Merchandise changes at Benny’s but not customer focus

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE: Arnold Bromberg, Benny’s co-owner, said there’s “now bigger competition, but our stores are bigger too and the challenges are the same.” / COURTESY BENNY’S
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE: Arnold Bromberg, Benny’s co-owner, said there’s “now bigger competition, but our stores are bigger too and the challenges are the same.” / COURTESY BENNY’S

Arnold Bromberg knew from an early age he would enter into the family business. His grandfather, Benjamin Bromberg, founded the first Benny’s in 1924 and it has since become one of Rhode Island’s most well-known, privately owned retail businesses. The stores today offer a variety of merchandise, from tires to clothes and toys.
The first Benny’s opened on Fountain Street in Providence and while that store no longer exists, the Bromberg family today owns 32 stores in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Bromberg began his career at Benny’s at the age of 16. He started building bikes and stocking shelves in 1966 and has been working there ever since. The only extended period of time Bromberg has spent away from Benny’s was when he attended college at Brandeis University, and even then he worked at Benny’s during summer and winter breaks.
Today, Bromberg owns and manages the company with siblings Howard Bromberg and Judy Rosenstein. On Nov. 10, the trio – along with their families, friends and loyal customers – celebrated the business’ 90th anniversary by giving away 200 hats at each location with Benny’s iconic logo.

PBN: Benny’s has been a staple Rhode Island business for now 90 years. What does that mean for you and your family?
BROMBERG: Well, it’s a long time. We have generations, three or four of them, who’ve worked here diligently every day. My father was the second generation and he passed away in the spring. He was 90. He was actually born at the same time as the first store opened on Fountain Street. It’s all the work we’ve ever known. There are so many things that are second nature and we’re committed to the same principles that my grandfather started. The assortment of merchandise changes, the look and the size of the stores and the cash registers have changed, but the core principle of the business is there and that’s the product and service we’re providing for our customers.

PBN: Your grandfather, Benjamin Bromberg, founded Benny’s in 1924. How did you get involved and how did you become an owner?
BROMBERG: I would call it generational osmosis. It ended up that way. Working here makes you an owner. We have titles, but it’s what we do that defines us more than the title. Personally, my day-to-day job is aimed more towards the advertising and buying of merchandise.
PBN: How have you seen Benny’s and the retail market change over your lifetime?
BROMBERG: When I started out of college I was trained as a buyer. The first area I was responsible for was automotive parts. I would say most of those items back in the mid- to late ‘70s – shock absorbers, starters, brake shoes, water pumps – because of proliferation of replacement parts in cars over the years, the inventory became such that it was no longer feasible to carry. There used to be tune-up kits we sold and anyone could go out and basically ask their father, or their neighbor how to change the spark plugs in the car, which would be done twice a year, but that’s gone. The sophistication of cars and the proliferation of styles and parts have changed. On the other hand, we sell a lot of things that we weren’t selling then. So, there are a lot of areas where one type of merchandise disappears and another takes its place.

PBN: How do you survive as an independent retailer in a heavily chain-dominated market?
BROMBERG: We’ve changed with the times and rolled with the punches. … There’s obviously great competition and we have always found ways to compete, whether it’s offering a better deal or a different type of merchandise, that’s what we have to do. We feel as if we’re competitive on any item we sell any day of the week, but we also have to make sure we have superior customer service. Another advantage we think we have is that we have a store that’s easy to get in and out of. We’ve had competition and we could have been asked the same question 30 years ago. It’s now bigger competition, but our stores are bigger too and the challenges are the same.

PBN: How are you celebrating your 90th anniversary and where do you see the company for its 100th?
BROMBERG: We had 90 days of specials from July to October and we gave away thousands and thousands of Benny’s 90th anniversary hats. It was a lot of fun. … Knowing what it took to plan the 90th anniversary, we’ll have to start planning for the 100th anniversary around year 98.

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PBN: Any more plans to expand?
BROMBERG: We look at every opportunity to open a new store and, while there’s nothing currently on the drawing board, we’re constantly expanding the retail space in our already existing stores to keep it different and appealing.

PBN: In your grandfather’s 1924 announcement of Benny’s he said the store would include, “clean, new, up-to-the minute stocks of auto supplies, tires, tubes, radios etc.” How would you change this announcement if you were opening Benny’s today?
BROMBERG: We’d still have tires. We’d still have radios. From the time of that ad the radio was the thing you listened to in your house. People were buying radios and headphones like they were buying iPods a couple years ago.
My grandfather was tending to the needs of the customer back then and we are today. It’s just different merchandise. •

INTERVIEW
Arnold Bromberg
POSITION: Co-owner of Benny’s
BACKGROUND: Bromberg started working at Benny’s the day he turned 16. After studying at college for four years he started working full time and has been with the family business ever since.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in English, Brandeis University, 1973
FIRST JOB: Building bikes and stocking shelves at Benny’s in 1966
RESIDENCE: Providence
AGE: 63

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