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Three generations of Barons do windows |
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Baron’s joined Michigan Retailers Association back
when Herman was in charge—Don can’t remember a time when the
business wasn’t a member. His interest in local history is evident
as he describes how his father’s business evolved and grew into what
it is today. He enjoys explaining photos on the wall in the store,
showing Baron’s first storefront in the 1940s and the current location
back in the 1960s, when Washington Avenue was lined with impressive movie
theaters. Similar photos are on the store’s website (www.baronsblinds.com),
showing the family’s sense of history and pride in their status as
a cornerstone business in Lansing. “I can remember Mrs. Stanton, my dad’s first
employee, who followed him over from Lansing Dry Goods in 1944 and worked
for him for more than 20 years. I have lots of fond memories of the people
who worked here over the years, like the high school students my dad hired
to help out after school,” said Don. Fast forward to the 21st century: Baron’s Window
Coverings now does about 60 percent commercial work (supplying and installing
blinds in apartment buildings) and about 40 percent retail work. Neil
and Don are proud that their company can compete nationally, winning bids
to do commercial projects in other states. “Usually that comes from being invited to bid on
a project in another state by a property manager we did work for here,”
Don explained. Such jobs also lead to future business, shipping replacement
blinds and hardware. They have also displayed at the International Builders’
Show (the National Association of Home Builders’ annual trade show
held in Las Vegas) for more than 25 years. “We’ve developed a reputation for getting a
job done on time—especially important for our commercial work. Sometimes
a project manager will go from one company to another and the manager
will take us along—that’s a sign we’re doing it right,”
added Neil. Don believes that their business philosophy is not so
different from other retailers. “We put the customer first, always,
we meet our deadlines and do quality work. We return phone calls promptly,
even if it’s just to say we’re waiting on our suppliers.
The Barons have made some wise business decisions over
the years, knowing when to specialize and offer extra services or products
at competitive rates. In the early 1950s, Herman Baron found a niche doing custom
draperies for people’s homes. He employed several women who sewed
in their homes. He would take fabric over to their homes and pick up the
finished product a week later, then install the drapes in the customer’s
home. “Back in the post-war era the styles were much more
cut and dried,” remembers Don. “It was basically pinch-pleated
draperies, possibly with a valance. Today there’s a much larger range.” “My dad also carried drapery hardware, the rods and
so on. No one made a good quality traverse rod back then. “So he used to make his own traverse rods, right
in the customer’s home as a part of the installation process, from
parts supplied by Kirsch. Finally, Kirsch came out with their own traverse
rods, in the late 1950s, and that took a lot of the labor out of my dad’s
job.” In 1965, Herman Baron saw the opportunity to move into
the commercial sector, providing draperies for apartment complexes. Since
that part of the business has grown substantially, his decision showed
foresight. When blinds became popular, Baron’s adapted and began
offering blinds, now a major part of their business. Baron’s has
been making its own aluminum 1” horizontal blinds for the past 20
years, but also offers all the newer alternatives from companies like
Hunter Douglas. For vertical blinds, Baron’s makes its own track. Growing up, Don used to help after school and on Saturdays.
After college, Don worked in Hudson’s drapery department for a while,
then came to his father’s business in 1962 and progressed from there,
taking over ownership in 1970. Both Don and his son, Neil, learned the business “by
osmosis—it’s just in the air, at work and at home,” Don
explained. Neil, who also worked at the business after school as
a high school student, came on board officially in 1989, after a year
of trying his hand at advertising in New York and New Jersey. Both he
and his father are glad he came back. “We work well together. We’re both very hands
on, very interested in personally servicing the customers, and they appreciate
that attention,” Neil said. Neil tells a story of an important lesson he learned shortly
after joining his father at the family business. “Don was away, and a project manager called. He’d
forgotten to order something, and now he needed it the next day. I didn’t
see how we could do it, and he said, ‘Don would get it done!’
So we did, somehow!” Neil said. Watching Don and Neil work together, it is easy to see why customers and clients come back for return business. Whether Neil’s two young daughters will ever take over their great-grandfather’s business is impossible to predict, but they can be proud of their family’s Lansing legacy. This article was written by Amy Buttery, Michigan Retailer staff writer. |
Things
have changed since 1944—in the world, in the retail industry and
in downtown Lansing, where Herman Baron left his job at Lansing Dry Goods
to open his own business, Baron’s Curtains and Linens. Sixty years
later, Herman’s son, Don, owns the business, now called Baron’s
Window Coverings, and his grandson, Neil, is vice president, working closely
with his father.
“The
old saying—that the customer is always right—you really have
to go with that attitude. You can’t worry about whether you’re
making your margin on every job; just complete it and go on. It’s
an imperfect world, things will happen, you just deal with it, that’s
all,” Don explained.