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Flexa opens second U.S. store

Staff -- Kids Today, 9/20/2005 12:00:00 AM

GLENDALE, Calif. — Juvenile case goods manufacturer Flexa has opened its second U.S. dedicated store here.

The 2,000-square-foot store, owned and operated by Mike H. Kwak, is in the Glendale Gallery, a sprawling mall about 30 minutes north of Los Angeles. Kwak also owns the first U.S. Flexa store, in Honolulu.

Peder Sorensen, president of the Denmark-based Flexa, said that when the store here opened its doors for the first time at 10 a.m., there were people lined up to enter. "Mike's preliminary advertising paid off," he said.

The store carries Flexa's line of modular case goods, including the new Flexa Teen line, and other company-branded merchandise. "We've expanded our collection to include bed linens, accessories and lamps in addition to our furniture," Sorensen said.

The store is set up in small vignettes, with some half walls that further divide the space. Beds are dressed in Flexa textiles, and accessories finish the look. The store features lots of colorful signage explaining the flexible designs of the case goods.

Kwak said he chose Glendale because of its demographics. "A lot of families shop here," he said, referring to the mall.

Sorensen said the store's mall location is advantageous. "We're surrounded by kid-oriented stores," he said, pointing out the Build-a-Bear Workshop, The Picture People and Stride Rite shops nearby.

Kwak is relatively new to the furniture business. He moved from Korea to Hawaii in the mid-1990s, and ran a successful tourism business for visitors mainly from his home country and Japan. However, business fell after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he decided to seek other opportunities.

On a visit to Korea, he came across a Flexa franchise and decided to open his own units in the States. The Honolulu store opened in 2003.

Sorensen said that, because Flexa has little distribution on the West Coast, the stores don't compete with local dealers. While Kwak would like to open a few more stores in the Los Angeles area, Sorensen said Flexa doesn't plan stores outside that area.

He noted the manufacturer is in talks with a few current accounts interested in stepping up their programs.

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