Member Spotlight

Fiesta Furnishings & Brix Home - Scottsdale, AZ

by Melissa Dressler, Western Retailer managing editor

Every day when customers walk through the doors of Fiesta Furnishings or Brix Home in Scottsdale, AZ, they are transported out of the desert and into places full of unique, high-end home furnishings and accessories. While each store has distinctly different styles — Fiesta Furnishings has an Old World, Spanish Colonial feel while Brix Home offers desert urban contemporary furnishings — they both focus on creating one-of-a-kind homes for their customers. “Customer’s can’t go anywhere else in the city and find what we have in either store,” said owner Claudia LeClair. “We want to make our customers’ homes beautiful and different — not like their next door neighbors’. If we furnished 10,000 homes, they would all be beautiful, but slightly different from the next.”

Claudia and her husband Ralph Farrar opened Fiesta Furnishings in 1992 after years of owning a wholesale business. In 2005, Claudia and Ralph expanded their business to include Brix Home down the street from their Fiesta store. Each employee is trained to sell for both locations, “All of our employees are trained for both stores,” Claudia mentioned. “Each employee has a home base, but we encourage them to cross-sell for Fiesta and Brix. Once we get a customer into either store, we hate to send them away if it is not their style since we have another store that might be a better fit for them.”

Over the last few years due to the pressure of the local economy, Claudia has evolved both businesses to be more streamlined and is now more selective on her buying. “We have streamlined our business, like everyone has,” she said. “I have sold down our inventory and have really paid closer attention to my buying and turns.”

By paying attention to every line item and streamlining her operation, Claudia has been able to weather the current economic situation which has been especially difficult in the Arizona market. The best advice that Claudia received during this time was to thoroughly go through the business’ financials and study them line by line. “There are many little items that can add up that you might not think of. With just adjusting our trash removal service alone, we were able to cut our expenses by several thousand dollars a year. Since we aren’t receiving as many goods, we just don’t need the trash to be picked up as often,” she said. “Look at every single line item, and if you are still not in the black, go back and look at it again.

“The first few run-throughs are the easy, obvious items to cut. It takes going through your financials multiple times. Some of the decisions can be pretty tough, such as cutting managers salaries. Also try going to your landlord or mortgage company, and see if they will negotiate with you for a year to lower your interest rate or principle. We have done all of this and it has helped.”

Along with watching the bottom line, Claudia is making sure the slow economy doesn’t affect her employees’ morale. “I think keeping morale high in your business comes from the top, from the owners and managers. If they are not upbeat and positive, no matter what, it is going to trickle down to your staff,” said Claudia. “I have made an effort, and there have been days that it has been very hard, but I always come into the store with a smile on my face. I am also making an effort to get to know my employees better, and I’m spending more time with them, giving them pats on the back and letting them know they are doing a good job.”

Besides making sure her employees’ spirits are high, Claudia also devotes a lot of her time to helping the local community, especially projects that assist women and children. Two of the groups that Claudia has been heavily involved with are the Sojourner Center and AWEE (Arizona Women’s Education and Employment). “Sojourner Center is a house in Phoenix for women and children who need a safe place to go because they are being abused,” she said. “I have become very active in supporting the center, and I am working on a fundraiser in the stores where customers can bring in needed items that will be donated to the Sojourner house. AWEE is another foundation that helps women with skills that will allow them to integrate back into the workforce. So when a woman has been displaced, has children to support and doesn’t really have an occupation or field, AWEE will help train her so she does not have to depend on an abusive partner.”

While Claudia is cautious about the future, she is also optimistic and has a lot to look forward to. Her son Mason recently joined the business as the warehouse manager and is being groomed in other areas of the business. While Claudia’s current plans don’t include an expansion of either store, she is hopeful that once business returns Mason will have ideas for future business opportunities.
Also this year, both stores will be focusing more on eco-friendly products. “We have always had a lot of ‘green’ products, but we have never really advertised them. It has been a slow progression and this last year I have looked for a lot of new products to fit into that group, so in 2010 we will really be focusing on ‘green’ products. More customers are beginning to show interest in eco-friendly furniture, especially the younger generation, so it will be an exciting time,” she said.

Claudia is also looking forward to being WHFA’s 2010 President, she said, “I am looking forward to meeting new people and getting to interact with others. It is going to be a great year.”