The CEO of City Furniture talks about moving into Tampa Bay (PHOTOS)

City Furniture, a family-owned furniture and mattress retailer based in Fort Lauderdale, is open for business in Plant City. 

“As we enter this market, we’re excited to share everything City stands for as we are a company that continuously gives back to causes and communities that mean so much to our City family,” says Andrew Koenig, chief executive officer of City Furniture. 

The newest location is also the largest furniture destination in Florida, with more than 1.3 million square feet of space, which includes a furniture and décor showroom, a full warehouse and a café and wine bar. In addition, the local corporate headquarters is in the Plant City location. 

After City Furniture opens its planned, four additional locations in the Tampa Bay market, Koenig says he should have about 1,000 employees in Tampa Bay. Those planned locations include Largo, Sarasota, Wesley Chapel and downtown Tampa. 

“Our main business strategy is really to have the inventory available to satisfy the customer demand. It’s great to have furniture, but if it takes three or six months to deliver, you don’t want it,” Koenig says. “Plant City was perfect for showroom, plus warehouse, because there’s so much available land and we’re fairly close to the Port of Tampa, which now gives us two entrances into the state of Florida [including the Port of Miami].” 

The Plant City location is also the greenest City Furniture facility the company has built, to date, with the warehouse, offices and showroom being all leadership in energy and environment-designed and built, and includes 100% LED lighting throughout the building.

“Our 2040 green promise is important because it makes everybody here really proud to work here and to know we’re doing what’s right for the environment,” Koenig says. “And, from a business perspective, it’s actually the right long-term financial investment, too.”

Koenig also plans to get much more involved in the local community, splitting his time between here and his home in Fort Lauderdale. He says he feels the need to be involved and give back to a community that is embracing his company’s entrance. 

“We’re going to be a major partner [in this community]. Our doors are always open, we’re completely transparent,” Koenig says. “We’re happy to help and/or learn from our friends and make an impact. We want to make an impact in the community. The economic growth of the community is important to us.”

City Furniture has committed to a 5 percent Giving Pledge, where it commits a minimum of 5 percent of profits back to the community. 

“Two of our biggest community initiatives are the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. My mom died of breast cancer, so that’s my baby,” he says. 

He adds that City Furniture also supports organizations like Habitat for Humanity. “We’re the No. 1 partner in South Florida, and we plan to be their No. 1 partner up here,” he adds. 

As City Furniture continues its expansion into the Tampa Bay region [it also has a presence around Orlando], Koenig is excited to bring the brand into the Tampa Bay ecosystem. He is positive it offers something special, he says, and is sustainable. 

“We have a long-term kind of real estate growth mindset which keeps our costs low. You must build a beautiful store and create a really exciting experience,” Koenig says. “We’re also building less stores. We’ll have five stores in the market. Our old strategy might have been eight. But now we’re going to build better, bigger stores that, hopefully, our customers love.” ♦

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