Type Private Headquarters Ballwin, Missouri, USA Motto "Trusted Since 1951" Number of employees 90 | Industry Retailing Products Appliances
Furniture Founded 1951 | |
Website | ||
Goedeker's is an independent retailer in the United States of major appliances, as well as furniture, housewares, plumbing products, and lighting. Their single showroom location is in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, they have also sold their products through their website. Goedeker's is a faith-based, family owned and operated business that was established in 1951.
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History
In June 1951, Ben Goedeker started Goedeker Radio and Television Repair in his home in south St. Louis. His success in the repair business led him to begin selling discount electronics and appliances in addition to providing repairs.
He opened his first showroom space in a 1,200 sq. ft. building. After years of growth he expanded into a 3,500 sq. ft. building in 1970. Steve Goedeker, Ben's eldest son, worked for him after school and during the summer.
In 1973, Steve graduated from college and started working at his father’s business full-time. In 1977, Ben died from cancer and Steve took over the business.
New Leadership
Steve’s leadership prompted even further growth, which necessitated expansion into a 22,000 sq. ft. building in 1989. A year later, his siblings Mike Goedeker and Janet Minor joined the business, with Mike managing the sales department and Janet managing accounting.
In 1998, Goedeker’s opened an additional showroom location in a 50,000 sq. ft. building. They also added furniture and mattresses to their product line.
Business began to decline in 2001, and they were forced to close their 22,000 sq. ft. showroom location.
Major Transition
After nearing bankruptcy in 2008, the company launched its eCommerce website Number1Direct.com in 2009, which was successful and grew over the next few years.
In 2012 they converted 45,000 of their 50,000 sq. ft. building into warehouse and office space, leaving 5,000 sq. ft. for the St. Louis showroom. In an effort to unify their branding with their store location, they transitioned to the domain goedekers.com.
As technology use changed, Goedeker’s created a mobile-friendly version of their website which launched in the summer of 2014.
Goedeker’s today
Since they started selling online, they have grown from offering only 15 brands and around 4,000 products to over 200 brands and over 180,000 items. 90% of their sales are now made online. The company employs 90 people in the St. Louis area.
Goedeker's created two college scholarships in 2014, which are awarded annually.