It’s the kind of succession story one likes to hear after a downtown retailer closes their doors. What the community desires is for another viable business to come in and fill the void. Fulfilling that hope is what Jeff Hororwitz, president of LS Direct Marketing, had in mind when he brought his company from Mahwah, New Jersey back to his hometown of Suffern, New York.
Back on February 28th, 2011, Jeff’s parents, Helen and Arnold Horowitz, shut the doors of Suffern Fine Furniture after 66 years. It was a mainstay at 110 Lafayette Avenue, which sits in the center of town across from the famed Lafayette Theater. The family business founded by Abraham Horowitz, a door-to-door salesman turned retail entrepreneur, was third generation owned and operated. Jeff literally grew up in the store, serving on the management team and providing oversight for the store’s advertising.
Jeff’s furniture industry experience and subsequent degree in marketing led him to found his own company with fellow Rockland resident and partner, Chris Knoebel, in 1997. Back then, the company was known as LS Advertising and it made its home in Nyack (NY). They provided traditional advertising and print services to thousands of home furnishing companies in North America. Their operations expanded to include digital press technology, such as the HP Indigo 7000 and Xerox I-GEN 4, located in Albany, NY.
Jeff recognized opportunity in the building vacancy being left by Suffern Fine Furniture. He purchased the real estate from his family, divided the 24,000 square foot first floor into two commercial spaces, and began a half million-dollar renovation. He engaged the interest of new furniture retailers, Anthony and Michael Tufano, who expanded their furniture store operation at the new location as Suffern Furniture Gallery in the facility's front portion facing Lafayette Avenue. The Tufanos are brothers, who grew up in Chestnut Ridge, NY and are graduates of Spring Valley High School. Their opening of Suffern Furniture Gallery at the same 110 Lafayette Avenue address also represents a homecoming of sorts for them as well.
In the rear of the building, an entrance was erected onto 4 Suffern Place. Jeff’s company changed its corporate name to LS Direct Marketing to better reflect the services they offer and the employees settled into their state-of-the-art headquarters over Memorial Day 2011 weekend. The business is a participant in New York State’s Empire State Development program, they are a member of the Suffern Chamber of Commerce and have active employee representation in Suffern Rotary.
The official grand opening of LS Direct Marketing took place on November 16th. It was an invitation-only event, including a formal ribbon cutting. “Our entire staff is energized by the vibe of Suffern’s downtown restaurants, shops and corporate neighbors. I am personally satisfied with the preservation of commerce and the continuance of my family’s commitment in Rockland County. My grandfather saw great promise here when he founded Suffern Fine Furniture, and I can now pass his vision onto my children”, concludes Jeff Horowitz.
About LS Direct Marketing: With three generations of retail furniture experience and direct mail leadership for the home furnishings industry in North America, LS Direct Marketing is a technology partner to enterprise, agency and small business clients.
LS Direct Marketing is a turnkey solutions provider of mission critical, customized, and quantifiable communications to acquire, retain, and sustaincustomer loyalty. The company embraces and is conversant in all current and emerging digital media communication platforms to offer data driven design campaigns, aligned withyour corporate objectives of profitability, customer retention and customer acquisition. LS Direct Marketing's employees offer a boutique level of care along with our capabilities to analyze, create, customize, print, launch, and report all under one roof.