Jake jabs
Jake Jabs, president and CEO of American Furniture Warehouse, is an entrepreneur who pioneered the high volume, big box home furnishings store, starting with one store in 1975 to become a top 20 retailer with 14 stores in Colorado, Arizona and Texas. As one of the largest privately held companies in Colorado, Mr. Jabs believes the keys to selling furniture are honesty, knowledge about the product and competitive pricing. His mantra, “Do It Right The First Time,” applies to buying it, marketing it, displaying it, selling it, delivering it and taking care of the customer. With a trucking fleet of more than 800 trucks – tractor trailers, box trucks and even trucks for customers to rent – white glove deliveries are made coast to coast.
Mr. Jabs is a master of mixing entertainment and mass retailing, with a penchant for playing guitar for store customers and appearing with exotic animals in television commercials. A former Air Force officer, he focuses on hiring veterans, offers widespread incentive pay to employees, and spends a full day with each new hire to instill his passion for honesty, providing value and fully informing each customer with detailed product information tags. He has written two books, An American Tiger and Thriving in Tough Times.
Mr. Jabs has contributed countless hours as a volunteer and hundreds of millions of dollars to many, many charities and schools. In Colorado, he is ranked as the fifth Top Corporate Philanthropists, exceeded only by large public companies. He believes in the power of education as a mentor and as a frequent lecturer for the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship at his alma mater, Montana State University where he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree, and for the University of Colorado Entrepreneurial Business School. His many industry, business and charitable honors include the National Home Furnishings Association Retailer of the Year, Furniture Today Retailer of the Year and Mentorship Award, Home Furnishings Association Trail Blazer Award, American Red Cross Community Heroism Award, Colorado Easter Seals Champion Award and induction into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame.