Darvin Furniture wins national leadership award

Leadership is the art of motivating people to achieving a common goal. Good leaders, it is said, encourage team members to develop their skills and imagination so they can contribute to the common project and vision of the company.

These skills at Darvin Furniture, a home furnishings staple in Orland Park for nearly a century, have been recognized nationally after earning the 2018 Leadership Award from Furniture Today Magazine, the furniture industry’s most recognized publication.

“Being nominated for the national leadership award was a very rewarding experience. It is always nice to be recognized by your peers and others who work in your chosen field,” said Marty Darvin, co-owner Darvin Furniture.

Co-owner Steve Darvin echoed those feelings about the award and said it was humbling. “Being notified that we had won the award was a great feeling because we had such great respect for the other nominees and winners. Haverty’s and Amazon are huge names in our industry and it was humbling to think our peers felt Darvin Furniture in Orland Park was achieving the same standard of excellence and leadership.”

The Furniture Today Industry Leadership Awards are presented to companies that have demonstrated sustained excellence, passion for the furniture business and a commitment to the communities in which they operate. Bill McLoughlin, the magazine’s editor-in-chief says the Darvin family “epitomizes all three of those attributes and we are honored to recognize such an exceptional organization and the people who make it such an industry leader.”

While it may be the Darvin family name on the door, the brothers share credit for the award with the employees and vendors. “They really are our extended family and we recognize their hard work and commitment to delivering the best possible customer service is a huge part of the reason so many people shop at Darvin,” Marty said. “From our dedicated employees and generations of loyal customers, Darvin Furniture’s success can be attributed to many things. We always have prided ourselves on offering the highest qualify furniture at a fair price.”

Realizing the need to expand services, the store recently completed a major remodeling project as part of its focus on improving the customer experience. “Whenever we have recognized a new customer need, we have tried to respond,” Marty said.

Steve noted the expansion of services was customer driven. “When our customers were asking for distinct mattresses to fit their individual sleep needs, we added our mattress showroom. When younger customers were coming in and asking for specific price points on merchandise, we added the second-floor Clearance and Outlet center to help them find exactly what they needed. We will continue to remodel and expand as we work to enhance our customers experience moving into the future,” he said.

“We are into our 99th year of serving the Chicagoland area. We are not a huge, national chain store and we very much operate as a family-owned business. Orland Park has been our home for decades and we are very happy to be serving this market and to have the chance to be an active part of its continued success,” Steve said.

“Personally, we really are lucky to be doing something we love.”

Pictured (left to right) are Marty Darvin, co-owner Darvin Furniture; Catherine Silver, publisher of Furniture Today; Steve Darvin, co-owner Darvin Furniture; and Bill McLoughlin, editor-in-chief Furniture Today. Photo courtesy of Furniture Today.