Budget-conscious shoppers gravitate to unique store in Geneva
Shoppers of the quirky American Science & Surplus will find everything from a wooden watercolor artist case for less than $15 to dancing stuffed chickens that do the "cluck, cluck polka."
The retailer, that started more than 70 years ago, continues to thrive selling, well, odd stuff. The company is experiencing sales increases at its three retail stores at a time when many retailers are suffering. The collection of oddities that the store carries coupled with low prices are the reasons for the success, according to owner Philip Cable.
In addition to online and catalog sales, making up about 70 percent of the business, stores operate in Geneva, Chicago and Milwaukee.
The business owner, a self proclaimed "science geek," took over the business about nine years ago.
He offers a unique mix of industrial, military and educational items with an emphasis on science and education. There are also a bunch of gag gifts.
The company offers a wide range of unusual and hard to find items to the hobbiest, tinkerer, artist, experimenter, home educator and do-it-yourselfer.
Cable has seen a hike in shoppers looking to stretch their dollar and save money. "We're doing well with frugal people looking for the regular staples," Cable said.
The company offers surplus merchandise that's about half the price as it would be at a traditional retailer. Cable, 47, said the company has long-standing relationships with companies and manufactures looking to sell excess merchandise.
"We buy close outs. We're a store filled with surplus," Cable said.
"We're doing well," Cable said of the company with 60 employees and a 70,000-square foot warehouse in Niles. Sales are up at the Geneva store about 13 percent over last year. However, overall sales dipped about 3 percent as the company was forced to reduce its catalog circulation by about 15 percent. Last year the company mailed out 1.7 million copies of the monthly magazine.
In addition to the merchandise, draws to the magazine are the drawings and humorous product descriptions.
An artist from Highland Park uses stick type figures in drawing the products for the magazine and the Web site. The art professor has done more than 20,000 drawings over the past 20 years.
"The copy that describes our products is humorous, yet brutally honest. If we're selling a rusty part, we'll say that," Cable said.
Shoppers often spend a great deal of time just reading the product descriptions and browsing at the Geneva store at 33W361 Rt. 38, east of Kirk Road. "There's stuff hanging from the ceiling. You tend to buy a lot of stuff you didn't think you needed," Cable said.
The merchandise is constantly changing. "We have between 3,000 and 4,000 items in the store," he added.
The concept for American Science & Surplus started nearly 80 years ago by Al Luebbers. He noticed a company next door to the plant where he worked was throwing away reject lenses. He asked if he could buy the rejects, but they were given to him instead.
Al and his wife took the lenses, cleaned and polished them at their kitchen table in the evenings, placed an ad in Popular Science and sold them.
After the Second World War, the company expanded, fed by war surplus and eventually opened a store in Chicago called American Science Center.
The concept expanded when a partner was added when the founder's son took over.
Cable, of Evanston, then bought the business about nine years ago. Cable was the type of kid who took vacuum cleaners apart and spent his time doing science experiments in the basement.
He says this is the perfect place to work. "We get to test all the stuff."
For more, check out sciplus.com.