26 MARCH 2013

global innovationaward

During a time when family lifewas dominated by the tradi-tional roles for mother and fa-

ther, with fathers normally being thebreadwinners in the family, and moth-ers responsible for the household andchildren, Sylvia Leibner was not yourtypical housewife. It was the early ‘60s,but she was already thinking outsidethe proverbial homemaker box.

While in search of exemplary prod-ucts for her home and not finding them,she decided she would open her ownstore, one that would offer both qualityand selection at guaranteed lowestprices. Little did she know at the timethat she was building a Canadian retaillegacy.Obviously not afraid of hard work, or

a challenge, Leibner opened her first

Linen Chest store in 1961 in a tiny 250-square foot space on Queen Mary Streetin Montreal. Leibner, a Russian immi-grant who came to Canada with her par-ents was “a pioneer” according to herson Stan Leibner, who is now LinenChest’s president and runs the companyalong with his brother Sheldon.How could Sylvia Leibner ever imag-

ine that the little store she started 52

Sylvia Leibner, the founder of Linen Chest, demonstrated how necessity is the mother of invention when she opened her first housewares store over 50 years ago. Two of her sons

have taken her vision and turned it into a thriving retail chain that Home Style has selected as this year’s recipient of the Global Innovator Award (gia) for merchandising excellence.

By Denise Gaze

Ahead of her time

28 MARCH 2013

years ago would go on to win the Consumers Choice Award for20 years running, and in 2013 become Home Style Magazine’s re-cipient of the Global Innovator Award for Canada, now com-peting to be selected as one of the best merchandisers in theworld at the housewares show in Chicago.The heart of this story, however, starts with a busy mother of

five sons who understood that if you want something doneright, you have to do it yourself.( The first Linen Chest storethat Sylvia Leibner opened expanded six times.) Leibner chose the name Linen Chest based on a bride’s

trousseau. A traditional trousseau was stored in a hope chestand included various items, such as clothing and linens, that abride saved for her marriage. In fact, the original logo for thestore featured just such a chest. At the time, Linen Chest offered consumers in Quebec one

of the largest selections of bedding, bathware and housewaresavailable. The chain has since expanded into New Brunswick

and Ontario and continues to raise the bar higher for itselfeach year.“Today, Linen Chest is recognized for its “approach,

wide assortment and service. Major statements are in bed-ding, bath, kitchen, tabletop dining, gift, wellness, decor, ac-cent furniture and mattresses,” says Gino Andreoli, LinenChest’s product planning and analysis manager. “All storesalso have Shop at Home and Bridal presentations as well asan interactive Web kiosk.”Andreoli’s role includes acting as a link between the

stores, distribution, management and overseeing the buyinggroup, and seeking new opportunities. To date there are 22stores with a 23rd store ready to open by the time the Chica-go show opens in March of this year. Buyers scour vendor showrooms, visit national and inter-

national trade shows and listen to feedback from customersin order to find the latest trends. “We are constantly developing and seeking new product

to meet the needs of our customers. We act as home decorconsultants by bringing in new decor accessories, beautifulfabrics, the latest fashion and the coolest kitchen toolsthroughout the year.” says Andreoli.In it’s home province of Quebec Linen Chest proudly

boasts 15 – soon to be 16 – stores, including a stunning30,000-square-foot store at the Rockland Centre in Montreal.

Home Style recently visited the new Leaside Village storein Toronto. The layout of the merchandise and the bright,beautiful store encompasses 13,000 square feet, housed in ahistoric, renovated train station. As with all stores, creativemerchandising is key at the Leaside store. Walking in thefront entrance the customer is greeted with a modern circu-lar coffee bar featuring a huge range of coffeemakers andhigh end espresso machines. Each of these expensive ma-chines is displayed out of the box to create a tactile experi-ence. On either side of the coffee bar, there is range of smallkitchen appliances and barware displayed on clean whiteshelving, with wide aisles leading into elaborate beddingdisplays beyond. Large “touch me” screens are located throughout the

Above: The late SylviaLeibner surrounded by herfive sons in the early1980s. On her immediateright are Stanley andSheldon Leibner, shownleft in a more recentphoto. Below: The LinenChest buying team, left toright, Gino Andreoli, ToriSchofield, Kathleen Ruttand Catherine Faisans.

The new Leaside store in Toronto is part of a historic train depot thatwas preserved and renovated to house Linen Chest and a Longos store.

global innovationaward

30 MARCH 2013

store, so consumers don’t have to wan-der around aimlessly. This modern tech-nology will direct the consumer straightto the product they are searching for.Cooking and product demonstrationsare held regularly.Utilizing social media such as Face-

book, Linen Chest still sends out amonthly flyer with an average of 16pages of products. While customers canshop for all they need online, LinenChest will send qualified representa-tives directly to the consumer’s home tomeasure a window for a window treat-ment at no extra charge. Linen Chestcontinues to demonstrate that the cus-tomer comes first at all times.No doubt Sylvia Leibner would be

proud to see such a contemporary, cut-ting edge store considering her originalhumble shop. It’s interesting to note that, although

it was 1961, Sylvia had the full supportof her husband when she started herbusiness. “My dad was in the textile business,

and she would run things by him” ac-cording to Stan Leibner. “He was verysupportive of her. My mom believed inhard work, passion, commitment andperseverance.”Today Stan gives full credit for the

chain’s success to his team at LinenChest, which he oversees along withSheldon the company’s CEO. “It’s reallya big team effort. Most of the employeeshave been here a very long time and weare one big happy family. We havetremendous team morale.”As Linen Chest’s buyer for tabletop

and gift, Tori Schofield has been withthe company for six years. She has tokeep her finger on the pulse of what thetrends are and what consumers want.“Right now white is big,” she says.“Everyone wants white dinnerware be-cause it is the best platform for foodpresentation. But that means you haveto get creative in the execution of theproducts at the store level.” Mix and match, be it colour and tex-

ture, layered, or old and new, is alsopopular right now. Vintage looks are

Linen Chest recently un-veiled a new 14,000-square-foot boutique con-cept that offers a warminviting atmosphere withthe latest technology inlighting, an active kitchen,interactive multimediakiosks, and many other in-novative merchandisingconcepts to give you apleasurable shopping ex-perience. Below, a wall ofglass demonstrates thedepth and breadth ofproduct carried in stores.

