One-Stop Shopping for the Whole House
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One-Stop Shopping for the Whole House

One-Stop Shopping for the Whole House

Owners, JD & Holli Kennard

Sleepy Heads Furniture

Anyone who has ever gone through a marathon redecoration or purchased a home in need of new furnishings can attest to how overwhelming the process can be. The frazzled gaze of someone in the midst of overhaul overwhelm is a look J.D. Kennard, owner of Sleepy Heads Furniture in Melbourne, is familiar with.

 

“People don’t always have the time to go from place to place,” J.D. said. “It saves a lot of time, both with the shopping process and delivery, to get things from one place.”

This one-stop-shop approach is a strategy that’s served J.D. and his wife, Holli, well in the 12 years since opening Sleepy Heads. Though the couple originally opened a store focused on serving the bedroom set and mattress market, over the years they’ve expanded both their showroom size and their offerings.

“When we opened, we were just a bedroom store, and a small one at that. We only had 2,400 square feet, and it was filled from wall to wall,” J.D. said. In the dozen years since, Sleepy Heads expanded the showroom to over 8,000 square feet, and now offers furnishings for every room in the home.

Connecting customers with furniture they’ll love is something Kennard has been doing for more than two decades. Prior to opening a store of his own, he spent years working with the sales team at another Brevard-based store. When that store announced it would be closing, J.D. and Holli found themselves at a crossroads.

“We took a leap of faith and opened our own store,” he recalled. “I had the sales experience, but didn’t know much about the business side of things. Luckily, I had great teachers, and a solid partner in Holli. We went for it and learned together.”

Together, Holli and J.D., who have been married 16 years and have raised three children, built a business that would withstand the financial roller coaster of the last decade. J.D. credits their resilience to really understanding their customers, and being willing to evolve with the times.

Since styles and preferences are constantly changing, the couple makes it a point to visit multiple furniture shows each year in an effort to stay on top of new trends. Furniture trends for 2018 include lots of gray, power recliners equipped with electronic gadgets galore, the end of the entertainment center era (in favor of smaller, stylish stands to showcase bigger televisions), and styles designed with Millennials in mind.

When asked about the biggest challenges they’ve faced as business owners, J.D. doesn’t hesitate. “Working with vendors can be tough,” he said. “We like to get things right for our customers, and when items don’t come in when they should, it’s frustrating.”

Luckily, when these challenges arrive, J.D and Holli are unified in their willingness to do whatever it takes to make their customers happy.

“We’ll compromise and make it work,” he said. “We always look out for our customers, no matter what.”

Learn more:
http://www.sleepyheadsinc.com

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