What you need to know about Northeast Factory Direct
By Beth Newcomb
Alex Nemet, owner of Northeast Factory Direct, readily admits that some people still maintain a few misconceptions about his bare-bones furniture and kitchen cabinetry warehouse.
“They think because we’re located in a no-frills location, we don’t offer the same or better, top-of-the-line inventory the fine furniture stores offer. That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he notes.
In fact, Northeast Factory Direct sells countless styles of couches, loveseats, sectionals, bedroom sets, outdoor patio furniture, dining sets, mattresses and home theater seating that run the gamut from ultra budget friendly to uber chic and trendy. As an aside, they also sell hot tubs of every conceivable size and kitchens at NEFD start at $1,899.
Another misconception, he reveals, is that many people still think you have to buy from the sales floor.
“Absolutely not,” Alex insists.
“In fact, to maintain our strict standards of quality, we never sell from the floor. Every piece is ordered at the time of purchase. You won’t have to have delivered to your home something that’s been taken for a test drive a few hundred times.”
So when you visit the NEFD showroom, Alex says, go ahead and flop, sit, lay or otherwise distribute your body weight over anything on the floor.
“That’s what it’s there for,” he smiles.
“We want our customers to feel good about what they’re buying. The only way to do that is for them to act like they’re at home. If you normally lay on the couch in your family room, go ahead and do that here. We want everyone who visits us to know that when they walk out that door having made their purchase, they’re getting a brand new, exceptional piece of furniture at a remarkable value ordered just for them. They are not going to be taking home a piece from the sales floor.”
Once you’ve tried, you can go ahead and buy. An order will be placed for your piece or pieces, which will then be delivered to you and carefully placed in your home. Although Alex and his team order pieces individually, NEFD’s buying power has been so firmly established in the industry there are remarkable savings realized—and passed along.
“Nobody else can offer what we do,” Alex stresses. “We buy our brand new, top-of-the-line goods by the truckload and enjoy a volume discount, which we then provide to our customers.”
The buying and selling formula Alex has developed is centered around the idea that nobody should ever have to pay retail for home furnishings. That’s why he keeps his overhead low by displaying NEFD’s wares in a decidedly un-fancy warehouse. Instead of shopping decorator-inspired vignettes, you’re browsing row after row of home furnishings lined up without pretension. Alex is unapologetic about his methods.
“We have succeeded based on the idea that people care less about how the sample furnishings in our warehouse are arranged than they do about savings hundreds and often thousands of dollars on them,” he states. “They don’t care how our home furnishings are displayed. They care about getting brand new merchandise delivered to their homes for a fraction of what they’d pay elsewhere. We give them that.”
Northeast Factory Direct has two locations. Find them at 3321 W. 140th Street in Cleveland. The phone number is 216-941-7727 and the hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. In Eastlake the address is 33599 Curtis Blvd., and the phone number is 440-942-7945. Hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. To sit down with a kitchen designer an appointment is recommended. Get directions from anywhere when you visit the website at NortheastFactoryDirect.com.