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32 MARCH 2013

lenges and changes over five decades. “Todays biggest challenges are deal-

ing with the growth in state-of-the-artlogistics and IT,” he says. “Competitiongets harder and harder every year withthe arrival of more big box stores. But Ithink at Linen Chest, we tell a differentstory. We’re much more fashionable inour assortments, offering more mid- toupscale items. Plus, the way we serviceour customer is superior to any big boxstore, right across the board.”Kathy Rutt adds“Linen Chest has es-

tablished a loyal customer base thanksto our unbelievable level of service,great quality merchandise and propermarket place pricing.”Linen Chest also has a firm and very

effective price policy guarantee. If thecustomer can find the same merchan-dise elsewhere at a lower price, they willgive an additional 10% off as a rewardfor letting them know. The companystands by it’s low price guarantee allyear long.Looking to the future, Stan Leibner

believes “we’ve got a good formula andas more people get a chance to discoverLinen Chest, I am confident they willbecome a loyal customer.’ At 61, he is still fully entrenched in

the business, visiting trade shows andvendors in Toronto, New York andChina, and buying much of the store’stextiles and linens. He is passionateabout his desire to “always give con-

also very strong and have a cool frictionwith more modern looks. Schofield adds “what differentiates us

from other retailers is our diversity ofproduct. So many stores today look likeeverything is made in the same factory. Westrive for a good blend of national brandsand privately-branded merchandise. “We also have great staff that are each

dedicated to a certain area of the store.For example, we have a kitchen special-ist, mattress expert and bridal registry di-rectors. They really know their business,and it shows, in the level of personalizedservice our customers get in return.There's nothing better than going into astore and having someone help you out,who really knows the product.Kitchen and gourmet product man-

ager Kathy Rutt focuses on electrical ap-pliances, cookware, knives, bakeware,gadgets and specialty items. “I always try to purchase products

that are the newest, latest or greatest intechnology,” she explains. ‘Consumersare in the kitchen more than ever andthey spend a lot of time preparingmeals, cooking for their loved ones andentertaining.”She adds that “our industry is really

booming thanks to great chefs such asRicardo who show us how easy it is totackle most kitchen prep tasks.” Rutt claims that what sets Linen

Chest apart from the rest of the retailmarket place is their ability to specialize

in certain categories by offering agreater depth and breadth of productswith a proper matrix set-up.Savvy staff that know what they are

doing and have passion for the mer-chandise has also contributed to LinenChest’s continued growth and success.When talking to Home Style, Stan Leibn-er’s pride is evident, not only in hismothers accomplishment, but also in thecreative staff that are dedicated to carry-ing on their mission year after year.Surviving 50-plus years in an ever

changing retail landscape, Leibner con-cedes they have faced numerous chal-

A circular display of coffeemakers takes centrestage in the small appliance section, above.Below, stores now feature full-service demokitchens and multi-room displays.

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34 MARCH 2013

sumers the absolute best products aswell as the very best customer service”. When asked how his mom was able

to run a busy home and a growing retailbusiness, Stan remembers ”she gave usour breakfast and then my father tookus to school. When we returned home,there were often times that we wouldfend for ourselves when it came to sup-per. Luckily we had a charge account atthe deli, so we always ate well, and weall had a good time. We were five closebrothers who looked after each otherbut our parents were always behind us."The Linen Chest story began with

founder Sylvia Leibner’s vision. She feltfortunate to be able to see her dream be-come a reality and continued to workuntil she was 75 years old. “The em-ployees all loved her” recalls Stan. Her story continues to evolve because

Sylvia Leibner was not only a retail pio-neer but a woman who gave new mean-ing to the old saying “necessity is themother of invention.” She was a womanwho wanted to make a comfortablehome for her family, and to help othersdo the same for theirs. Her sons carry ontheir mother’s vision to offer the bestproducts at the best prices with prideand passion. Luckily for Linen Chest customers,

Sylvia Leibner was not a typical 1960shousewife. She was a smart, ambitiousmother of five who chose to work out-side the home. Yet as her success clearlydemonstrates, she always knew thathome is where the heart is. n

Though Linen Chest still relies on traditional 16-page flyers (below centre), the company alsohas an interactive website, below. At the bottomis one of the stunning new window displays.

The IHA and International Home +Housewares Show created the giaprogram in 1999 to foster innovationand excellence in home and house-wares retailing throughout the world.The competition is structured on a two-tier level, national and global, to hon-our independent and chain storehousewares retailers for excellence inseveral business categories, includingstore design, visual merchandisingand customer service.

Each of 23 national gia winners isinvited to the International Home +Housewares Show in Chicago wherean expert global gia jury plus a rotat-ing group of co-sponsoring trade pub-lication editors from around the world,will select up to five gia Global Hon-orees as well as the winner of the Mar-tin M. Pegler Award for Excellence inVisual Merchandising.

In Canada, Home Style Magazinehas been a proud sponsor the giaaward since it’s inception. This yearwe are delighted to honour LinenChest at the gala dinner in March.

global innovationaward