🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 Our company’s 65th-anniversary celebration is making waves in the Chinese community in San Diego! The esteemed Chinese newspaper recently featured an article highlighting our journey, achievements, and contributions to the industry. We’re immensely proud of this recognition and grateful for the support that has propelled us to this milestone. Here’s to many more years of innovation and success! 🌟 #BusinessMilestone #65thAnniversary #GlobalRecognition
Translated from Chinese.
Article by: Yang Ying
Newspaper: The Epoch Times
San Diego office furniture store celebrates 65 years, business owners talk about business.
#OFO, Customer service, #carestaff, #office furniture
San Diego office furniture store celebrates 65 years, business owners talk about business.
San Diego office furniture store celebrates 65 years Business owner talks about running Business Office Outfitters office furniture store in San Diego, California, which celebrates its 65th anniversary in September this year. The picture shows the company owners Jerry Sinclair and Kelly Sinclair. (Yang Jie/The Epoch Times)
[The Epoch Times, September 10, 2023] (Epoch Times reporter Yang Jie reported in San Diego, USA) Business Office Outfitters (BOO Furniture, formerly known as Office Furniture Outlet) office furniture store located in the Clairemont Mesa area of San Diego, California, celebrated its 65th anniversary in September this year. Anniversary. The company owners, the Sinclair, took over the business in 1990 and continued to operate it for 33 years despite the impact of the mortgage crisis, the rise of dot-com companies, and the COVID-19 epidemic. The Sinclair said that they will continue to uphold the business philosophy of “serving customers and taking care of employees” and the principle of “God first, family second, and business profit third” to move the company towards the vision of a century-old store.
Serve customers and take care of employees.
Jerry and Kelly Sinclair say the secret to the company’s longevity is their “commitment to quality and customer satisfaction” and “care for their employees.”
“We have a lot of loyal customers, many of whom have been doing business with us since the beginning and have been customers for more than 60 years because they trust us,” Mr. Sinclair said.
BOO Furniture not only provides office furniture, but also provides interior design services, relocation, vacancy, rental, and reconfiguration services.
Mr. Sinclair said, “For example, if some people don’t want to buy office furniture for the time being, we provide very cheap rentals, and we will replace it for them when they decide. Some people want to reduce the size of their office, and we will buy the furniture back, they no longer have to worry about what to do with the furniture. We empower people to make decisions that are in their interest.”
The couple said that the company has been under their management for 33 years and has been able to survive various bubbles, including the mortgage bubble, the online shopping bubble, and even the current epidemic, all because they never left “serving customers” and “thinking about employees.” this direction. They say they haven’t laid off a single employee in 33 years, even during the COVID pandemic.
“Everyone working in our warehouse has more than 20 years of service, the warehouse manager has worked for 25 years, and the average salesperson has 18 years of service,” Mr. Sinclair said.
God first, family second, business third
The couple said that their life principle is “God first, family second, and business success third.”
Mrs. Sinclair said: “If we put God first, it will show in how we treat others, how we run our business, how we respect each other, respect our customers, respect our employees. If we have that in our hearts God, we will be kind to each other.”
The couple said they would give away free furniture to churches and non-profits they thought were good but didn’t have the budget. “Many times, we find that after we donate furniture, customers often come into the store and buy a bunch of furniture, offsetting our donation expenses,” Mrs. Sinclair said.
Hope the business lasts for a hundred years.
San Diego Office Furniture Store Celebrates 65 Years Business Owners Discuss Philosophy In September 2023, Business Office Outfitters (BOO Furniture, also know as Office Furniture Outlet for the retail part) office furniture store located in the Clairemont Mesa area of San Diego, California, celebrated its 65th anniversary. (Yang Jie/The Epoch Times)
Recalling when he first took over the business, Mr. Sinclair, a former newspaper editor from Kansas City, said the San Diego company was originally purchased by his brother in 1990. “We started out just to help out, but because we liked the weather in San Diego and even though we had good jobs in Kansas City, we decided to stay here and start a new life.”
Mrs. Sinclair took over and said that the two were not living together at the time, and Jerry proposed to her: “Would you like to start our new life together in San Diego?”
So, the two took over the business and began their business life in San Diego. This year is also their 32nd wedding anniversary.
The couple hopes the family business will continue, with the next goal being 100 years.
To the couple’s relief, their eldest son Nick took the initiative to help during the epidemic and became interested in the business. His parents are very proud of him and hope that he can take over the family business in the future. Mrs. Sinclair said with satisfaction: “He is a hard-working person and very down-to-earth. He does everything and will not say that I am the boss’s son and don’t need to do anything. He is the man in the trenches (American slang, meaning a person who does hard work).”
Looking back on the past and looking forward to the future, Mrs. Sinclair said: “Our industry is a very challenging industry with many links. It is not as easy as buying a box of water. But office furniture is very important. After all, many people now have a lot of work every day. We spend more time in the office, even more time than at home. So, we hope to help people and help them create a comfortable working environment, an ergonomics environment, and reduce shoulder and neck problems. We like this Work.”
Editor in charge: Yang Ying