Lights are on at Black Wood Furniture

Black Wood Furniture is located along Chalan Msgr. Martinez, St. in Koblerville. (Contributed Photo)

A relatively new furniture shop in Koblerville has managed to stay open even as dozens of businesses shuttered on Saipan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dayoung Chung, Black Wood Furniture marketing manager, said their furniture store didn’t close since the government enforced social distancing measures in late March to stymie the spread of the coronavirus on the island.

“We have not closed our store…but we had limited our business time,” she said.

Black Wood Furniture is compliant with 6-foot social distancing to reduce the risk of staffs/customers’ exposure to the virus. (Contributed Photo)

That meant reducing their store hours from 9am to 1pm starting last March 24. They have since resumed normal operating hours last May 28.

“Since we limited our business hours, our customers had trouble accessing our store as well. So, we decided to interact more with our customers via Facebook and Instagram,” she said.

Shuttering their store half the day but increasing their digital footprint proved to be a genius move for Black Wood Furniture.

Black Wood Furniture didn’t close even if the government enforced social distancing measures starting late March. (Contributed Photo)

“The messages from customers highly increased. We even tried to assist our customers during late nights or early mornings to satisfy their needs through Facebook and Instagram. Thankfully it led them to visit our store between 9am and 1pm,” Chung said.

There was also another unexpected benefit, according to her. “…[With] the situation of online classes, working at home made the demands for desks and chairs high. We tried to import desks and chairs for home furnishing even with difficulties in getting supplies from Korea,” she said.

With the easing of social distancing measures, Black Wood Furniture has seen its operations return to pre-pandemic levels. “Our sales are back to normal, 10-20 teams visit our store a day.”

That doesn’t mean that Chung and company have eased measures to protect customers and staff though.

Black Wood Furniture has seen its operations return to pre-pandemic levels. (Contributed Photo)

“We are compliant with 6-foot social distancing to reduce the risk of staffs/customers’ exposure to the virus. Staff and customers are strictly asked to wear masks before entering our shop…and also we have provided masks, gloves, and personal hygiene products to our staff,” she said.

Chung thanked Black Wood Furniture’s loyal customers that continue to patronage them even during these difficult times.

“Thanks for shopping at Black Wood Furniture! We truly appreciate your business, and we’re so grateful for the trust you’ve placed in us. Without our customers, we could not have overcome this hardship. Our priority is customer’s satisfaction. We sincerely hope you are satisfied with your purchase and look forward to serving you again,” she said.

Black Wood Furniture is located along Chalan Msgr. Martinez, St. in Koblerville. It is open from 11am to 6pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (closed Wednesday and Sunday). For more information, call 234-6708 or reach them through Facebook and Instagram.