Robert Levin
There was a time not too long ago when it seemed Art Van’s sinking ship would drag Levin Furniture under with it. Despite the efforts of original owner Robert Levin to rescue the stores bearing his family name, when the Chapter 11 was converted to liquidation, it seemed Levin Furniture would go down with the debt-laden Art Van.
But the family business and the people who helped build it were too important to Robert Levin to let them go without a fight. Working quietly and persistently to carve the Levin locations from the detritus of the scuttled Art Van organization, Robert found kindred spirits and business partners in John and Matt Schultz, owners of John V. Schultz Furniture. Like Levin Furniture, John V. Schultz is family owned with a history dating back generations and a culture built on treating employees like family.
John Schultz
Matt Schultz
With Levin serving as chairman and the Schultz brothers serving as co-CEOs handling day-to-day management, the Levin Furniture and Mattress organization was revived in less than two months. The comeback was made official on July 3, when the stores were formally opened and the new organization was announced. The trio had managed to re-open 17 stores and bring back more than 350 former employees by opening day. That number has since grown to well over 400 and continues to climb.
As impressively, the company has committed to honoring orders placed at former Levin stores that were left unfulfilled by Art Van’s demise. It is a commitment Robert made in February when the first deal was put together and despite conditions that now make it more financially challenging, it is one that he and the Schultz brothers are committed to honoring.
The Levin story encapsulates the best of the furniture industry in microcosm. It is a story of determination, persistence, caring for people — employees and customers — and a respect for relationships and commitments.
I was fortunate enough to sit down (virtually) with Robert Levin, John Schultz and Matt Schultz to get some insight into how they pulled off this amazingly ambitious and rapid comeback story. (You can listen to that conversation on Furniture Today’s On The Record podcast.)
And one of the things that became immediately evident is the powerful role that relationships play in this business. Levin employees — some of which had been with the company 40 years or more or who were the second generation to work there — came streaming back to the organization, eagerly returning to a company with which they felt a strong personal connection.
Vendors filled the stores with goods, readily working with an organization that had no credit history, only the reputation of its leaders to serve as collateral. It was more than enough.
The new organization has gotten out of the gate quickly. Initial sales have been strong, even without advance advertising, and additional locations are already being planned.
It’s a comeback tale whose best chapters are still ahead of it. But at a time when there are so many daily challenges to confront, the fact that “Levin is back!” (to steal a phrase from the company announcement) is a true furniture feel-good story.
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July 13, 2020 at 05:05PM
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Blog: Levin's second life a furniture feel-good story - Furniture Today
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