Page 16 - The Peorian Vol 3 Issue 1 Winter

16 thePeorian.com
J eff Broms is getting settled
in nicely in his new store in
Junction City. The remodel-
ing work is finished, his new
vault is in place and his racks are
filled with furs and leather.
Now comes the busy season,
Broms said while working at his
store, Broms Furs & Fashions, just
before Thanksgiving. “Actually,
our busy season is from about
October until it quits being cold.
Then, of course, we get busy with
customers who want to store
their garments. It’s really a year-
round business,” he said.
He believes his September
move from the Metro Centre to
Junction City will help at least
the service side of his fur busi-
ness. “I came here because most
of my customers are out in this
direction. Plus, I now have more
space, more convenient parking.
And the direction that Junc-
tion City itself is going is what I
was going for, seeking the more
upscale shoppers. This is a place
where my customers shop,” he
said.
Broms is the last store in Peoria
to sell that specialty merchandise.
In fact, there are less than 100
furriers in the country. And with
that industry now doing well,
Broms said, he needed the extra
space. His new vault is large
enough to store 8,000 garments.
The space, former site of Magno-
lia’s restaurant on a very visible
corner of the shopping center, is
large enough for two fur salons
and extra fitting rooms.
“As in every industry we have
peaks and valleys. Right now
we’re in a peak because younger
people are more fashion con-
scious than they’ve been in a long
time,” he said.
Broms Furs & Fashions has
been in business 64 years. It was
started by Brom’s father Lee, who
came to Peoria to run the furs
department for Bergner’s in 1948.
Less than a year later, Lee Broms
bought out Fern’s Fur Shop and
it has been Broms ever since. “In
11 months at Bergner’s he’d done
$300,000 worth of business. He
figured if he could do that well
for somebody else, why not for
himself,” Jeff Broms said.
So, Jeff Broms, 57, grew up in
the business. While still young he
began learning selling techniques
from his mother, Mollie, and the
furrier side of the business from
his father. It was natural, right?
“Actually, I wanted to be an
oceanographer. But at my mom’s
insistence I went to Bradley
[University] first and studied
business, with the plan to then go
into oceanography. But my dad
got sick with a heart condition, so
I took a leave from school to run
the business. I never went back.
Dad got better, but I stayed here,”
he said.
FURS AND LEATHER
Broms moves closer to his customer
By Paul Gordon
Specialty Retail: Apparel
This is part of the showroom at the new Broms Furs & Fashions store at Junction City.