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Mission Focused
October 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on November 1, 2010
Link Melley believes those who keep our country safe so its citizens can pursue the American Dream deserve to live that dream themselves.
Melley is CEO of Freedom Furniture & Electronics, a Norfolk, Va.-based retailer thats developed a fairly unique market nicheserving the furnishings, electronics and appliance needs of members of the U.S. military.
Now, an 11-store chain with more than $20 million in annual sales, Freedoms success arose from an appreciation for those serving in the armed forces and a dedication to making their lives better.
Link and his brother John Melley, chief operating officer at Freedom, know about the challenges facing military families. Their father was in the military, and they grew up with an appreciation for the sacrifices made by those in the armed forces.
Theyre underpaid, they work incredibly hard, and they take the ultimate risk, he said. When these people join the military, they dont own a lot of possessions. They arent used to shopping to create a nice lifestyle. Our goal was to help them get to the American Dream faster, and live it.
Adapting to the Market
Freedom Furniture & Electronics got its start 27 years ago as Freedom TV & Stereo. While the retailer has always targeted markets with a high military presence, as the original name implies, it hasnt always been a furniture store.
I was working in a different industry, but also within the military market, Melley said. It became obvious that this market was underserved, and we saw an opportunity to compete in this space and offer a better experience.
Freedom added furniture to its product mix around 1990, when the retailer had five stores.
We recognized our customers were graduating from us, Melley said. After theyd bought their electronics, there was nothing left to buy from us, and we realized we were passing them along to other stores. They were going to furniture stores to get the goods they needed when they moved out of the barracks and into apartments.
We changed from a store model for single soldiers to one that served married soldiers with families as well. ... Our goal is to deliver a better experience to the military customer. We had an appreciation for that customer and a passion for giving them a better life. Our tag line is The American Dream Starts Here.
Freedom targets markets that have at least a 16,000-person military presence, so it eventually wants to build out to around 20 stores. Two, possibly three, new locations will open in 2011. The first, in Lawton, Okla., near Fort Sill, will open by March 1.
A Particular Set of Needs
One key to Freedoms success is a firm grasp on the ebb and flow of product and service needs among among its consumer base of military personnel and their families.
A new recruit, for example, might be making his or her first big-ticket purchase and may not have established credit.
The primary service we deliver is the availability of credit, Melley said. Its old-time, installment payments, no gimmicks. .... We carry our own paper, so they arent dealing with a huge bankwe know our customers, and the challenges they face, so it gives us the ability to be flexible when needed.
Melley knows that offering credit to inexperienced consumers builds loyalty.
My wife and I met a doctor on a mission trip in El Salvador, he recalled. It turns out this doctor was a customer of ours in San Diego, and was able to get furniture from us when nobody else would give him credit. People were so appreciative when you take a risk on them and you help get their life started.
Writing its own paper gives Freedom more leeway to work with its customers when problems arise.
They move a lot, and they get deployed, Melley pointed out. We work with them as well as we can, and when there are problems, we solve them quickly. Its easier for us to be flexible and understanding because we understand their problems.
Working with them includes flexibility on payment schedules, changing deliveries, or changing payment amounts.
Because theyre young and often not very experienced, we realize we have to take a larger role in finding out what the problem is and finding a solution, Melley said.
Serving a military market also means keeping tabs on whats going on in the soldiers lives.
Theres a different set of products they buy before they leave for deployment, and when they come back, Melley said. Laptops, for example are in high demand before deployments.
That becomes their everything machine, Melley said of when soldiers are far from home in an often hostile environment. Thats how they stay in touch with their family, e-mails or Skype, if they have that connection.
Deployed soldiers also can use that tool when they have the time or need to take care of business with Freedom Stores from overseas.
Theyll e-mail us and say, My wife needs a new washer and dryer, Melley said by way of example. Their e-signature allows them to make the purchase online.
Upon their return from deployment, or as they establish a career in the military and need to outfit a home, furniture, appliances and televisions move up on soldiers shopping lists.
We do our best to carry high-value product, Melley said. We have brands like GE Appliances; Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba electronics. We want give our customers access to first-line brands.
Freedom also wants its customers to have a first-class in-store experience.
It has to be more than chairs lined up in a rowthere has to be an experience, Melley said. We greet our customers with a Welcome to Freedom at the right time, so its social. We want our customers to have a good time. And, we want our employees to have a good time. Many of our sales and service people are former military, or have spouses in the military, so were all speaking the same language.
A Close-Knit Community¨Freedom promotes through its tag line, The American dream starts here, in its advertising, but the real way it builds mind-share among its customer base is deep involvement in the military community itself.
Were involved in a lot of charitable events every month, Melley said. We also have a regular monthly charityany time a person makes their quota for the month, we give $20 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
That program, in support of SOPWF (specialops.org), an organization assisting soldiers injured in the line of duty started, around five years ago. In September, for example, Freedom had 20 salespeople reach gold status for sales performance, and nine collectors make goal for September.
That led to a $580 payment that month to the Special Warriors Fund, and brought the programs grand total to $42,860.
In the course of a month, a Freedom store might buy a table for the Marine Corp Ball at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina; outfit a USO center in Jacksonville, N.C.; or provide a new laptop computer for the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Quantico, Va.
Well make 300 different contributions over the course of the year, Melley said. It keeps us in touch with our customer.
Freedom also utilizes social media with contests on Facebook (facebook.com/shopfreedom).
We had an ugliest sofa contest where people sent in pictures and the winner got a free sofa, Melley said.
In October, Freedom ran a pet costume contest for Halloween, with the winner getting a Sony HD Bloggie camera.
The next couple of years bode well for Freedom Furniture & Electronics, where volume depends on whether the military personnel they serve are stationed on base or deployed.
We expect sales to increase 5 to 10 percent because theres been a draw-down (of U.S. military forces) in Iraq, and were looking at one next summer in Afghanistan, Melley said. Overall we expect double-digit growth in the next two years. HFB