When space for new items is needed, the stores move merchandise to Jay’s Warehouse, which is open to the public at 1371 Main St. on the first Wednesday of every month.
“The whole point of starting it was to help the community to get something at a greatly reduced price,” said owner Lynn Becker.
The couple assists the community when they can, even donating mattresses to churches, organizations and families in need.
“A lot of times they come to us and we just donate it because it’s the right thing to do,” Jay Becker said. “My wife and I feel like it’s our calling and our duty to help other people.”
“Jay and I pray together just about every day that God bring us people that we can help that day,” Lynn Becker said. “That’s just very, very important to us.”
When the business first opened in 1967 as Lady Sylvia in downtown Hamilton, it employed two people. Now it employs 22.
“We like to hire from within the community,” Jay Becker said. “We make a living through the community but we want to serve the community, also, so therefore we try to employ people who are local people as opposed to people from Cincinnati or Dayton.”
The Hamilton store is managed by Diana Lunsford, the Fairfield store by Shaun Cummins and the warehouse by Jason Angel.
“They’re all very sweet individuals and very compassionate with their customers and try to do as good a service as they can for each and every one of them,” Lynn Becker said.
Customers come to shop from a 40-mile radius to take advantage of discounts on retail furniture and mattresses, including Ashley, Simmons, Catnapper, Coaster, Jackson, Best Chair and Corsicana brands, plus many others.
The business has seen its revenues skyrocket in the past several years since it started offering its “No Credit Check Financing” and a starting price point of $69 per mattress.
“We have people drive from far distances to be able to get that,” Lynn Becker said. “They’ll even rent a U-Haul next door and take it back home with them.”
The store’s biggest selling product is its mattresses, which it offers at 30 to 50 percent less than other stores, she said.
The biggest change the business has experienced in recent years is its ability to supply product more quickly than in previous years.
“We stock quite a bit of merchandise,” Jay Becker said. “Our warehouse is 44,000-square-foot. It’s a former HH Gregg store.”
Having high-profile locations along busy roadways helps but sometimes a business has to do more to get noticed, he said.
“We have people advertising walk in front of our stores,” he said.
“Even though we’re right here, people drive with blinders on,” Lynn Becker said.
For more information, visit www.jaysfurnituredirect.com or call (513) 893-3800.
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