[AnswerMan123]

Hi there,

I am currently living with my family in a small town in North Carolina. (Furniture business). Honestly, we're tired of the small town feel. The people aren't "open-minded" and the city is just overall too small for us. Today, we talked about moving to Miami; basically for business and a new life.

My question is this: What parts of Miami are good for a retail business for furniture? Mainly high-end (no low end furniture). We would also like to live near the ocean, it would be nice if there were sky rises (condos; any specific condos that are nice?). Or maybe some decent neighborhoods of homes in the 500k range?

But for the real question: is Miami a good place to open a business? Specifically for the furniture business??

Would love to hear your responses!

Thanks!

[Restrain]

Take a trip down there and look around. There are certain areas of the Miami area you really want to stay out of (crime). Other areas are very ethnically centric (Little Havana for example) and really are not welcoming of outsiders. Finally, you would have to fight the chains, established stores.

As to looking for an "open minded" community, start by being open-minded yourself. If you are having trouble accepting people and fitting in where you are, you will probably have that same trouble wherever you go.

[runswithscissors]

You should not even entertain this idea without going down there for about two weeks. And that's just for starters.

There is NO COMPARISON between the furniture business in North Carolina and Miami, IMO.

'Now if the issue is that your business is not doing well, it's another story so go for it.

I own a service business and would never ever make a move like that if my business were thriving. Which I actually did this year and it took me 4 years to make the decision and pull it off. The fact that it's retail makes it MUCH MUCH MUCH more challenging.

You also need to consider the bilingual factor there.

I'll be interested if you think Miami meets your criteria of "open minded".

[smarino]

Miami has people in it. Those people surely need furniture to sit down on and sleep in. Good a place as any I suppose.

[beachmouse]

It's a great area for selling high end furniture. Note that a lot of people have already beat you to that idea though, both national chains and locals. Make a trip down there in the role of a customer shopping existing businesses and then come up with a plan to offer something to other customers that you don't see there right now whether it's a line or price point or services.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by AnswerMan123

Hi there,

I am currently living with my family in a small town in North Carolina. (Furniture business). Honestly, we're tired of the small town feel. The people aren't "open-minded" and the city is just overall too small for us. Today, we talked about moving to Miami; basically for business and a new life.

My question is this: What parts of Miami are good for a retail business for furniture? Mainly high-end (no low end furniture). We would also like to live near the ocean, it would be nice if there were sky rises (condos; any specific condos that are nice?). Or maybe some decent neighborhoods of homes in the 500k range?

But for the real question: is Miami a good place to open a business? Specifically for the furniture business??

Would love to hear your responses!

Thanks!

Coral Gables is a very affluent area. It's where UM is located. You should have a good understanding of Spanish if you want to do business in Miami. If you don't, I would go toward Fort Lauderdale.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

You should not even entertain this idea without going down there for about two weeks. And that's just for starters.

There is NO COMPARISON between the furniture business in North Carolina and Miami, IMO.

'Now if the issue is that your business is not doing well, it's another story so go for it.

I own a service business and would never ever make a move like that if my business were thriving. Which I actually did this year and it took me 4 years to make the decision and pull it off. The fact that it's retail makes it MUCH MUCH MUCH more challenging.

You also need to consider the bilingual factor there.

I'll be interested if you think Miami meets your criteria of "open minded".

Great post.....I don't believe there will be a demand for NC type furniture in Miami.

Miami is way different architecturally, everyone thinks they can get a better deal (foreigner mentality) and there are tons of discount furniture chains that offer financing (rooms to go, Eldorado furniture, etc).

I think you need a road trip to Miami......it will be a very inexpensive lesson compared to moving and finding out with your own time/money!

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

Great post.....I don't believe there will be a demand for NC type furniture in Miami.

Just as an FYI...there isn't really such a thing as "NC type furniture". North Carolina happens to be the center for furniture production in the country, specifically the High Point area which is where companies like Bassett, Broyhill, Ethan Allen, La-Z-Boy and Thomasville make many different styles of furniture ranging from traditional to modern. Miami has become a major center for design/furniture (Miami Design District) and would be a good deal less competitive than North Carolina.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Just as an FYI...there isn't really such a thing as "NC type furniture". North Carolina happens to be the center for furniture production in the country, specifically the High Point area which is where companies like Bassett, Broyhill, Ethan Allen, La-Z-Boy and Thomasville make many different styles of furniture ranging from traditional to modern. Miami has become a major center for design/furniture (Miami Design District) and would be a good deal less competitive than North Carolina.

I would characterize NC furniture as "heavy wood" type stuff. I know that NC has area of that type of stuff which is why I made the point. Armoires, Wall Units and other "heavy wood" pieces are out right now. Who uses a piece of furniture to house a TV? I suspect FL sells more wicker and plastic furniture than anything else. Up north homes/architecture tend to lend themselves to NC style stuff.

See below story......also note they are keeping their patio furniture division.

[City Guy997S]

Carls Furniture closing all three stores - Sun Sentinel

They used to have 27 stores....

After furnishing South Florida homes for 73 years, Carls Furniture is going out of business.
The furniture retailer based in Coconut Creek is shutting down its three stores and seeking to get rid of its inventory, which is marked down to as much as 70 percent off.
Carls Furniture has stores in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Coconut Creek.


The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011, suffering from declining sales during the recession. It restructured and shuttered multiple locations, including one in Boca Raton.
"Our stores never recovered from the 2008 recession back to a profitable level, so we finally made a decision to close down the remaining three stores," Jeff Baker, owner of Carls Furniture, said Tuesday. "We are sorry we had to close. It's not something we wanted to happen."