Photo above: Signs in the window advertise the coming of Sunnyland’s new store in Frisco, Texas.
Things are looking bright for Sunnyland Patio Furniture. The Dallas-based Home Furnishings Association member is adding a second store in nearby Frisco, Texas.
Sunnyland signed a lease to take over a 15,000-square-foot retail space that once sold billiard tables and bar stools. The new store – one of several big changes coming to HFA’s 2017 Retailer of the Year – is expected to open this summer.
Brad Schweig, vice president of operations at Sunnyland, said he and his father David had been looking at Frisco properties for the past year. In recent years, Frisco and its northern Dallas suburbs have been big winners in growth and corporate relocations. Frisco, an affluent city north of Dallas, is home to the Dallas Cowboys headquarters. Keurig Dr Pepper announced earlier this year it was moving its headquarters to the city, and the PGA of America is also relocating there.
“That’s where everybody is going and that’s where we want to be,” says Schweig.
The expansion comes with a unique problem: At 37,000 square feet, Sunnyland promotes its flagship store as the world’s largest outdoor furniture store. “That’s going to be a little tougher to say in our advertising when we’re talking about our Frisco store, but we’ll figure something out,” Schweig says.
A new name: Sunnyland Outdoor Living
Sunnyland is about to undergo a complete makeover, starting with its name and logo. The company is changing its name to Sunnyland Outdoor Living. The change, says Schweig, better aligns with the store’s philosophy of selling not just furniture but an experience. It’s also easier to say. The company’s old slogan, “The Ultimate Outdoor/Casual Furniture Superstore,” dates back to the early 1980s and makes Schweig cringe.
“I don’t think people know what casual means, it’s confusing to them,” he says. “And we wanted to get away from superstore because that’s more along the lines of Walmart, which we definitely are not.”
The new logo is cleaner and modern – something the company’s flagship store is about to experience, too. Schweig said the flagship store will be redesigned in phases over the coming year to convey the upscale brand Schweig and his father want to promote.
“It’s been something we’ve put off for a few years and now we’re addressing it,” Brad Schweig says. “It’s more than just paint and lighting. We want the (redesign) to reflect a consistency to our message. That’s going to take time. We’re going to be patient with it because we want to do it right.”
