Rogards Announces Move to New Location
Planned changes to Champaign’s downtown presented a great opportunity for longtime, locally-owned Champaign business Rogards. The office supply and furniture distributor plans to relocate in early September to a newly constructed location on Boardwalk Drive in northwest Champaign.
“When we heard that the building we currently occupy was being sold as part of the planned downtown development, our initial reaction was, of course, to be a bit sad,” says Rogards President and CEO Tonya Horn. “Rogards has occupied this location for a number of years, and we’ve been thrilled to be part of the rebirth of the downtown area. But, we also immediately knew that this presented an incredible opportunity for us. The age of this building was becoming a challenge, and it was not originally constructed with us in mind. So as we have grown and changed, it’s been challenging to get the building to change along with us.”
Rogards will relocate into a 14,400 square foot office, showroom, and warehouse space being constructed by The Atkins Group as part of their Prism Warehouse development. As part of the move, Rogards plans a heavy emphasis on using the new space for a furniture showroom, a project that was already underway in the current location.
“We really want our showroom to be a place where customers can come to get inspired about what their workplaces can be,” says Horn. “There are so many studies that tie employee satisfaction and engagement to elements of the physical environment – we want to guide customers to really think about what their space says about them and their company.” In addition to having dedicated furniture showroom space in the front of the building, Horn says the plan is for the entire office to be used as a working showroom. “We’re going to invite customers not only into our showroom, but literally into our own offices so that they can see various furniture elements in action.”
Horn also says plans are in the works to get creative about different ways to invite customers into the new space. In addition to plans for an open house once the move is complete, Rogards is hoping to host more events including educational lunch and learns.