Some mornings, Steve and Marty Darvin will slip in early to their offices, at the back of Darvin Furniture & Mattress’s 200,000 square foot retail center, not because anything’s particularly pressing but because, well, wouldn’t you? For the two brothers, now in their 70s, just walking through the massive space, still sparkling and quiet before the crowds of shoppers arrive, perhaps plumping a pillow here or straightening a lampshade there, is a thrill and a gratification after a lifetime building the family business.
Loaded to the gills with fast-moving furniture, lighting, and bedding, the Darvin retail center in greater Chicago is one of the top-performing single locations in the entire furniture industry, doing an estimated $95 million in sales this previous year alone. It’s quite a revelation for a company that started with Steve and Marty’s grandfather, Louis, going door to door…