After operating a furniture store near Dallas for more than 15 years, Tuluh Rana and his family wanted to grow their company and open additional locations. Feeling the allure of the area’s weather and scenery, the family found a suitable site in the Central Coast.
Under a name different from their store in Texas, the family opened R&R Furniture and Mattress in Arroyo Grande in 2014. Two years later the family opened a store in Goleta, followed by a store in Santa Maria in 2017—which is owned and operated by Tuluh’s daughter, Sunder Rana.
“We fell in love with the Central Coast and wanted to grow more here,” Sunder said.
With an eye for design and a degree in marketing, Sunder said she enjoys the interior decorating responsibilities that come with operating a furniture store. This includes organizing furniture in the store and matching sofas with rugs, tables, lamps, or other accessories. And like most fields in the design industry, what’s in and out of style changes quickly.
“Honestly furniture is like fashion,” Sunder said. “It does change just like fashion changes. Colors and stuff like that, they kind of go hand in hand with what people are wearing.”
Sunder said all of the stores her family owns are run by family members, with her brother running the store in Texas and her father running the store in Arroyo Grande. The store in Goleta closed last year, but the store in Santa Maria has expanded after moving to a larger location on April 13.
Originally located at 2104 S. Bradley Road, the store now occupies the space between Home Depot and Walmart—which used to be a Staples—at 2170 S. Bradley Road. Although it was a short move—from one side of the shopping plaza to the other—the relocation comes with significant benefits, Sunder said.
Being situated between Home Depot and Walmart should lead to more customers entering the store who are walking around the shopping plaza, Sunder said. Also, the new space is larger and allows the store to have extra stock in a warehouse on-site. At the previous location, the warehouse was located off-site about 4 or 5 miles away, which presented some problems.
“If we sold something off the floor, there would be a hole for a couple of days until [warehouse employees] were able to bring stuff to the floor,” Sunder said. “Now we’re able to replenish [inventory] quicker.”
R&R’s Santa Maria location functions as an outlet store to the location in Arroyo Grande. Items that aren’t selling well, or pieces that the Arroyo Grande store has too many of, are sent to the Santa Maria store and sold at a lower price. Sunder said this creates a broad spectrum of prices, which allows most people to find furniture that fits their needs and budget.
“We have various price points,” Sunder said. “Sofa prices go from $399 to $5,000. We have something for everybody.”
Highlight:
The Commission for First 5 Santa Barbara County, Children and Families is accepting applications from county residents who are interested in serving on the commission as alternate community members. The commission is responsible for overseeing First 5, which connects parents with children younger than 5 years old to information and services that support the child’s development and school readiness. There are two positions available on the commission, which is made up of nine regular members and four alternates. The two residents who are chosen and appointed by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors would begin July 1.
Staff Writer Zac Ezzone wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 25 – May 2, 2019.