Furniture World Magazine
Russell Bienenstock on 9/21/2026
This article was originally posted to the Furniture World website. To read the original article, click here.
BUILT TO LAST
INSIDE MONTGOMERY'S WHOLE HOME STRATEGY
It's no accident that Montgomery's is thriving in its 138th year serving South Dakota communities. Smart positioning, adapting to changing times and preparing for just-in-case scenarios have served this fifth-generation family furniture retailer well.
In 1888, George H. Montgomery, a maker of furniture and caskets, founded Montgomery’s, a furniture store and funeral parlor in what would become Alexandria, South Dakota. Beyond the town of fewer than 300 inhabitants, farms stretched across the newly settled prairie.
Fast forward to 2026, and George’s great-great-grandson, Eric Sinclair, is at the helm of Montgomery’s, now headquartered in Sioux Falls. He and Katelyn Conover, Montgomery’s chief marketing officer, shared how the four-store operation has evolved to meet current opportunities, better serve customers and position itself for future growth and profitability.
Trading Area
“Today, about 900,000 people live in the state of South Dakota,” said Sinclair. “One secret to our success serving customers in the eastern half of the state is that we carry just about anything shoppers seaching for home furnishings could want. Montgomery’s carries a wide selection, of furniture, mattresses, lighting, window treatments, floor coverings and wallpaper. Our price points start with Ashley sold in our Budget Express centers and top out with lines like Huntington House, Norwalk and Bernhardt. Sioux Falls, the city with the largest population in the state, is where we sell most of our higher-end lines. In more rural areas, Flexsteel is generally our high end.
“The company’s trading areas extend into Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. “Most customers visit from within a 200-mile radius from each of our South Dakota store locations. And because our stores are unique, customers come from further away—Las Vegas, Florida, Arizona, and New York—anywhere people are looking for the high level of residential design services we provide. Montgomery’s also has a team of senior designers that work exclusively on business development and large commercial projects.”
A Competitive Marketplace
Sinclair went on to explain that Montgomery’s does business in a highly competitive marketplace. “People would be surprised at the amount of competition we have here. Companies that got their start in South Dakota include Slumberland, HOM Furniture and Furniture Mart USA. There's a lot of competition from top-100 brick-and-mortar industry players, some of which live in a promotional, starting-price-point, transactional world.”
He added that a major point of differentiation at Montgomery’s is the whole-home approach introduced by his parents, Connie and Clark Sinclair, when they expanded the operation into Sioux Falls. “We are fashion-forward in our business no matter what the price point, offering a wide selection, high quality and great service. One area where we really stand out is the experience we offer, which relies on talented designers and other experienced salespeople who are great at putting projects together. Yes, generational customers visit to replace a recliner, but we excel with people looking to transform their spaces. Many projects start with the flooring, then add window treatments, decorative lighting, and finally furniture and accessories. When you sell home furnishings here in South Dakota, you have to offer a heck of a lot to survive and grow.”
Multiple Store Fronts
Twenty years ago, Montgomery’s, a Furniture First member, introduced its first Mattress First department. The store-within-a-store concept included a separate front entrance into the mattress department. “From the outside," Sinclair explained, "it made us look like a specialty mattress retailer." Mattress First's success prompted the building of additional storefronts. "People were moving here from all over the country and taste levels had expanded. We wanted to become the contemporary furniture leader in eastern South Dakota, so we built our 'Montgomery Modern' entrance. Since then, we’ve added 'Interiors by Montgomery' and flooring entrances to give consumers visibility from the street level. This lets shoppers know we have expertise in specific styles and product categories. For example, if someone is just looking for floor coverings, they can immediately speak with a floor-covering expert without having to enter through the main entrance and then find the flooring department.”
Brand Promise
Sinclair has noticed that customer expectations have increased rapidly since COVID. “Whether it be speed, delivery or in-store experience, consumers are more careful with their money and want to make sure that they're making the best possible buying decisions. This has forced us, in a positive way, to improve every business touchpoint and to invest in our teams to meet consumers where their expectations lie.”
Corporate Culture
How team members interact with management, each other, customers and suppliers is important to Sinclair. “Montgomery’s executive leadership team meets regularly to focus on different business areas. The most important of these areas is our people. He and Conover went on to describe some key store initiatives that have positively impacted how team members view their employment and mission.
Monthly Visits: The executive team, Sinclair noted, travels to each store location every month to get in front of teams, listen, consult, and problem-solve.
Culture Club: “We created a culture club made up of team members from each of our stores. The peer-to-peer group focuses on ways to make sure every team member is listened to, cared for and appreciated."
Employee Appreciation Month: Making sure that team members have fun is a top-down and bottom-up passion at Montgomery’s. “A month-long employee appreciation event has become an important part of our culture,” Conover explained. "This year’s event in August was casino-themed. Everyone received sweet and salty treat bags, and a $100 gift card they could use to buy new Montgomery’s swag. People were very excited about that. Over the next couple of weeks, they played games like ‘chase the ace,’ a fast-paced survival card game. Also, ‘human slot machine,’ a group activity where three participants hold up pieces of fruit until someone calls out ‘stop.’ If the fruit symbols match across all three, team members win prizes. It’s a fun way to bring our teams together, get everyone laughing and have a great time.
“In the final week of employee appreciation, our executive team personally brought everyone breakfast at each store to celebrate the incredible people here at Montgomery's.
To close out the month, we gathered at the Sioux Falls location for an event that included bingo and karaoke, good food and camaraderie. We try to lead with fun in pretty much everything that we do. In fact, it’s a minimum qualification to join the Montgomery team!”
Designer Mentoring: One of Montgomery's newer initiatives matches new designers with tenured design professionals. Conover explained, “It’s a buddy system that has been incredibly successful in getting them up to speed with what we do here at Montgomery's. In addition to furniture, we offer lighting, floor covering and window treatments. It’s a lot of information to absorb.”
Monthly Newsletter: “Each month" she continued, "everyone on the payroll at Montgomery’s receives ‘The Pulse,’ a company newsletter that shares photos from the different stores as well as work anniversaries, upcoming events, messages from Eric, and key resources that employees may be looking for. It’s become everyone's new favorite.”
Employee Retention
It’s not a stretch to imagine that the company’s attention to its culture has contributed to high employee retention. Sinclair shared, “Last year our annual turnover rate was 17%, filled overwhelmingly by team-member referrals. We're a family-first organization, which gives employees incredible flexibility. Salespeople work a maximum of every other weekend. We’ve moved our weekday closing time from 7 PM to 6 PM and now close on Christmas Eve. Montgomery’s provides free counseling services to team members upon their request, and we are happy to give five-week zero-interest $1,000 employee loans, no questions asked, to help them through rough patches.”
Technology
Like most other furniture retailers, Montgomery’s is closely watching advances in AI technology. Sinclair mentioned that their biggest technology challenge is getting software platforms to handle the various product categories they carry: flooring, window treatments, furniture and mattresses.
“AI is already helping in many other areas," said Conover. "We use the AI-enabled platform PyxMagic, which lets us take photos of products on the showroom floor, remove backgrounds, correct lighting and insert images into a variety of room settings. TRAX measures traffic, increases conversion, and suggests staffing levels. We use AI for competitive analysis, website optimization, content writing, and to figure out what shoppers are searching for. It's become an additional tool, helping us meet customers where they are and better answer questions we receive online.
“As Eric mentioned, it's our people that make us special, and we are confident that AI will make them more productive, not replace them.”
Marketing
In January, Conover launched a branding initiative. “We started placing fewer promotional ads, adding a second layer of messaging that shares why we're in this business. The campaign has helped reshape our image in a way that’s fresh, clean and warm, aligning what people see on mobile screens, radio, OTT, and broadcast television with their in-store experience. It has shifted their mindset from 'here's a piece of furniture at this price' to 'here's why it's important to have a home you love.'
"We just launched a new AI Max system through Google Ads. If there is a new option out there for marketing, we will try it. Broadcast is affordable for us since we essentially have one DMA across the entire state that aligns with the entire Montgomery footprint."
Community
“Community service,” said Sinclair, “is a family tradition. My father and I sit on local boards in South Dakota as well as those within the home furnishings industry. It's super rewarding work and an opportunity to observe and learn from great thinkers. South Dakota is a small community that’s all about relationships. We meet some of the best people through our involvement in nonprofit boards and get back as much as we give.”
Abbott House: “Montgomery’s supports Abbott House,” Conover added, “which provides youth services and smaller living foster care housing for kids who can't typically be placed in their teenage years. More important than just donating to organizations like Abbott House, giving back in this way allows our teams to participate in community projects.”
Paws for a Cause: “We host frequent events. This month, for example, we’ve partnered with Shaw Floors to raise money for the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society. The community will be invited to visit pet-related vendors, enjoy food trucks and provide support for the animals.”
Concluding Remarks
Shopping Local: When asked to highlight some of the challenges and opportunities facing furniture retailers, including his fellow Furniture First Buying Group members, Sinclair responded that one of the biggest obstacles facing retailers like Montgomery’s is that the next generation of shoppers doesn't always understand the value of supporting local brick-and-mortar retailers. "That support is foundational to their local communities. I understand why people might not want to leave the comfort of their devices; however, the added value they receive from retailers like us is significant.”
Furniture First: He mentioned that Montgomery’s involvement in the Furniture First community has been beneficial in many ways. Sinclair is a past president of the buying group and serves on its board. “We take part in everything Furniture First does. That includes participation in performance groups. Many of our team members, including Katelyn, serve on committees, sharing thoughts and business solutions with other Furniture First members. Some of the most wonderful people I've met in my lifetime have been introduced through membership in Furniture First.”
Montgomery's Past and Future: Sinclair recalled when he decided to enter the furniture business. “When I was a kid, my parents, Connie and Clark, took visiting furniture reps out on their boat for afternoon rides and dinner. And I always thought that being a rep seemed like the greatest job in the world, just traveling around and socializing with people.” As fate would have it, becoming a rep was his entry point into the furniture industry when, after earning a degree in business administration and management, Sinclair was offered a position as a territory rep at Rowe Furniture.
“It’s always been our generational plan as a family to make sure that the next generation has some success out in the business world before considering coming back into the family business. After five years at Rowe, it was time to come home to the great state of South Dakota. That decision turned out to be a unique opportunity and a huge blessing," he explained, "something he and his wife, Neala, wanted to do before growing their family and potentially setting the stage for the sixth generation to enter the business.
Having a Countercyclical Strategy: In 1888, the year George Montgomery founded Montgomery's, an unusually mild winter with temperatures reaching the 40s encouraged children to attend school and adults to travel without their heaviest winter clothing. When a surprise blizzard blew in, temperatures plunged from the 40s to −27°F. Winds approached 50–60 mph and created near-zero visibility. Alexandria and the surrounding Hanson County prairie were hit hard, loosing several hundred people. It’s a cautionary tale.
The value of preparation for just-in-case scenarios is a lesson Sinclair learned early in his career. “When I returned to South Dakota in 2006," he recalled, "I saw firsthand how volatile the furniture business can be. Having gone through Rowe's bankruptcy while working as a territory manager and then seeing the ups and downs of our industry during the 2008 Great Recession, I felt it was important to introduce measures to stabilize our business against market downturns, building on the great work my parents had done.”
That insight led him to found the Sinclair Land and Cattle Company, a real estate development firm. “It’s been a big contributor to our stability and success. The developments we build generate passive income from other retailers and service businesses that benefit from being near a Montgomery’s location. This arrangement drives traffic to Montgomery’s, providing a cash cushion when business is slow, building our balance sheet to withstand the cyclical nature of the home furnishings industry. It also allows us to take advantage of other business opportunities that arise."
Navigating Change: When challenges present themselves,” Sinclair concluded, "I try to look back over our 138 years and think about what’s been overcome. The best solutions often involve getting down to the basics of running any business: blocking and tackling, treating the people around us with respect, and creating an experience delivered by exceptional team members. If we can continue to do that, I believe that Montgomery’s will continue for the next 100-plus years.”
Russell Bienenstock is Editor-in-Chief of Furniture World Magazine, founded 1870. Comments can be directed to him at editor@furninfo.com.
