‘It feels like home.’ New owners take reins at high-end Kansas City retailer

LEAWOOD, Kan. — When founders Stuart and Sue Wilkins started thinking about retiring from high-end retailer Seville Home here, they wanted to find new owners who could respect what they built while carrying it forward.

They found who they were looking for in Chastin and Phil Reynolds, who took the reins of the 26-year-old, Kansas City-area store a little more than a month ago.

“We developed this feeling with them that their curiosity and ability was a good fit. We’re about 30 days in, and so far, that’s been the case,” Stuart Wilkins told sister pub Furniture Today. “They’ve asked us to stay around for several months. It’s been a comfortable, respectable transition. We’re all pulling in the same direction.”

For the entrepreneurial Reynolds couple, it was an opportunity to deepen their roots in the Kansas City area. “For me personally, we moved to Kansas City five years ago and have loved it here a lot,” Phil Reynolds said. “The more we’ve invested in the community and built roots here, we thought it would be nice to bring the entrepreneurial background into an investment in the local community. We wanted to do something here.

“We spent about a year researching businesses. Stumbled into Seville. The more we dug and learned, we liked it. It’s been what we expected. It’s an amazing business, and we love it. Everything we’ve done in business has been applicable here.”

Chastin Reynolds added, “Kansas City is home; Seville feels like home. You don’t know when you take a leap like that what it will feel like on the other side. It’s very reassuring that it feels like home.”

While Phil Reynolds brings a background in operations, Chastin has expertise in marketing and brand strategy. She said branding for Seville Home will be built on its existing authenticity within the market. Additionally, the full staff was retained during the ownership change.

“My focus is building on that tradition here that makes it special while coming up with new ways to engage with clients,” she said.

That tradition has been built since 1999 by the Wilkins. They built the 20,000-square-foot building in 2005 and have curated it with product from domestic custom upholstery vendors, and case goods and accessories that complement and complete the look. Seville Home, which generates between $7 and $8 million in annual sales, offers an impressive collection of lamps, area rugs, framed artwork and designer accessories. “For every room and every style” is one of its brand claims.

“We present everything in lifestyle vignettes, and we have a visual merchandiser who’s excellent,” Wilkins said. “Our presentation is the best, I think, in our market. We’re fresh, and we’re a real must-see for consumers if they’re in the market for high-end product. We do it best. We don’t have a lot of competition in our lane.”

And in recent years, Seville Home has cultivated relationships with area interior designers.

“We’re a high-end retail furniture store, but we have also developed a program with independent designers. That has grown to a point that represents about 30% of our annual business,” Wilkins said. “We’ve become a hybrid, where we’re almost a to-the-trade in addition. One of our taglines includes, ‘Preferred by designers, open to everyone.’”

As it has built that program, Seville Home has become the receiver and logistics provider for some area designers. That’s something the Reynolds plan to build upon.

“I’ve been in the position of scaling companies up, and there are several things about Seville Home that interest us,” Phil Reynolds said. “There are real opportunities to take what this business is already great at and expand service offerings. So far, a month in, those opportunities seem more vibrant from the inside. I’m excited about what we can do next.”

“The culture here is fantastic; the clients are fantastic. There’s a lot happening in the design community and a lot of people willing to collaborate,” added Chastin Reynolds. “The thing that makes this business so appealing is people in Kansas City take pride in their homes, and there’s a genuine appreciation of what we do here. I have been really impressed by how many people who care and want to collaborate with Seville Home and celebrate what we offer.”

As part of the next steps, the Wilkins are bringing the Reynolds to their first High Point Market so they can meet key vendors and start building those relationships. And while the Wilkins are stepping away, they’re still going to have some involvement.

“Some of what we’re doing in the future, we very much plan to involve them in that. There is no substitute for 25 years of relationships and knowledge,” Phil Reynolds said. “The reason people like us buy a business rather than start one from scratch is we recognize and appreciate the value of that. If you can find a business with great reputation and fundamentals, you can build from this point.”

And for his part, Wilkins believes the business has its best days ahead.

“It’s a little bittersweet, but I haven’t had any misgivings. It’s been very natural in how it’s come together. As we’ve been able to step back and look at it a little differently, we think it’s good for the business. Change can be good for a business,” he said. “You’re in here every day doing what you do, and you don’t have the same perspective as someone coming from the outside. We’ve already seen some initiatives that they’ve implemented that are timely and appropriate.”