Neither the bustle of workers scurrying to complete multiple projects nor a deadline just 24 hours away could suppress the large grin on John Oswald's face or dull the twinkle in his eye yesterday.
His family's long-held dream of a bigger, better Appliance Center in Maumee was about to be realized, and Mr. Oswald clearly understood that an unfinished kitchen display here or an unconnected computer there wasn't going to prevent it.
At a 10 a.m. grand opening tomorrow, area shoppers will get a look at the new Appliance Center Mattress Furniture and Electronics, the unofficial name of the $5 million investment that is expanding the local retailer's 9,500-square-foot site to just over 48,000 square feet. It grew from what originally was a $3.5 million project.
"We want to sell everything that's important for your home. When you walk away, we think you'll feel your home is complete," said Mr. Oswald, who is known in the Toledo area for an ongoing series of offbeat television commercials.
As its name implies, the locally owned Appliance Center, at 321 Illinois Ave., originally was a retailer of washers, dryers, stoves, and refrigerators that later added electronics. A few years ago it began selling mattresses, but Mr. Oswald said it always was the dream of his father, Chuck Oswald, who died in 2004, to expand the store into a concept that sold everything for a home.
"The plans for this are from 1998. Dad had them drawn up, but for a number of years he just wasn't ready to do it," Mr. Oswald said. "But the idea was always to have a bigger store with more things for the home."
A year ago, Mr. Oswald and his sister, Julie Oswald, committed to the expansion project to add bedding, furniture, and accessories in a stylish setting that departs in a big way from the store's previous no-nonsense decor.
An example is a 25-foot rock wall with cascading water to display washers and dryers. A 15-foot airplane will hang from the ceiling over a large display of Stanley Young America furniture for youths.
In one area is a genuine 1928 Ford roadster auto next to a faux garage that hosts a replica of Jay Leno's kitchen. The store's kitchen displays also have a replica of Martha Stewart's kitchen, a kitchen display filled only with Electrolux appliances, a "green" energy-saving kitchen, a display of pink Viking ranges, and a large refrigerator with glass doors.
Hanging from the ceilings is a selection of chandeliers, and filling most of the new space is a variety of furniture in room-like displays. Among the 14 workers Mr. Oswald hired for the expanded store is a former La-Z-Boy Galleries designer to handle displays of nearly 75 brands of furniture and bedding.
"I think my biggest hope will be that people will spend hours here looking rather than just a few minutes," said Mr. Oswald, who said that the greater Midwest has only a few one-stop home furnishings stores.
Pete Shawaker, a retail expert with CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein in Toledo, said he believes the Appliance Center's expansion is a gamble that will pay off.
"I think they're unique, and I think a lot of people view them as being high service, low price, and obviously name brand stuff. They already have a great reputation across the board for whatever they're selling," he said.
Appliance Center has been a local area destination, and not a store that relies on its surrounding neighborhood, Mr. Shawaker said. By expanding its sales line, the store has increased opportunities to sell multiple larger-ticket items, he added.
The only drawback to the expansion is the local economy that has been hard hit by a slumping auto industry - a downturn that hit bottom about the time the family agreed to the expansion.
But Mr. Oswald said that 12 months later things look much better.
"People still want to have nice things for their homes," he said. "And we still think we give good value for what we sell."
Contact Jon Chavez at:
jchavez@theblade.com
or 419-724-6128.
First Published September 17, 2009, 11:27 a.m.
