Richard LoGuercio thinks that just renting tables and chairs is boring. Not that Town & Country Event Rentals doesn’t have plenty of both in its Van Nuys warehouse. Chairs alone number 57,000, some of which have been custom made in China. They are alongside thousands of tables, tents large and small and fancy place settings that can accommodate a dinner of thousands. There are ice buckets, podiums, swaths of fabric made into table cloths and table skirts, couches, coffee pots, and miles and miles of carpeting. With all the boxes and containers stacked nearly to the ceiling the warehouse resembles Xanadu if Charles Foster Kane collected the supplies for a dinner party instead of great works of art. LoGuercio prides himself on not just having the makings for a special dinner or film premiere but having items that other events rental firms do not have; one-of-a-kind items manufactured at Town & Country so that they cannot be copied elsewhere. This innovation has led to such new supplies as 8-foot high green panels covered on one side with artificial green hedges. The first order came from Arizona where the panels will wall off a ballroom. Town & Country has been around since 2005 but LoGuercio has spent his entire career in the events supplies industry. That is how he developed the reputation as the go-to guy for large events and one-off decorations, such as the 350-pound polycarbonate pink ribbon or 17 ½-foot tall heart that have graced Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. There is so much the company has to offer that LoGuercio compares his inventory to different colors on a palette that can complement any kind of event a client wants. “We take nothing and make it into a beautiful event,” LoGuercio said. After one of the worst years he’s experienced as a business owner, LoGuercio anticipates a better 2010. When there are clients like Jamie Simpson eager to praise Town & Country’s work a better year may not be far off. Simpson, an administrative coordinator at Huntington Hospital, called LoGuercio a creative genius for his help with themed parties and the annual food and wine festival. “You can go anywhere to get tables and chairs,” Simpson said. “They do a whole event production.” Year-round work The party rental business has gone from seasonal to one where there is work year round. The first quarter of the year tends to be slow, this despite being awards season in Los Angeles requiring a need for the items offered by Town & Country. The firm did some post-Grammy parties and handled the Golden Globe Awards in which its red carpet got a good soaking from a rainstorm. Starting about April the assignments come in regularly through the end of the year as the weather encourages outdoor entertaining and celebrating weddings, birthdays, graduations and other milestone occasions. There are Halloween parties in the fall followed by holiday gatherings in December. Two shifts of workers are in the warehouse during the peak months. The glamour and glitz these events take on is the result of a lot of behind the scenes work. LoGuercio credits the installers doing the set-up for why events turn out successful. On weekends the warehouse keeps a skeleton staff to deal with last minute substitutions or replacements. There have been times when taxis have been hired to make the deliveries. Not all contingencies, however, can be planned for. Take for instance the unveiling of the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital spacecraft Enterprise at the Mojave Air & Space Port on a blustery night in December. Town & Country provided a $120,000 tent for the event that was torn to pieces by 116-mile-an-hour winds. Fortunately, there were few people remaining at the party when the tent collapsed. The incident was the worst that LoGuercio had seen in his three-plus decades in the rental business. After getting a start at two rental companies no longer in business, LoGuercio went out on his own with Classic Party Rentals in 1981. He left Classic in 1998 after its acquisition by a private investment group and didn’t care for the new direction the company was going. Back in business So at age 45, LoGuercio found himself retired. He took up woodworking and volunteering at his daughter’s schools, and helping out with fundraising events while waiting out a non-compete agreement. Then in 2005 he got back into the rental business with Town & Country. He wanted to make a big splash with the new company; to let it be known that T&C would be a major player. To achieve that LoGuercio went on buying sprees to give a depth of inventory that others couldn’t compete with. This was a change from the conservative buying style he used while with Classic. One shift in rental patterns LoGuercio faced when back in business was the use of furniture at parties. Using couches, chaises, arm chairs, ottomans, and glass-topped coffee tables make for a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere. “Instead of having a party with cocktail tables you are inviting people into your living room,” LoGuercio said. Town & Country has set the standard for special events because of how LoGuercio thinks ahead for what planners will need and the best way to use different elements, said Russell Harris, an event planner based in North Hollywood. When putting together an event for ABC Television with an “Ugly Betty” theme Town & Country came through with just what Harris needed “He got us this gorgeous orange carpet,” Harris said. Later this year, Town & Country will have more space to store gorgeous carpet. The company will move across the street from its current location to a new building purchased by LoGuercio. When doing the numbers he determined that buying the building would be cheaper than leasing. After some mezzanines are constructed the new building will have more than 100,000 square feet for the ever growing collection amassed by LoGuercio, who attends trade shows in Europe and Asia to find new items. The building has also been designed for maximum efficiency with the heavier and bulkier items located closest to the loading docks and the smaller items that can be packaged and wheeled to the docks will be further away. Town & Country Event Rentals Year Founded: 2005 Revenues 2008: $18 million Revenues 2009: $18 million Employees 2008: 290 Employees 2009: 245
Ready to Party
