Brand Extension

While Many Furniture Retailers Just Tried to Survive 2009, INTER!ORS Was Making Moves

In November, INTER!ORS opened a second location in Harrisburg with a renovated 35,000-square-foot showroom in a former Good's Furniture location. The decision to expand into Harrisburg was made years ago, and it was only a question of timing, said INTER!ORS President Todd Lehman.

"We've been committed to strategic planning for a long time, and our first goal was to fully explore our Lancaster market," he said. "Harrisburg is another major market in central Pennsylvania."

Harrisburg was also convenient to York, another market where INTER!ORS already had a foothold.

"The York market will split between our stores in Harrisburg and Lancaster, where we already were getting some business from there," Lehman said. "We did a lot of market research in (Harrisburg) so we'd know about our competition, the consumer and the advertising market there. We knew we could add that market with minimal expense, because a lot of our messages were already getting there."

The opportunity to purchase an existing retail building at attractive rates during a tough economy was a factor in the decision's timing.

"Being able to purchase and improve the building for very competitive prices helped us move on it," Lehman said. "We also were able to attract several key interior designers from competitors in the market who weren't doing well. When times are good, people aren't looking to make a change. We decided to basically take the same model as Lancaster and establish it there, so we'd have some advertising synergy with our brands. We're putting a different twist on it in Harrisburg—we've recovered top selling frames in Lancaster with different fabrics, and we're using different accessories."

That model has evolved. Lillian Lehman, mother of brothers and current owners Todd and Gregg, established Interiors 2000 in 1967 when she purchased a small Lancaster designer store that was going out of business.

"We worked in the business going through high school," he continued. "My brother (Gregg) started full-time in 1975 after high school. I started full-time in 1978 after college" at Messiah College in Harrisburg.

The original concept was for a modern store targeting higher-end goods focused on design and contemporary products, something of a rarity for a city located in the middle of Amish Country. Eventually, the style selection broadened to fit the market.