In today's retail environment, stores are lucky to keep their doors open. Dearden's, a furniture, electronics and appliances store in downtown Los Angeles, has done it for 99 years. And fingers are crossed for many more.
The store, at 7th and Main streets, is technically 100 years old, executives say. Dearden's officially opened in 1909, but early employees thought the slogan would sound catchier if it read: "Since 1910." A century later, no one seems to mind.
But Dearden's isn't planning a blowout party to commemorate the occasion. Except for a few mentions of the big birthday in upcoming circulars, the company is holding off as it struggles with many of the same financial problems that retailers decades younger are facing.
"It's awful, we've never seen anything that's as bad as this, and we've seen a lot," said Ronny Bensimon, president and chief operating officer. "Rather than thinking about celebrating, we're thinking -- just like everybody -- about surviving."
The company, which now operates nine Dearden's in Southern California and has nearly 500 employees, saw its best year in 2006 when sales topped $100 million, he said.
But revenue began to decline in 2007 and "completely fell off the table in September 2008," Bensimon said. Same-store sales in 2008 plummeted about 20% over the previous year, he said. "We're selling things that are obviously not the first things on people's minds when they're struggling."
Still, the five-floor, 150,000-square-foot downtown store -- the biggest Dearden's both in size and volume of sales -- has emerged from the country's economic downturns several times before, and its long-standing experience could help it ride out the current recession.
Few businesses in downtown L.A. have reached the century mark. Local historians and urban development experts say Dearden's joins an elite group that includes restaurants Philippe the Original and Cole's, the Alexandria hotel and a couple of law firms.
"I remember as a little boy, coming in on the streetcar from Huntington Park, and Dearden's was always there," said economist Jack Kyser, 74, of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "They've been able to go with the flow of the community, which is quite impressive."
When the store first opened as a small furniture seller, it catered to a white middle-class clientele. Edgar Dearden, an immigrant from England, started the business when he was in his 20s; over the years, dozens of his relatives from four generations have been involved with the business.
