Seventy-five years after his family’s business opened in Tulsa, Okla., Jack Wills III still follows the fundamental business principle that guided two generations before him: You take care of the customer no matter what. Not only did this philosophy prove successful for his grandfather, the first Jack Wills, who opened an indoor furniture store in 1939, it also succeeded for his father, Jack Wills Jr., a casual furniture industry pioneer who starting adding outdoor products in the 1960s.

Wills will be the first to point out that taking care of the customer is a lot more hands-on now than in the past. “We don’t get the cash and carry business that we used to,” he said. “Customers are more or less working on projects and want us to help them with the whole layout.”

That leads to larger, more complex sales but requires a longer view by the retailer. For example, although business was down this season in June, Wills was reassured by the number of projects in the pipeline that would be completed by August.

To meet the demands of his traditional customers as well as the growing numbers of younger consumers interested in transitional and contemporary designs, Wills would like more tools from the manufacturers. 

“We need to be careful with our product mix but also be up and running with our catalogs,” he said, adding that being able to provide an online link or video, for example, allows retailers to capture email addresses while giving consumers easy and entertaining access to the information they want.

“Younger consumers aren’t going to sit there and read through a brochure, but they’ll watch a video showing how the furniture is made,” Wills said. 

 In addition to Tulsa, the first-time Apollo nominee has locations in Little Rock and Tontitown, Ark., as well as Cordova, Tenn.