New Mathis Brothers Store
Mathis Brothers plans second California store
By Tricia Pemberton
The Oklahoman
Mathis Brothers Furniture has bought property for $8 million from the city of Ontario, Calif., with plans to build the company's largest furniture store and the second in the Golden State.
Bill Mathis, part-owner of the Oklahoma-based furniture chain, said the $22 million, 150,000-square-foot showroom and 230,000-square-foot warehouse were planned based on the success of the company's first California venture.
In 1999, Mathis Brothers opened a $3.4 million, 50,000-square-foot store in Indio, Calif., in the Palm Springs area. The company recently doubled the size of that store and added a 125,000-square-foot warehouse, spending an additional $12.6 million.
"That first store has been highly successful, and the economy is growing at such a great pace out there," Mathis said.
Despite the size of the population -- about 400,000 full-time residents in the resort town of Indio, and upwards of many millions in the Ontario region, an eastern suburb of Los Angeles -- Mathis said the area is underserved by furniture retailers.
"There are a number of new homes being built, and the economy is extremely diverse," he said. "There's a fantastic climate year-round and a great varied industry and business base to serve. Still, most furniture stores are splintered into smaller stores.
"So we felt this presented a tremendous opportunity to build one huge store with many great brands under one roof."
It's the same concept the brothers have honed in Oklahoma. Mathis Brothers has a 130,000-square-foot showroom and attached warehouse in Oklahoma City, which Mathis said draws customers from the entire state and bordering regions.
The company also has a recently expanded store in Tulsa and owns Evans Furniture, Thomasville Home Furnishings, Drexel Heritage Home Furnishings and Factory Direct Furniture and Beds, all in Oklahoma City.
In all, the company has about 1,300 employees, Vice President and General Manager Calvin Worth said. Ontario will start with about 280 to 315 employees and grow over time, he said.
Worth said the Ontario store is just now in the architectural development stage. Construction should start by June, he said, with an expected completion by summer 2006.
The property is about a mile from the Ontario airport, at the crux of Interstate 10, between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and Interstate 15, between San Diego and Las Vegas. It's about an hour from the coast.
Worth estimated the company sells about 1.4 million pieces of furniture a year, but he chuckled when asked the question.
"We never think of it in pieces," he laughed, "we think in dollars."
However, since the company is privately held, Worth would not disclose sales figures. He said, to date, the Indio store sells about 50 percent of the volume of the Oklahoma City store. Now that the expansion is complete, he expects that to increase to about 75 percent. The Ontario store should match the Oklahoma City store in sales, he said.
Mathis said one difference in the markets is the fact the Oklahoma City store has to draw from miles away to do the volume it does. In California, the market is much denser, he said.
Mathis said the brothers are looking at other locations in California.
One area of interest is Thousand Oaks, north of Los Angeles on California's Highway 101. He also said he wouldn't rule out building anywhere in the "Sun Belt" -- Texas, New Mexico, Arizona or California.
"Anywhere there's a great climate, great business conditions and an underserved market," he said.
Still, he said he and his brother Larry will always maintain an Oklahoma presence.
"We love Oklahoma. We're here. Oklahoma is where our business began, so why wouldn't we continue operations here? But we just see such an opportunity in California."
Bill Mathis, 47, and his brother Larry, 52, grew up in the furniture store their father, Don, and uncle, Bud Mathis, started in the 1950s.
"In high school, we did everything from filling the Coke machine to picking up rocks in the parking lot," Bill Mathis said.
Both went to the University of Oklahoma, where they earned business degrees before returning to work in the family business. Don Mathis retired in 1988, when the company had just one store.
"As we grow, we will be talking about the fifth and sixth locations," Bill Mathis said.
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Originally Posted by floater
. Anyway, it's far from perfect, but Arkansas deserves some respect for being home to the World's Biggest Corporation.
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