Is this a fun little fantasy or what? It looks like Harvey’s on Beverly is for sale.
I stumbled upon this listing while I was doing a bit of research for furniture manufacturing in and around Los Angeles. I had no idea that BizBuySell.com existed. It’s somewhat of a Craigslist for businesses. And I’m just the right amount of dork that I like to sit around and fantasize about buying and turning around business as much as I like to fantasize about buying and turning around real estate.
When I stumbled upon Harvey’s on Beverly, It was great fodder for a fun discussion with the dude about what to do.
First, we took a look at the company’s existing website. The listing states that included in the $800k sell of the business, over 1.5 million dollars worth of inventory is included.
The business gets by with over 65% of its revenue being generated online, I’m assuming mostly through sites like 1stDibs and Ebay more than their own site. The site also caters specifically to the production world of Hollywood with another 10% of its revenue coming from studio rentals. I did a little Google search to get a feeling for the reputation of the company. It seems to be in good standing with the community and Harvey appears to be known for his emphatic authority in the world of antiques, particularly dealing with midcentury classics and rattan (which we all know are having a moment with national appreciation for Southern California’s laid back “effortless yet sophisticated” vibe.) There is a serious affection for rattan since Harvey Schwartz wrote the book — Rattan Furniture: Tropical Comfort Throughout the House.
In the listing, Harvey states he’s facing retirement and a recent trip to Fiji prompted him to get out of the biz and enjoy life. He’s looking for someone that is equally passionate about midcentury antiques to pick it up. Is this all too good to be true? Seems like such a ripe opportunity for the right person.
I love to think about re-organizing that website on a modern eComm platform and gassing up the social media channels. Even taking over the bi-level storefront on Beverly seems fun, and while my wheels are spinning I begin to think about signing up others of my favorite suppliers and mixing in some high and low, and some new with the old. Next thing I know, I’m styling vignettes and calling on my talented photographer friends to swing by and snap a few photos, then I’m inviting design bloggers over to host styling workshops in the space, and hitting up my tech friends to see who has ideas for how to grow our reach in the eComm space. We’ll erect a giant commissioned portrait of Harvey behind the newly renovated checkout counter.
Let’s identify a gaggle of fellow bloggers and design lovers in this crazy online world of blogging, and go in on it together!!! We can all share in the fun of building out a studio and host fun events where we style and shoot original content for our blogs, and we can create editorialized sales and connect our communities of equally impassioned design lover readers with awesome midcentury furniture!
Is this just fun for me, or do you want to join in on the fantasy!? What else can we do with Harvey’s on Beverly?
Thanks for playing,
