Three-line classified ad is catalyst for booming furniture business

By Laurie Gordon


NEWTON, NJ – Jesse Roe owns a highly successful home furniture business located in the heart of Newton. Home Furniture Warehouse features all sorts of dining room sets, bedroom sets, recliners, living room sets and accents to go along with them. Roe has been in business since 1983, when his company started as All County Office Furniture. Over the years, a natural progression led him to expand and eventually focus on home furniture. He's keen on quality, big on employees who value customer service and doesn't play games by inflating prices to have a sale.
Roe started in business in the early 1980s. He had been working for his brother-in-law in the scrap business and came across two free trailer loads of office furniture. "I decided to take a chance, took out a three-line classified ad in the newspaper, rented some space and off we went," he said.
What started rather on a whim and a prayer soon grew into a nice business for Roe. He traveled to auctions to find good deals on quality office furniture which he passed on to his ever-growing customer base.
Then came 9/11."Business became pretty bad," Roe said. Several sales reps asked him about selling furniture and given the economy, Rowe decided to give it a try, and he bartered with some of his office furniture and rented part of the upstairs at his location in Newton to give it a try. He started with three living room sets, three of four dinettes and two bedroom sets and put signs at the corners surrounding the property with arrows pointing his way.
"People started coming in and the home furniture started selling well," Roe said. So much so that over the next 12 years, he rented more space until he reached the max of 38,000 square feet and brought in more furniture and eventually phased out the office furniture.
Roe had contacts with brands including Ashley furniture and others, but said, "They have a number of tiers of quality, and I'll only sell the better ones. Anything you can buy anywhere else from Ashley you can get from me."

Fair pricing
Roe has seen staff come and go over the years and is particular about only having quality people in his showrooms. Staff are never aggressive but are there to help customers as they need. He also said, "Many furniture stores have the reputation of raising their prices then having a sale. It's something that's done in the business but I never do that here."
In the near future, Roe is going to bring in kiosks. Where now customers can browse through furniture in the show room and look through a myriad of catalogs, the kiosks will be computer generated and will make looking and comparing much easier.
Right now, the hottest selling product at Home Furniture Warehouse is reclining couches that have automated, adjustable headrests in them. "We can't keep them in stock. They're a great invention, people love them and we just keep on reordering."
Home Furniture Warehouse offers delivery. "Our delivery guys are great and very experienced," Roe said. The business is members in both the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce and the Newton Chamber of Commerce and supports a variety of local Sussex County charities, including SCARC.

"We also do a lot of work with different social services in the area," Roe added. "We have furniture for every room in your home. Visit our showroom to see our wide selection of living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, mattresses, entertainment, office, lamps, rugs, accent furniture, recliners, occasional tables, sleeper sofas and futons. We are constantly bringing new furniture to our store so there is always something new to see," he added. Custom ordering is available from many manufacturers so customers get exactly what they want. Home Furniture Warehouse also offers delivery to your home. Our experienced delivery men deliver what we sell.
From now until Feb. 22, Home Furniture Warehouse's President's Day Sale is on. Everything in stock is 15 percent off, with special clearance items up to 60 percent off. Special orders are also 10 percent off and Roe reiterates, "We never mark up our prices just for a sale; hurry in for the best selection."
Home Furniture Warehouse is located at 75 Mill Street in Newton. For information call 973-579-1982, e-mail thehfw@yahoo.com or visit HomeFurnitureNewton.com. Store hours are: Monday -Friday: 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.


<NOTE TO HEATHER: FOR PULL QUOTE:

"I decided to take a chance, took out a three-line classified ad in the newspaper, rented some space and off we went."
-- Jesse Roe, owner of Home Furniture Warehouse about starting his business back in the 80s>