Montgomery’s wraps anniversary year focused on delivering customer value, looking to the future

This paid piece is sponsored by Montgomery’s.

You don’t become a 135-year-old retailer without understanding your customer.

In the case of Montgomery’s, president Eric Sinclair knows “something is happening; there is no question,” he said.

“The consumer of a few years ago was spending a lot of time and home and taking disposable income away from things like travel and spending it on their home.”

The customer heading into the new year “is still doing some of that – it’s never going back to way it used to be – but there’s also an increased focus on value,” Sinclair continued.

“During COVID, customers wanted anything they could find, but we benefited because we had strong inventory on hand and took steps early on to ensure it. Today, though, the consumer is being more price-conscious. In turn, we’re adjusting prices and getting more aggressive to ensure we can meet their budgets.”

That includes sourcing a range of furniture and fixtures, actively managing freight costs and offering extremely competitive financing, he said.

“We’re offering zero percent financing, and that trend is going away in our industry,” Sinclair said. “But we’re committed to giving the consumer the right prices and the ability to pay over 12 to 24 months same as cash. We still battle every day the perception from people that they can’t afford Montgomery’s. All we ask is give us a shot. Come in, talk to a designer. Let us know your budget. We have a product in each category for any budget.”

That sort of deep understanding, both of the customer and of its 130-person team, reflects the mentality and culture that brought Montgomery’s to its 135th anniversary year.

The company marked the milestone throughout 2023, from major room-makeover giveaways and customer specials to ongoing employee appreciation and strong philanthropic commitments to the four communities Montgomery’s serves: Aberdeen, Madison, Sioux Falls and Watertown.

“I almost feel like a caretaker of this business, and I’m so grateful to the people who have run it before me and put us in a position to be nimble and weather whatever changes in the market occur,” said Sinclair, who is a fifth-generation leader of the family business.

Montgomery’s began in 1888 in Alexandria, where the train line ended in Dakota Territory and George H. Montgomery departed after boarding in his native Wisconsin. He was a woodworker who used his skills to start Montgomery’s Furniture and Funeral, building both furniture and caskets for the early settlers.

“This is a family business, and it shows with our team,” Sinclair said. “We have people who love design so much they do it when they’re not working. They’re passionate about what they do. And it puts us in an amazing position with staffing. We have so little turnover, which is unheard of in this industry.”

A particularly memorable time during the anniversary year came during the summer, when an employee appreciation week culminated in a summer camp themed-party at a lakeside camp in Madison.

“We had camp games, apparel, prizes, awards. It was quite an event,” Sinclair said. “But we also did things throughout the week for every employee, from bringing in food to washing their cars and writing them handwritten notes.”

During the pandemic as major retailers laid off staff, “we continued to invest in service,” Sinclair said. “That’s more important now than I’ve ever seen in my career. A lot of times, you can’t find someone in a store to help you, and we offer world-class service and are small enough to where I and others in leadership get involved personally in service issues to take care of the customer.”

One particular area of growth he sees for the business is in flooring, which “is exploding,” he continued.

“It’s the fastest-growing part of our business. Home starts are down considerably, yet we’re growing that in every one of our markets because we built a team of people that can deliver, and we’re buying full truckloads of product and are being very aggressive on price. We’re doing flooring in apartment complexes, commercial projects as well as residential, but we have the people to manage the projects. So we’ve continued to invest in the team, and the results have been fantastic.”

Philanthropically, there have been major investments in Montgomery’s communities in the past year, from helping turn a former big-box store in Madison into a community sports center to supporting a major new ice center in Watertown.

Sinclair serves as board chair of the Lake Area Improvement Corporation in Madison, which is partnering with EmBe to create a model for bringing child care to the community through public-private partnerships.

“We spend a lot of time serving on boards across Montgomery’s,” Sinclair said. “Those are just a few examples of unique projects we support, but we give to a huge variety of worthy causes throughout the communities we serve.”

As for whether the number of communities Montgomery’s serves will grow, it’s not on the immediate radar.

Going forward, “my goal is always to be very strategic in growth,” Sinclair said.

“Our opportunities to expand so far have been because we’ve bought other great family businesses we’ve known for generations. That feels good. We can bring in people who know our industry. So we want to grow, but growing and entering new markets for the sake of growth isn’t the first priority. We have lots of opportunities to grow with our current footprint and teams. And we’ll take great opportunities when they come at us.”

Celebrating 135 years in business, Montgomery’s gives back to employees, communities