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Bob's Discount Furniture COO talks expansion, CX tech, tariff impact
Ramesh Murthy, COO at Bob’s Discount Furniture, shares insight on brand growth, customer experience technology and the potential impact from tariffs.
June 9, 2025 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
This year is a year of expansion for Bob's Discount Furniture as the brand plans to open 20 stores by the end of 2025. The company, founded in 1991, operates more than 190 stores in the U.S.
The expansion strategy marks the company's entry into the Southeast with six new stores in North Carolina and its first-ever location in Vermont.
The grand openings for the 2025 expansion began early in the year, with new stores opening in Burnsville, Mississippi; Winchester, Virginia; Reno, Nevada; and Davenport, Iowa. Additional openings are taking place mid-year in Roseville, Michigan, Bohemia, New York, and Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania.
To gain deeper insight on the growth strategy, as well as customer experience technology in play and potential impact from tariffs, Retail Customer Experience reached out via an email interview to Ramesh Murthy, chief operating officer at Bob's Discount Furniture.
What's driving growth
Q: What is driving the footprint expansion and how much does economics play into that?
Murthy: Our expansion into new markets is not just growing our presence, it's about bringing Bob's to communities that may not know us yet and living up to our promise of quality, affordable furniture. Each new store offers us the opportunity to make a positive impact locally by creating jobs and contributing to schools and charities, which have been baked into our DNA for over 30 years.
To answer your question about economics, no matter what is happening in the market, one thing is always true; people want value. We believe that everyone should be able to have well-designed, quality furniture at a reasonable cost.
Q: What is driving the new locations in Vermont and North Carolina. Is it tied to increasing population in North Carolina for example?
Murthy: When evaluating new locations, we rely on data that includes evaluating population trends, customer insights and market research. Bob's has deep roots in the Northeast, so expanding into Vermont allows us to be closer to our customers who have known and trusted our brand for years.
North Carolina has a rich furniture heritage and rapid population growth. We're confident that Bob's unique blend of value, style and integrity will resonate with customers there just as it has in other markets.
Operations insight
Q: How are you scaling operations to support the national expansion? Are you deploying any new technology across operations, hiring more regional oversight?
Murthy: We've built a good operational foundation over time, and that's helping us scale affordably as we expand nationally and we continue to evolve our store technology and website to help our teams scale to support our growth. We're also leveraging our existing infrastructure, such as logistics, distribution and customer service to enable the new markets we're entering. Our company is set up to grow, and we believe that we'll be able to provide the same service and value that customers expect from Bob's, wherever we are.
Q: What sets Bob's apart from competitors — clearly pricing but customers are also expecting a better customer experience whenever shopping so anything innovative going on with customer experience strategy?
Murthy: You're right, price matters, but today's customers also expect a seamless, engaging experience. At Bob's, we're proud to deliver both. Our everyday low prices with no sales or gimmicks remain a core differentiator.
With regards to your question about customer experience, we've invested in new tools that make shopping more intuitive and personal. For example, our OMNI Cart experience bridges the online and in-store journey, allowing customers to start their shopping at home and finish in-store or vice versa. It brings real-time continuity to the furniture buying process, which is still rare in our category.
Potential tariff impact
Q: Will the tariff situation impact Bob's this year or at any point?
Murthy: Like many in our industry, we're monitoring tariff developments closely. While global trade dynamics can impact sourcing, Bob's will always offer the best value in the marketplace and will continue to deliver this value without compromise to our guests at everyday low prices with no phony sales gimmicks. Our products are well stocked and ready for delivery.
About Judy Mottl
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