Top retailers vie for industry honor

The Summer & Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association has named the finalists in its annual Apollo Awards program recognizing retail excellence. 

Finalists demonstrate outstanding accomplishment and commitment to customer service in retail sales. SCFMA member companies selected the winners last month and will announce the results Sept. 15 at the Apollo Awards banquet during the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market in Chicago. 

The SCFMA and Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. are co-sponsors of the event. 

Sunnyland 

Based in dallas, Sunnyland Furniture was founded in 1970 and is owned by David Schweig and Debbie Schweig. Ron Joiner is general manager. 

Sunnyland's 35,000-sq.-ft. retail showroom has 23 full-time employees and carries furniture and accessories from Ancient Mosaics, Arlington House, Brown Jordan International, Carter Grandle, The HammockSource, Henri Studios, Hanamint, Homecrest, Jensen Jarrah, Laneventure, Lloyd/Flanders, Mallin, O.W. Lee, Olympia Lighting, Outdoor Lifestyle, Tropitone, Winston, Woodard, Telescope and more. 

In 2005, Sunnyland created new lifestyle vignettes in its showroom, with new ideas on the horizon for 2006. 

"The concept of presenting the outdoor lifestyle to consumers through various vignettes and outdoor displays has been suggested by leading experts in our industry for the past few years," the Schweigs said. "Sunnyland's willingness to follow this direction has hopefully positioned our store in a leadership role. Having built well-established relationships with different entities of the outdoor market has enabled Sunnyland to have an always changing fresh appearance for our clientele. Combined with dedication and cooperative teamwork, Sunnyland has one common goal — to exceed our customer's expectations in every aspect of the business from product choice and presentation to delivery and exceptional customer service."