Classic Home debuts in Puerto Rico

By Clint Engel
Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico ---

Heilig-Meyers has opened Classic Home, a new format store here that aims to serve a more affluent consumer base than the one it reaches with its Berrios stores.
The 61,000-square-foot store features galleries of Bassett, Pennsylvania House, Rowe, Guildcraft of California, Action Lane and Sealy/Klaussner, with 3,000 to 5,000 square feet dedicated to each.

Other suppliers include Bernhardt, Schnadig, Broyhill and Universal, Simmons and Sealy in bedding and Pavilion and Pompeii in outdoor furniture. While there is some overlap in suppliers with Heilig-Meyers' 32 Berrios stores in Puerto Rico-- a credit-oriented, promotional chain -- there is no overlap in merchandise lineup, said Ed Helms, executive vice president of Heilig-Meyers' Puerto Rico operations.

Classic Home sofas for instance, are at price points higher than Berrios, ranging from $799 to $1,299.
The new store will have a separate advertising campaign from Berrios, and there are no plans to play up the Heilig-Meyers link between two formats for the consumer, he said.

Classic Home is located at the site of the former Tartak Furniture, in an affluent suburb of metro San Juan.
"When Tartak closed there was a big void in the marketplace for those price points," Heims said, "We felt a real opportunity to increase our market share here." Helms said there are no plans to open additional Classic Home stores, noting that the island is 35 miles long by 100 miles wide and that one upscale location should be enough.

Annual sales for the store are expected to exceed $7 million -- slightly above average for a Berrios store, he said.

The store, designed by Jack Aguirre of Jack Aguirre Associates in San Francisco, is highly accessorized, well lit and airy. Aguirre said he used angled walls, among other things, in the galleries to keep the sight lines open and the consumer interested and moving comfortably through the store. Aguirre said he used signage, color and architectural touches to add interest and attract various departments.
Examples are colored lighting and some neon, a gold leaf sign with palm leaves in the dining area, and clouds effects on the soffit in the bedding department.

"It's a gorgeous store and we think we're going to create a lot of excitement in the furniture business with it." Helms said, "There's nothing like it on the island."