Kluger Furs has been in business for 66 years, and Larry Kluger has been managing it for 50 of those years, so he has a longer perspective than most, and for him and his wife and business partner, Sue Kluger, the past decade had some big challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, wasn’t really one of them. Or it was, but only briefly.
“It’s been a crazy 10 years, hasn’t it?” he said. “But actually, we did very well during COVID. The beginning of it wasn’t so (good) because we were closed. Everybody shut down.”
Government assistance to businesses helped Kluger Furs and many other local businesses weather the early days of the pandemic. As things gradually opened up, some sectors of the economy bounced back quicker than others.
Larry said he felt sorry for businesses that continued to struggle, but he was grateful for Kluger Furs’ success.
“People weren’t going on vacation, so they had money to spend on buying themselves something,” he said.
Another challenge for the business is keeping up with changing tastes.
“Everything has changed. Fashion changes,” Sue said.
Larry said people have always wanted to look like people they admire and there will be demand for clothing the biggest stars are wearing. But social media has had an impact on that demand.
We have our advertisers to thank for providing the stable financial foundation we need to keep our community informed. Chronicle advertisers get the benefit of reaching the community with their messages, but our most loyal partners also continue to advertise because supporting local news is a way to contribute to the community. Some of those partners offered their support early and have stayed with us the whole way. As we celebrate the Chronicle’s first decade (we published our first story in June 2014) we invited them to share their progress in the past decade and talk about the future they envision.
— Chronicle staff
A decade ago, companies like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were emerging as economic and cultural forces.
Now, there are more than 30 social media platforms with more than 100 million users. Digital trends consulting firm Kepios estimates nearly 64% of the world population uses social media.
That means more social media influencers reaching a bigger audience faster and creating fast-changing demand for new looks.
What’s challenging for the Klugers is that some of those looks were custom designed for the celebrity, and the Klugers have to find something like it.
So in looking to the future, the Klugers will focus on staying nimble to meet customers’ desires.
Kluger Furs has been located in Flossmoor Commons for 35 years. The store at 3303 Vollmer Road is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit klugerfurs.com.