Page 57 - Lighting Magazine March 2019

retail spotlight
Rick’s grandfather, Eggert Heinsohn, established his electrical supply business (Heinsohn Electric) in the 1940s and remained at its helm, grooming his son/Rick’s father Fred (George Frederick Map- pus) to take over when he retired. Under his dad’s tenure, Rick Mappus fondly remembers helping to hang xtures as a kid. He would work occasionally at Heinsohn Electric during school breaks, but a er graduation embarked on a career as a computer programmer.
Over time, Rick became less enchanted with the computer world right at the time when his father needed help in growing the business. The lighting industry had been changing over the span of a gen- eration and Fred wanted to transition the business from electrical supply to lighting showroom and asked Rick if he would open up a lighting showroom on the property.
“We started from scratch with an 800-sq.- . showroom,” Rick recalls of establishing his namesake store. Noting, “I’ve been hanging xtures my whole life,” he was able to merchandise the space rather quickly and with more aesthetic air than the interior of an electrical supply house. For the basic lines, he retained the reps who called on Heinsohn Electric, but it was time to expand into more decorative light- ing lines that would appeal to the many tract home builders entering the booming real estate market in the Charleston area.
All of the coastal cities in South Carolina have bene ed from the migration of Northerners who have moved to the state either to retire or invest in a vacation home. The Charleston area in particular has increased due to recent business opportunities
“We went into furniture three years ago by bringing in bar stools.” —Rick Mappus
brought by Volvo, Mercedes, and Boeing establish- ing manufacturing facilities there.
“We’ve had a lot of customers who have moved here from the Midwest and the North,” Rick comments. As the Greater Charleston area has expanded, so has the store’s reach. “We’re now considered centrally located and have a surprising amount of regular clients driving in from Mt. Pleas- ant and Summerville roughly 40 to 45 minutes away,” he states.
To accommodate those various tastes, buying for the store requires tapping into a broad assortment of styles. Rick and his wife, Cynthia, a end the Dal- las and High Point Markets regularly to purchase not only lighting, but also furniture, accessories, and wall art.
“We went into furniture three years ago by bring- ing in bar stools,” Rick says. Those sold so well with customers clamoring for more that the couple brought in larger furniture pieces – such as tables, chairs, and cabinets – with much success.
Five years ago, Rick’s Lighting established an Out- let Center in the back building that was Heinsohn Electric and had been used for extra storage. At
top left: Rick and Cynthia Mappus
middle: It may look small from the outside, but the showroom is de- ceptively deep in square footage.
right: There are still many Traditionalists in the Charleston area who appreciate the timeliness of crystal.
opposite page bottom:
With the in ux of residents hailing from the Midwest and North, Rick’s Lighting has broadened its assort- ment to have more transitional styles to suit various tastes.
March 2019 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 53