Furniture store focuses on basics

At a time when furniture stores across the valley are closing, Mathis Brothers Furniture has no plans of shutting down.

The furniture store opened 10 years ago on Highway 111 in west Indio and is starting to see growth with the influx of winter residents and retiring baby boomers, general manager Gary Castle said.

“We just continue to grow, and as our competitors go out of business, we just keep getting stronger,” Castle said.

Mathis Brothers Furniture sells 100 different brands of beds, sofas, tables, televisions, recliners, accessories, lamps, lighting, bedding and mattresses. Prices range from $9 for a hall tree to $20,000 for a sofa, Castle said.

The 54-year-old family-run furniture chain with 10 stores in Oklahoma and California opened Dec. 26, 1999, in Indio, Castle said.

“(Owners) Larry and Bill Mathis have been coming on vacations to the desert for such a long time and they chose to put a store where they vacation,” Castle said.

The furniture store reached its peak in 2006 with the valley housing boom. Sales started to drop as people lost their homes with the economic downturn.

The Indio store's lowest month was October 2008 when sales dropped 20 percent, Castle said.

The key to the furniture store's survival was the financial stable management at a time when other companies over-expanded, Castle said.

“We don't over-expand, and we concentrate on the business core,” he said. “We take care of our customers. It is a simple philosophy. If you do not take care of the customer, it will catch up with you.”

Mathis Brothers has also cut back on utility bills by using energy-efficient lighting as part of its efforts to be a green business, Castle said.

Business has since improved, and sales rose 10 percent monthly during the last three months, Castle said.

Castle said he believes the housing market is stabilizing, especially in the east valley where a lot of baby boomers and Canadian residents are buying property.

Margaret Jones, 59, from Odessa, Texas, bought a four-bedroom house in July in the PGA West housing community in La Quinta.

She came to Mathis Brothers for 70 percent of her furniture including beds, nightstands, couches, accessories, lamps and electronics.

“I think this is the only store of its size, and it has so much variety,” Jones said.

As the store enters its 11th year, there is a can-do attitude and a sense of optimism that things are starting to turn around, Castle said.

“Life still goes on, and we will get through this,” Castle said. “We just need to stay positive and upbeat because things are getting better. We can feel it.”