Schuett Furniture and Appliances Revitalize Storefront Exterior to Match Business Goals

In 1906, the Schuett family started Schuett Furniture and Appliances to service Mildmay and the surrounding communities.
Nearly 120 years later, the family-run store is now being operated by the fourth generation of Schuetts in Andrea (Schuett) Kasap and her husband Kristian Kasap.

Through the Schuett family’s careful work over the decades, the business has grown significantly since opening. The Kasaps recently revitalized the exterior façade and signage of their storefront, which is located at the corner of Elora Street and Absalom Street.

“The exterior wasn’t really reflecting how we wanted to move forward with the business and keeping our history [and] the tradition alive,” Andrea said.

Those renovations were made possible, Andrea said, through the Municipality of South Bruce Façade Improvement Grant and the Fascia Signage Grant. The grants available through Bruce County’s Spruce the Bruce Community Development Program.

“When we found out about those grants, we were like ‘Wow, these are great things to be able to take advantage of’,” Andrea said.

The programs really helped the couple to see the number of minor repairs that had been applied over the years and gave them the opportunity to do a complete overhaul of the storefront.

The family was also able to tackle interior changes to make the store more modern, such as installing a digital point-of-sale system and decorating with artwork. They also expanded the online presence of the business. Modernization steps taken by the Kasaps have been done so cautiously to preserve a balance between modernity and the feeling of a small-town boutique, Andrea explained.

Through using the Digital Main Street program, the Kasaps were able to implement an online 360-degree store view, which was just one of many steps towards modernization for Schuett Furniture and Appliances.

The Kasaps both acknowledge that word-of-mouth advertising is one of their greatest strengths. The Kasaps credit the welcoming, friendly environment of the store as part of the success in developing a multi-generational customer base.

With the ongoing and expected growth of South Bruce and Mildmay, the Kasaps have stated that a goal for the business was to attract new customers who are first-time home buyers and families who are new to the community. They look to accomplish this goal through their social media presence and community members speaking about the quality of the business.

Consulting firm metroeconomics has forecasted significant growth in South Bruce with or without the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s deep geological repository project. Even without the impact of the project, metroeconomics anticipates an increase of 380 jobs across the municipality by 2046. Growth is projected to occur due to existing residents leaving the workforce through retirement. The consulting firm estimates that 2,510 people will relocate to the community, requiring 940 new homes.

According to the Kasaps, they have experienced the revitalization of the community with new buildings and renewed eagerness for restoring downtown areas. They also identified a need for an influx of people to the community to meet their own current and future staffing needs. Andrea explained that several of her staff will be retiring in the coming years.

“We’ve been looking to hire for a few months now,” she said. “I’m trying to get creative and think of other ways we can source employees.”

South Bruce businesses are encouraged to take advantage of the careers page at southbruce.ca/careers to advertise employment opportunities in the community.

For more information about Schuett Furniture and Appliances, visit the company online at schuettfurniture.ca, follow it on Facebook or Instagram or visit the storefront at 85 Elora Street, Mildmay, to see how the company and space have grown.

To learn about the Spruce the Bruce and South Bruce municipal grants, visit southbruce.ca/grants.

This article is part of an ongoing Community Revitalization series initiated by the Municipality of South Bruce.