Furnishing
Your Home For Less
Marge
Harkins was so impressed with DirectBuy in Pittsburgh that she decided
to purchase a DirectBuy franchise of her own in Fort Myers. Thus, DirectBuy
of SW Florida was created.
“Marge learned about
DirectBuy in Pittsburgh, where we are from, and she joined,” explained
Paul Schuster, Harkins’ partner and vice president of DirectBuy
of SW Florida. “Marge was a member and retired to Cape Coral after
30 years in the banking industry in Pittsburgh.”
Harkins then flew back
home to work with the Pittsburgh DirectBuy Center to complete her mother’s condominium
kitchen as a gift.“She saved about $10,000 on the kitchen itself,”
Schuster said.“Marge was working with the Center so much that they
asked her how she was enjoying retirement. When she said ‘it was
boring,’ they told her about the territory in Southwest Florida
being open for DirectBuy.”
Harkins got in touch with
DirectBuy’s corporate office in Merrillville – she needed
a business partner, and Paul Schuster, a vice president and credit manager
for the seventh largest PR firm in the world, happened to be looking for
a new opportunity.
“We both flew to
Merrillville – they liked us, we liked them, and the rest is
history,” Schuster said. The partners now own their 13,000-square-foot
center and just celebrated DirectBuy of SW Florida’s one-year anniversary.
The DirectBuy franchise,
which offers home products and furnishings at a substantial discount,
has three basic models: (1) No Membership, but a significant retail markup
on each item purchased; (2) Membership Fee, with a somewhat reduced markup
on each item purchased; and (3) DirectBuy, which has a membership fee
and no retail markup.
DirectBuy of SW Florida
introduces members to thousands of quality products at a single location
at direct prices. These products include everything from home furnishings
and accessories to home improvement and hardware to appliances and lawn
and garden supplies to recreational and sporting equipment, electronics,
jewelry and giftware.
When you purchase merchandise
through DirectBuy, Schuster explained, you buy directly from manufacturers
and their authorized suppliers – at confidential insider prices
– just like retail stores do. In other words, you eliminate all
of the retail and middle-man mark-up.
According to Schuster,
the company breaks itself down into 26 categories.“We consider ourselves
to be 26 specialty stores under one roof.Through the roughly 750 manufacturers
on our shelves, we have 1.6 million products for, in, and around your
home.” Schuster added that he and Marge Harkins, who both live in
Cape Coral, attribute their company’s success to their program.
“When a prospective
member comes in for an Open House, which takes about one-and-a-half hours,
we present facts and show apples-to-apples comparisons on how that member
can save money. We also have a 2,000-square-foot home built right in our
Center and show folks how they can save as we walk them through our home.”
Schuster pointed out that
he and his partner are “very upfront about everything we do”
and set proper expectations on the 26 categories with members during presentations.
The future business plan
for DirectBuy of SW Florida, he added, is to continue to grow the concept.
“Our Corporate folks continually bring new manufacturers on board
and we, as a franchise, have the ability to get the local community involved.”
The company, Schuster explained,
is working with many companies to expand its product base and to use many
of DirectBuy of SW Florida members’ installation services.
“We are growing their
businesses tremendously and they are providing great, certified, and in
some cases, discounted services to our members.”
Courtesy
of DIRECT BUY OF SW FLORIDA
1901 Brantley Road, Suite 17
Fort Myers, FL 33907
239-425-6080
www.directbuy.com
Written by Andrea G. Rollin
