Youth gets attention at Art Van Furniture

With 29 stores throughout Michigan, Art Van Furniture is a strong force in the juvenile market. The chain's largest youth department is in the Westland store, just west of Detroit.

The 5,000-square-foot department has a large presence, with signage above that designates the area Young Lifestyles. The store carries several furniture manufacturers, but store manager Bill Kennedy said the top-selling brands by far are University Loft and Lea Inds. In fact, about half of the youth space is a dedicated La-Z-Boy Kidz gallery, a brand name for Lea. Kennedy said the success is owed to La-Z-Boy's name recognition and brand loyalty as the manufacturer is based in Monroe, Mich. The gallery opened a little over a year ago and features furniture, top-of-bed and accessories from La-Z-Boy Kidz.

University Loft, with its lineup up of sophisticated loft systems, also has proved popular with area parents and kids, Kennedy said. He explained the furniture's versatility was a huge plus. Parents are buying the lofts for kids from grade-school age through high school, and the look is popular for both boys and girls. "It's a good investment," he said.

In addition to Lea and University Loft, Art Van also carries beds and case pieces from Standard by Kathy Ireland, mattresses from Simmons Kids and top of bed from California Kids and Dan River, among others.

Art Van uses several marketing tools to draw parents and kids to the store, said Chris Morrisroe, director of communications for the retailer. She said the store uses newspaper advertising and community calendars to drive business. Art Van also takes part in the annual city Thanksgiving parade, complete with a float. Once in the store, kids are kept occupied with activities such as coloring sheets, making little books and story time with a character called Queen Lacy. But the true highlight is the Kids Castle, a supervised play area located in the back of the kids department. The entrance to the play area is designed to resemble a castle front and once inside, kids can play on slides, play tubes and a ball pool. There also is a room for watching movies on the weekend and making crafts.

While the Westland store has the biggest Young Lifestyles department, all of the Art Van stores have good-sized youth areas ranging between 2,500 and 3,000 square feet. Morrisroe said the Westland location's size allows the retailer to test new collections. "It's a proving ground for new groups," she said.

Art Van has some version of its supervised Kids Castle play area in 12 of its stores.

University Loft is a hit with local customers, said store manager Bill Kennedy.

This white girls group is part of the store's La-Z-Boy Kidz gallery.