History

The story of our business is the story of our family. In 1931, when Edward and Anna Goodman opened a furniture store below their apartment in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, customers rang a bell and Edward or Anna would go down and open the store.

In 1954 Edward moved the family and the business to Arizona and started shipping furniture from the east coast. The first shipment was lost in an accident. The next shipment arrived safely, but was later damaged in a flood. The Goodmans restored the damaged furniture and sold it to a nearby convent, where the Mother Superior had taken a liking to Edward.

The Goodmans focused their energies on office furniture, calling their new enterprise Arizona Office Equipment. In 1963, Edward and Anna's son, Murray, convinced his parents to change the name to Goodmans, making the point that "people prefer to do business with people."

Under Murray's leadership, Goodmans teamed up in 1968 with another name: Herman Miller. This partnership allowed Goodmans to combine its tradition of personalized service with a renewed dedication to timeless design and innovative thinking. Large companies, hospitals and government agencies across the Southwest turn to Goodmans for quality furniture and intelligent space configuration ideas.

In 1993, Murray's son, Adam, joined the business and headed up efforts to meet the needs of smaller companies. As the 1990's progressed and technology forced rapid changes in businesses of all sizes, Goodmans had an epiphany. "We weren't just in the furniture business anymore," Adam says. "We were also in the construction business."

Since then, Goodmans has led the industry in training and employee development. Goodmans team members are trained in design principles, construction codes, project management procedures and the latest product innovations. Our clients and colleagues appreciate the expert knowledge and professionalism Goodmans delivers at every stage of a project and well after installation.