Playing Shelf-Defense

Richmond Times Dispatch:

Matt Ferguson builds homes, but his next job is a retrofit.

The Hanover County builder saw a good year turn sour in August and September, so he and his wife, Beverly, went looking for other options to survive the economic meltdown of the real estate industry.

They found one in their backyard – a franchise based on making the most of what people already have in their homes instead of buying new ones.

The Fergusons signed a franchise agreement on Thursday for the Richmond region territory to sell ShelfGenie, a multistep service for designing and installing pull-out shelving in existing cabinets, pantries and cupboards. It’s not recession-proof, but the Fergusons think it’s close.

“Out of all the options we had, this is the one that has the most potential in this economic climate,” said Matt Ferguson, who looked at four alternatives that could be complementary to his house-building business, Forest Homes of Richmond.

ShelfGenie is based on what the company calls glide-out shelving that makes cabinet space easier to use. The shelving, made of Baltic birch wood, is milled and assembled to custom specifications. The manufacturing and distribution side of the business operates in a 7,300-square-foot building in the Hanover Air Park. Read more.

Photo: P. Kevin Morley / Times-Dispatch.

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