Bye, bye, Barry: ‘La-Z-Boy king’ Barry Muir to retire after 65 years in furniture business

Barry Muir’s eyes well up when he imagines shutting the doors to his furniture shop for the final time.

“It’s going to be extremely tough,” he says. “This is the only thing I have known.”

Soon, Tauranga will no longer hear the cheerful voice of Barry Muir listing off the latest furniture sales on the radio – the ‘La-Z-Boy king’ of the Bay of Plenty is putting his feet up after 65 years in the furniture industry.

The lease is up for renewal on 282 Maunganui Rd, and Muir says, “It’s time.”

“It was a difficult decision. But at the age of 82, I felt it was time to slow down.”

Barry Muir’s first job

The Muir family – Barry, his parents Betty and George, and brother Keith – moved to Tauranga from Taupō in 1948. Betty and George Muir built a house on Yatton St in Greerton.

“It was probably one of the first houses in Greerton,” Muir says.

Muir attended the then-Greerton School and Tauranga College (now Tauranga Boys’ College).

Greerton Furnishings boss at the time, Ray Stratford, said: “Barry, we want you to come and work for us.”

But Muir said: “I can’t leave school – I haven’t made the 1st XV rugby team.”

After being called into the school office, Muir was told by the principal at the time, A. G. Nicholson, that it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

So, Muir left school early and got a job at Greerton Furnishings in 1957. He was 17.

By 1960, Muir had won a retail scholarship to go work for a year at Australian department store David Jones as a senior executive trainee.

During that year, Muir worked in advertising and sales.

“I had to wear a suit all the time.”

In 1961, he returned to Greerton Furnishings and became the sales manager at the age of 21.

The sales, the people, and the ‘La-Z-Boy king’

Muir says he remembers the big Furniture Fair sales like the annual long weekend event at the Tauranga Race Course.

“We would get up to 5000 people there. We did over $1 million turnover on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

“We did that every year from 1975 up until about 1989. Every furniture salesperson in New Zealand wanted to be there.”

He said he also remembers setting up the mobile curtain and carpet vans.

“I think we were one of the first people in New Zealand to set this up. We had about five of them.

“My job was to make sure we had enough work for this. We had to generate about 15 calls a day.”

At that stage, Muir and his joint managing director Neil Pettersen had about 110 employees.

“It was huge,” he says.

“I have got to know them extremely well. A lot of them were there for 20 years or more.

“It became part of their [lives], too.”

That included Billy Strang and Marie Peck, who looked after the curtain side of the business. Both retired just last year.

In 1991, Greerton Furnishings was sold to the Forlongs Group.

So, Muir and the late Kevin Long decided to open their own shop in Mount Maunganui – Furniture Save, on Newton St.

But in 1996, Muir said they had to close due to the area not being zoned for retail.

They moved to 282 Maunganui Rd, where Muir has been ever since.

“We became quite famous for our La-Z-Boy chairs. I was the La-Z-Boy king of the Bay back then.”

In 2002, they were named the La-Z-Boy retailer of the year.

Muir says they later changed the shop name from Furniture Save to Furniture Gallery to avoid confusion between town newcomer Big Save.

Secret to success

Muir says Barry Muir’s Furniture Gallery has become well-known through radio and newspaper advertising.

He has been recording radio advertisements with Tauranga radio host Brian Kelly since 1975.

“We have voiced all of our ads,” Muir said.

Throughout his career, Muir has been a keen sponsor of local sports clubs and teams, and the Baypark Speedway.

The secret to success and longevity was simple, he said.

“Honesty, trust. Treat people the way you like to be treated. We’ve always said, ‘more service, more business’.

“I think that’s it. We generally like helping people.”

Muir expected to close the doors in December or early January at the latest. He says he will spend his retirement with his family and wife Trish, playing lawn bowls, or taking up golf again.

Reminiscing on the last 65 years, Muir says he will miss the people.

“Especially Ray, Neil, Billy, and our accountant, Harry Waterhouse.

“There are so many people – lists of names. I owe a lot of them. They have molded me into a pretty good salesperson, and a genuine one who will see the job through.”

NZME’s Gold AM Country Sport Breakfast host Brian Kelly says is sad to be losing a local trader.

“Barry was a local identity. He has been part of the furniture.

“So many people will be sitting on the lounge suites he has sold them.”

Kelly started working with Muir in the 1980s.

“We started recording ads together and haven’t stopped. He only needed one take. He would always come in prepared and fire off a 15-second take in 15 seconds. That was that.”

Kelly says Muir was “absolutely passionate” about what he does.

“He is a real people person. He has been known to not just sell a lounge suite, but he will load it onto the truck and deliver it personally.”

“It is going to be extremely hard to work for anyone else after working for Barry.”

Shaun Reed has been working with Barry Muir for nearly 18 years.

The 40-year-old says he remembers walking into the Mount store for the first time and seeing Muir.

“He said to me, ‘We are looking for a weekender, would you be keen?’

“The following week I came for my trial and I did $20,000 on my own. On Sunday, I equaled it, and some. At the end of the weekend, Barry was tallying up and said: ‘Well, that’s the trial over. You’re hired’.”

Reed says he has enjoyed working with Muir.

“He is always open and he always listens. It is a family environment.”

He says it is going to be “really sad” when the doors of Barry Muir’s Furniture Gallery close.

“This has been a big part of my life here. You feel like you’re in the business. You don’t feel like you’re just an employee.”

Reed says he will treasure memories like when he and Muir used to play cricket or throw on boxing gloves and spar in the middle of the shop during work hours. Muir was a keen boxer.

“He clipped me a couple of times, and he can throw a punch for sure.”

Once the shop closes, Reed says his next adventure was working towards opening his own furniture shop.

“It is going to be extremely hard to work for anyone else after working for Barry.”