession is a good time to expand, but Griffiths said it’s just a new way to get more business. After going through a different recession in the 1980s, which resulted in the closing of Riley’s Middletown location, he said he learned you have to be willing to try new things.
So far, it’s working. Already he’s had hundreds of visitors at the new store, popular for its Howard Miller and Ty Pennington clocks as well as its Norwegian stressless recliners that have led to the store becoming a “husband day care” for men while their wives shop.
“We’re already learning, we’ve already changed some of the lineup and the pricing based on the grand opening,” he said.
When he and his wife, C.J., came across U.S. Census data indicating Middletown had more furniture stores than any other Ohio locale, he saw that as a sign it was time for a new one with a different business model.
“We bought the old Yankee Truck Line building, it had no heat or air and was filthy, but we put some six sofas in there, a stack of mattresses and a table and said, ‘Let’s sell furniture,’ ” Griffiths said. “It took off quickly. Four years later, we built the store in Monroe.”
It’s his unconventional style and ability to adapt that has made Riley’s Furniture successful, employee Eric Abrams said.
He cited how employees don’t work on commission, but instead are experts in their respective areas to provide the best advice and service to the customer instead of just focusing on the sale. Griffiths’ move to join a national buying group for independent stores gave Riley’s and other smaller operations like it the ability to compete with its big-box counterparts.
“He is willing to change with the times and if it doesn’t work he will change again,” Abrams said.
It hasn’t always worked, Griffiths admitted, but he’s prided himself in his ability to learn from those mistakes and still not be afraid to try something new.
“We’ve learned a lot and that is why in this tougher economy we know what to do and know when it is OK to start something new,” Griffiths said. “It’s fun. It’s just necessary to work a little harder.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com
About the Author