Bernie & Phyl's focuses on variety, price points

Braintree, Mass.— Top 100 retailer Bernie & Phyl's operates five stores in the greater Boston metro area, including the newest 45,000-square-foot store here. The full-line store carries a wide range of merchandise on the adult side of things, from leather to traditional to country.

"We try to do a flavor of all things," said visual merchandise manager Michael Guidicianne. "We want customers to look around every corner of the store."

The Braintree store features an open layout, with furniture grouped together by room and style, and utilizes greenery to break up sections. "Visually you know how to get around," Guidicianne said. "It's organized chaos."

Bernie & Phyl's' youth department carries furniture from Bedtime, P.J. Kids, Thornwood, Lea, Vaughan and American Woodcrafters. Finishes in maple, toffee and natural are popular, as are bunks and captain's beds, which help space-starved consumers fit a lot in a small footprint. On the other hand, full beds are also becoming more popular.

"We try to get popular price points and as many looks as we can in a limited amount of space," Guidicianne said.

Although the store advertises heavily, the youth department isn't promoted on its own. Still, said Guidicianne, Bernie & Phyl's is "definitely doing a good business in youth." With lots of young families in the area, he said, there are always lots of kids in the store.

One thing that gets both parents and kids excited is a new Fenway Park photo mural — part of a boys vignette in the youth department. Guidicianne is working with a local company that has licensed the photos for wall murals, and after all the excitement of the Red Sox winning the World Series, consumers are buying.

This clean-lined girls' group in white includes a traditional ballerina theme, and is accented by pink walls and feminine bedding.

This new Fenway Park photo mural helps give flavor to this boys' vignette and gets both parents and kids excited about decorating.