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| After World War II, America witnessed tremendous economic growth and rising social contentment. Most dads were going off to their white collar jobs, while most moms were busy managing their 3.7 children in new suburban homes. Family owned businesses began to spring up all across the nation. Many people were living the “American dream.” It was a simpler time known as “the good old days.” Denver took its place in those national growth statistics, sprouting its own independent businesses that found a niche and gained a strong foothold. One entrepreneur, 25-year-old Len Rivkin, accepted his father-in-law’s advice and went into the juvenile furniture business. It was in 1953 on East Colfax Avenue that he and his wife, Reva, opened Guys and Dolls Furniture and Toys. Today, 57 years later, Guys and Dolls is now located at 13280 E. Mississippi Ave. in Aurora. The original 8,000-square-foot store is now a bustling 50,000-square-foot showroom that offers the finest name-brand furniture, Len says. Right about the time when the second-generation customers began buying juvenile furniture for their own families, Len and Reva’s son, Bart Rivkin, stepped into the business. Fresh out of college with a degree in marketing, management, and general business, he was able to evolve the business to match consumer trends of the 1970s. Today, the third-generation customer shops at Guys and Dolls. These young families are greeted by the third-generation Rivkin, Jason, son of Bart and grandson of Len. A 2006 graduate with a degree in business finance from Colorado State University, Jason has taken the business into the 21st century. Nowadays, the company’s niches are space-saving and modular furniture for children, as well as college-age, creative furniture. Guys and Dolls is also represented at the Geographic South Pole, Len proudly shares. He was commissioned by the Pole Station to design and build the modular units used in the scientists’ quarters. With huge conglomerates and E-Commerce, independent retailers seem to be getting batted around from every direction. “The juvenile industry is quite different from the rest of the furniture industry,” says Bart. “With forced regulations, constrictions, and liability that have stemmed from people putting cribs together wrong, most manufacturers have said, ‘We’re done with juvenile. We do not want to deal with it anymore.’” For that reason, there are only a few children’s stores like Guys and Dolls left in the country, Bart goes on to say. “What makes us so different is partly the way we are structured. We have a huge operation with our on-site warehouse. Most children’s stores only have one or maybe two of a certain item, but we have a huge volume because we act as distributors to other dealers. Freight is enormously expensive, so we bring merchandise in by the truckload. That is a savings to the customer.” Bart adds that people automatically think an independent store like this is always the most expensive place to shop. He tells people to double-check this because if there is a price difference on any item, their price will be a little less. “But we are not about selling products to people. We have known families in this area for a very long time. Our relationship is with the community. We want to make sure children are safe. We have been involved with safety and development for a very long time. Most people do not know this, but in 1963 my father invented and patented the children’s car seat. We want what is best for children, and we try to keep it simple. Of all the things that we do here, we truly try to make sure that people get what they need.” Reflecting on Denver’s once numerous but now closed family owned businesses, Bart muses, “We all provided something to people as far as depth of security and reliability and uniformity. We were all visible and on-site, not sitting in some corporate office where no one could get to us. We keep losing our choices, and without independent people working together with each other, I think we could be in trouble.” As for E-Commerce, Bart says that some things still have to be handled in an old-fashioned way. It takes touching it and seeing it and feeling it, he says. It takes communication with him or his staff. It is like getting fitted for a pair of shoes; it takes interaction. “Some industries can live without interaction. This industry cannot.” Llana Harp, a regular customer who usually heads toward the space-saving furniture in the store, says she visits the showroom often with her 20-month-old daughter, Ashlyn. She keeps coming back because she finds what she needs in a “family friendly environment.” Ashlyn feels safe as she explores, Llana adds. During my visit, Ashlyn was squealing with delight as she slid down the slide, handed a stuffed pink monkey to a passing employee, and then began looking around for something to read from the colorful books on display. Owning the largest selection of children’s furniture in Colorado, according to Bart, has not gotten easier with today’s economic troubles. Bart says, “The bottom line of profitability is shrinking. We are responsible for our employees, and they have families. We want to give good value, but we also have to stay healthy.” Bart admires his showroom floor, pointing out that there are a lot of strong companies represented here, such as Million Dollar Baby, Simmons, which was started by Thomas Edison, Storkcraft, Romina, and Best Chair. He points out that there are seven million children’s products that are on recall right now. “We have nothing on this floor that has ever been involved in a recall.” Jason endorses another lesson from the good old days: “Our relationship with our employees is important. We always pay our employees first and give them the best health insurance plan out there.” Many employees have been with the company for over a decade. One employee, who is in her 80’s, has been there for 38 years. Regardless of the fact that we live in a new and complicated century, there are businesses out there that operate like they did in the good old days. Simply stated, they are fair, they give back to the community, they offer only quality products, and they are available for their customers, Jason says. You might want to give Guys and Dolls a try. And if you aren’t doing anything in 2053, you might want to drop in then too. Jason has big plans for hosting the 100th birthday party for Guys and Dolls. Guys and Dolls is located at 13280 E. Mississippi Ave. in Aurora. Call 720-748-4300 or visit www.guysanddollsfurniture.com for more information. |
Guys and Dolls Furniture |
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