Norton, MA, June 21, 2000 — Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, one of the fastest growing furniture retailers in the country with stores in Cambridge, Everett, Saugus, Westboro, and Weymouth, has made the list of Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores for the first time in the company’s history.  The exclusive list is compiled by Furniture/Today, the industry’s leading trade publication.  Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture made its debut at number 100 on the list, with $45.5 million in sales, and the notoriety of having “the greatest percentage sales increase of any Top 100 store,” according to Furniture/Today.

While Furniture/Today called Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture a “from-out-of-nowhere story,” the truth is that the company has been strategically building a successful business for many years.  Started by the Rubin family in 1983, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture has grown from a small storefront into one of the fastest growing furniture retailers in the country with five Massachusetts stores and nearly 200 employees.  The company has grown an astounding 260 percent in the past five years.  In 1999, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture grew a record 76.7 percent.  With a focus on high quality furniture at great prices, the family-run business has created a highly successful niche in a competitive marketplace.  Today, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture is the largest independent furniture retailer in Massachusetts.

“Our company is growing so quickly because we give customers what they want – beautiful, stylish, high quality furniture that they can afford.  Making this prestigious list confirms that we are on the right track,” said Bernie Rubin, President and Co-founder of Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture.  “Of course, with this success comes respect and recognition from the industry.  This means that more manufacturers want to work with us, and that we can negotiate even more aggressively for the best furniture at the best prices for our customers.  Now, that’s nice.”

Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture also made Furniture/Today’s Top 10 lists in the important “sales per square foot” category and “average stock turns” category.  “They were one of a handful of stores to make it on the list this year for the first time,” said David Perry, executive editor of Furniture/Today.  “That kind of growth is spectacular, obviously.”

However, the company does not plan to rest on its laurels.  Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture just completed a 30,000 square foot addition (which is equivalent to 100,000 square feet of space with a new high-tech racking system that allows the furniture to be stacked seven-high) to its 103,000 square foot distribution center in Norton, where the company’s corporate headquarters are also based.  The new warehouse space will allow the company to continue on its fast-track growth.

Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture is already actively searching for another “superstore” location in Massachusetts.  The company opened its 42,000 square foot Westboro superstore in 1997 and its 50,000 square foot Saugus superstore in 1999.  “Our superstores have been hugely successful.  It’s a very exciting time at our company and we plan to keep on growing and to keep on moving up that Top 100 list,” added Rubin.