The Penny Mustard Value

When we at Penny Mustard say that we are committed to building and selling a “better version of what people want,” we wholeheartedly mean it.

Part of that is having a deep commitment to value.

We will never place a piece of furniture on our showroom floor that doesn’t meet our expectations of value and quality. We know how hard our customers work for their dollar because we do the same.

If our customers invest in our furniture, it will be a long-term investment because the quality and attention to detail stand the test of time.

BEN: “One thing that makes Penny Mustard different than our competitors is that our quality level is consistent throughout.

I was reminded of this about 15 years ago when a sales representative in the industry stopped into one of our stores. Unbeknownst to me, he wanted to sell me his product.

He called me a couple of days later and he says,

‘You don’t know me. Here’s who I work with. I was in your store with the idea of selling your product, and I realized I can’t sell you our product. It isn’t good enough for your store.’

He said, ‘I’ve never been in a store where your quality level stayed true. I kept waiting… going into different areas of your showroom… kept waiting to see where the quality changed. It didn’t.’

He said, ‘I have never seen that in my 40 some years of being in the furniture industry. I’ve never been in a store like yours.’

He called me just to tell me that.

He said, ‘You need to be so proud of what you have there. And I’m so proud that this even exists.’ He says, ‘I never knew it actually existed.’

ARVID: “Technically he’s our competitor, you know?”

BEN: “Yeah. He’s our competitor.”

ARVID: “Our furniture is a real value. Our prices are the same as any other mid-to higher-level furniture, less in some cases, but there’s a lot better quality furniture there.

It’s really the value that’s placed there. Ben alluded to earlier how some furniture stores have their really high-end stuff and then most of the stuff in the store is junk.

Our store is consistent. It’s good quality all the way across the entire store.

Sometimes a customer comes into our store and thinks our prices are really high because we don’t have a $299 sofa. We don’t believe in a $299 sofa.

But, we’ve got an awesome $1299 sofa that’s gonna last you a long, long time. Sometimes people think that everything in our store is really expensive and it’s not.

We’ve got a lot of furniture that fits in a lot of different price ranges. That’s STILL good quality.”

BEN: “And it’s not a ridiculous price. People paying $800 for a cell phone and they get rid of it in two years. This $1299 sofa you can have for 20 years and it’s going to feel good all the way through.”

ARVID: “What makes Penny Mustard, Penny Mustard? It’s our furniture. Our furniture is just better than everybody else’s furniture.

I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, because we’re not bragging.

Our furniture is just built better. There’s more thought put into it. A lot of that thought is Ben’s thought and his attention to detail. Ben’s not willing to cut a corner when it comes to the quality of our furniture. That shows in our furniture. People don’t understand that there are lots of ways, nowadays, of hiding that.”

BEN: “We’re about quality furniture, taking care of our customers, and being here for them tomorrow.”