Franchise Business Radio: Listen and learn from Bob Lewis, President & CEO of Closet & Storage Concepts / More Space Place and Adam Biedenbender, who recently joined the company and brings a tremendous amount of franchise-industry experience and real-estate knowledge.
Listen and learn from Bob Lewis, President & CEO of Closet & Storage Concepts / More Space Place and Adam Biedenbender, who recently joined the company and brings a tremendous amount of franchise-industry experience and real-estate knowledge.
Currie: Who is Closet & Storage Concepts / More Space Place?
Lewis: We design, manufacture, and install a wide variety of custom closet, Murphy wall beds, garage, laundry room, pantry, home office and other space-saving home furnishing products. I founded the company in 1987 and we began to grow, and franchised in 2000. Then in 2013 we had an opportunity for a friendly acquisition of More Space Place.
Currie: Would you share the state of home-improvement industry before COVID and now?
Lewis: Given the challenging times that the country is going through, our business has remained strong. I wouldn’t say it’s recession-proof, but it’s certainly recession-resistant, because when times are very good in the economy, people tend to spend money. When times are not as good, they tend to stay in their home. So, we tend to do very well in both types of economy. COVID-19 initially had a negative impact on our business. In many states, we weren’t allowed to operate our showrooms, but coming out of those lockdowns, our business has exploded. Our sales have dramatically increased and we’re going through an explosive growth.
People are working from home, some have children being educated from home and on top of all of that, people aren’t traveling. This combined means more disposable income to spend on their homes. Right now, the focus tends to be closets; there is something safe and comfortable about having your closet organized from a psychological standpoint, and currently people are feeling more stressed. A closet is still number one and home office is very popular. In many cases, that home office is being combined with a Murphy wall-bed system. It makes the room multi-functional.
Currie: What came to my mind was “stress reliever,” and capitalizing on space and having a multi-functional room is brilliant. Give us some insight on real estate for franchisees?
Biedenbender: It’s a fantastic time to leverage the real-estate circumstances and find our franchisees showrooms.
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Pamela Currie has 20+ years in franchising. As a Certified Franchise Consultant, Pamela enjoys educating and helping individuals be effective in selecting a franchise. Pamela enjoys being a resource and partner on finding a franchise that aligns with one’s lifestyle, budget, skill set, and personal and professional goals. Free consultation: contact Pamela at Pam@FranchiseIntellect.com.