Until now, customers for office furniture have enjoyed a range of retail options, but not nearly enough of one.

They’ve got the “big box” stores, which sell cheap RTA – ready to assemble – desks, shelves and other no-name stuff that might not take much wear and tear before falling apart.

And there are the upper-end outlets that stock brand-name furniture of indisputably high quality, but which can break the budget of a home-based entrepreneur or small business.

The partners behind the new Topps Office Furniture Outlet in Edmonton did a year’s worth of research to determine exactly what else the market badly needs, in the full range of furniture requirements for small business and even for discerning corporations seeking top value for their office upgrades.

Craig Walker and partner Barbara Lerner have lined up the best suppliers at Topps Office Furniture Outlet.

That time investment seems to have paid off. Even before Topps held its March 15 official opening, customers had been heading to the temporary showroom at 10614 – 172nd Street and snapping up the new offerings.

“We’re selling good-quality office furniture at everyday affordable prices,” says co-owner Craig Walker.

“We sell everything from the simple computer table to the complex work station, and customers are delighted about how well made they are, while being competitively priced.

The feedback is positive and overwhelming.”

At first glance, a person might wonder why it took a retailer a whole year to figure out that strategy would work. But much of what Topps does is search every corner of the furniture- manufacturing industry to find the right suppliers making the right products.

In addition, the new firm analysed the offerings currently available in the market and methodically catalogued areas needing serious improvement for increased customer satisfaction.

The result is many deals the likes of which Edmonton hasn’t seen before.

Topps has another advantage.

In fact, that’s what it’s called: Advantage Business Furnishings. It’s Walker’s parent company, and has been in business since 1992.

Advantage deals mostly in contract sales to medium and large companies, traditionally a customer base that demands top-quality furniture at prices to match.

But Walker and partner Barbara Lerner knew there was a market for reasonable-quality office furniture at lower prices, and that’s how the Topps Office Furniture Outlet came to be established.

“We’re finding that there’s a bigger market than we anticipated. Besides small-business owner and lone entrepreneur, it turns out that the larger consumer – the multi-workstation customer – is now interested in looking at what we have. They don’t want to spend the premium for the brand-name product.

“These are major corporations. They are seriously considering purchasing our kind of product.”

That’s good news for the more modest buyer, too, because when oil companies and other corporations with high standards give a product line their seal of approval, you know you’re on to a good deal.

Walker wants to make one thing clear, however. Topps is not offering the cheapest deals.

“We’re not going to beat the best price in town. We’re everyday affordable, which means that it’s not necessarily the lowest price.”

You can still find RTA product at the big box outlets if all you need for a minimal cash outlay is something to prop up a computer monitor for a while.

Topps also thinks about your back. It stocks chairs that are ergonomically designed – an advantage that might not be obvious at first, but which will create joy later on when your muscles hold up even after long sessions at the keyboard.

“We don’t want to be a big-box store, where somebody with almost no experience says: ‘Here it is, here’s the price, how many do you want and I’ll carry them out to your car.’ “Our people know what we have and how that will meet the customer's needs. We sell a diverse range of products, including workstations and ergonomic chairs, that meet the needs of most offices.”

An unusual aspect of Topps is its seamless connection to parent firm Advantage.

If a customer wants a line of brand-name items in combination with good, affordable furniture in another area, an Advantage contract representative is on hand to help.

It’s one-stop shopping at Topps.

“We’re combining the storefront retail point of sale operation in Topps with our current, successful contract division,” Walker says. “That gives the customer a full range of whatever they want, from the cash-and-carry simple computer table, all the way up to the multi-floor contract project.

“If the contract division is working on the job but they want to buy 50 of my inexpensive but very comfortable chairs from Topps, they get the best of both worlds.”

For your office furniture needs, drop by at 10614 – 172nd Street, or phone 780.487.7997 in Edmonton.