Teak Furniture Centre closing doors after 32 years

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This article was published 23/03/2018 (2219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TEAK Furniture Centre, one of the last stores of its kind in the country, is headed for the big showroom in the sky.

The store that specializes in high-end furniture made from the tropical wood is in the midst of closing.

But not before one big, final blowout sale.

“So many reasons,” said Arto Kujanen, seated at the back of the store, when asked why he’s shutting the doors. He is one of the partners in Teak Furniture and has been with the store since it opened in Winnipeg 32 years ago.

First reason: the city wants to widen St. James Street to create a turning lane onto Sargent Avenue. The Teak building is at the corner of St. James and Sargent. So four metres of its building will be torn out to make way for the new turning lane.

“With that going on, it’s hard to do business,” Kujanen said.

Second reason: after the global recession of 2008, five Canadian manufacturers of teak furniture closed shop. It has become very difficult to source furniture made from the unique wood grown in places like Indonesia and Thailand.

Third reason: online shopping. “The younger generation is more or less buying online. To stay in business, I have to hire someone in their 20s or 30s that knows social media” and set up a website for online shopping, Kujanen said.

“I’m not doing that. I’m 57. I’m not going to change now.”

The first Teak Furniture store opened in Sudbury, Ont., in 1972. The Winnipeg store started in 1986. Chris Jensen and Tom Sorenson launched the Sudbury store, and were later joined by Leo Marsh in the Winnipeg store. All are now deceased, but their families still hold shares in the Winnipeg store. Kujanen, an employee since the Winnipeg store opened, became a partner in 2002.

Teak is known for its tight grain, high tensile strength and durability. It is used in the construction of sailboats and cruise ships because of its water resistance.

You’re not likely to see furniture made from teak in this city again soon, but the same holds true for the store’s old-style salesmanship that has survived into modern times.

At Teak Furniture Centre, said Sandra Stevens, who is considered “the baby” among sales staff because she’s only worked there 11 years, they have a unique selling system.

“Most furniture stores work on individual commission whereas we have a shared commission pool,” she said. That is, the three sales staff share commissions equally.

“So no one fought, customers got better service, we all dealt with the same customers and nobody felt pressure from us. It’s been a team environment.”

As well, the store continues to operate on trust. It will deliver a piece of furniture, like one of its “stressless recliners” by Norwegian firm Ekornes, and let the customer try it out for a week.

“We’ve been doing that for 32 years. People ask, ‘Do you want a deposit?’ No deposit. It’s a trust system,” Stevens said.

Teak Furniture Centre also sources much of its assembled furniture from Denmark. Its stock includes bedroom sets, sofas, dining room sets, desks and tables, recliners, entertainment units, etc. Some items were marked down by 35 and 60 per cent this week. It expects to close its doors for good by early June.

“We are the last big major actual teak store, with more teak than anything else, in Canada,” Kujanen said.

Much of the standard furniture found in many stores today comes from China, Vietnam or Indonesia, he said.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca