For 28 years, Matt Luxem’s Metro Business Interiors has been a book-end of downtown Benton Harbor, near the corner of Main Street and Riverview Drive. Matt almost invented the term “gently used”, referring to the next-to-new desks, files and office chairs that he sold to countless businesses and individuals in Michigan’s Great Southwest. Along the way, Matt always offered brand-new office furniture–and sold a lot of it. But he was usually thought of as the “gently used” guy!
Fast forward to this week at Metro Business Interiors’ new 16,000 square foot state-of-the-art office furniture showroom at 1370 M-139, between Napier and Pipestone Avenues. No one will mistake the new Metro facility as a ‘used furniture store.’ Luxem and his team have transformed their former warehouse storage location into a showplace of desks, work surfaces, chairs, partitions and even a few file cabinets for those clinging to the need for paper!
And, because you can never forget what got you there, in the back there’s a special section still dedicated to Gently Used Furniture. Matt says with the ‘Work From Home’ movement, there’s been a whole new demand for two or three reasonably-priced pieces to outfit a home office.
Matt Luxem began selling office furniture back in the 80s in the Chicago area. He represented a furniture line called Knoll– and still does today. He found Knoll–one of the Big Four in office furniture– was largely missing from Southwest Michigan. He set out to change that and it has been a key component of his business ever since.
Recently, Knoll was purchased by Herman Miller, another office furniture giant and Luxem looks forward to offering the entire Miller-Knoll line in 2022. He says, though, that there will always be a place for a ‘budget line’ of office furniture. “That’s where people start,” says Matt. “They come back for newer, bigger pieces when their budgets allow. At Metro, there’ll always be a place for both groups of customers.”
Luxem recalls years when the economy was sluggish or troubled when his Gently Used furniture line pulled the business through. Looking ahead, he sees some changes in what customers are looking for. He says the trend toward wide open office spaces with almost no walls may be tempered in the wake of the pandemic. New office planners are now considering more panels with glass and fabric offering some protection and separation between workers. And height-adjustable work surfaces are increasingly popular, along with a variety of seating styles.
One of the biggest challenges for Metro Business Interiors in 2021 has been supply chain issues, like so many other businesses in a variety of industries have experienced. Luxem says for years he could guarantee two day delivery of virtually anything in his supplier catalogs. However, now it may sometimes come down to what he has in stock or what he can obtain within a reasonable distance. He says his new larger showroom/warehouse is proving a wise investment amid those supply challenges.
“We always sold new furniture, often out of our quick ship overnight catalogs. Now we have more of it right here to show you close up, just like it will look in your office,” says Matt.
Luxem points with pride to his small, veteran staff. Office Manager and Designer Janet Rodriguez and Installation Manager Dave Zars have both been with Metro over 20 years. Matt says the “lean and mean” approach has served him well, frequently hiring additional labor or subcontracting for large deliveries and special projects.
While his staff has been stable, Luxem says the customer base is always changing, often due to mergers and acquisitions. He points out that there’s been constant churn in the ranks of Southwest Michigan financial institutions–banks and credit unions–big consumers of office furniture. He recalls several now-defunct banks that were among his top customers for years, but now consolidate their purchasing nationally.
He says local decision makers are the key to Metro’s success. “Small and medium businesses are our ‘sweet spot’. We work directly with them and they grow and need more of our products. Matt says customer service and service after the sale keep local businesses coming back. “They can’t get that on the Internet!”
He took the same approach in selecting partners for Metro’s move and expansion. Pearson Construction handled the construction and remodeling. Linear Electric, Inspired Floors, Anchor Signs and Jim & Son Asphalt were key vendors in the project. All are local businesses.
Luxem has great confidence about his move to M-139 from downtown Benton Harbor. While he says he’s a big supporter of downtown, he feels the environment that Benton Charter Township is promoting along the M-139 business corridor is very positive. He purchased the larger facility seven years ago and has utilized it for storage until now. Luxem believes the transformation into a total office furniture and business interiors showroom will drive the growth of Metro for years to come.
Reach ‘Metro Matt Luxem’ at 269-926-0911 or MattLuxem@gmail.com
