Boston FAM
Boston FAM is the parent company of Furniture & ApplianceMart, ApplianceMart, and several Ashley HomeStores in Wisconsin. Boston FAM is an employee and family-owned company, headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The employees are partial owners of the company through an ESOP established in January 2019. Boston FAM operates all Furniture & ApplianceMart locations throughout the state, as well as the Ashley HomeStores in Madison, Appleton, Green Bay, Greenfield, Pewaukee, Richfield, Stevens Point, and Marshfield. All of our brands, stores, and employees work together with the same goal in mind: to improve the quality of peoples' lives by making amazing rooms together.
Furniture & ApplianceMart has been a Better Business Bureau accredited business since August 25, 2022.
BBB has determined that Furniture & ApplianceMart/Ashley HomeStore meets BBB accreditation standards.
Meet the Fonti's
In 1969, Vince Fonti Sr. and his partner, Pete Gambino, left positions at American TV and went into business on their own and opened ApplianceMart in Madison, WI.
The company now owns 14 stores throughout the state of Wisconsin, is currently owned in full by the 2nd generation Fonti family and the employees of Boston FAM. The Fonti brothers decided to make the company not only family-owned, but also employee-owned, by giving 40% of the company’s shares to the employees. At the start of 2019, the company officially became the first furniture, appliance, and mattress retailer in the state of Wisconsin, and the first Ashley HomeStore licensee in the world, to become a family and employee‑owned company.
“In this day and age, you have to work harder than ever to innovate for your client, and Ashley helps us do just that. In our organization, we believe that the reason we’re in business is to make amazing rooms together with our clients. We’re fanatical about it, and so is Ashley. That’s why we wake up every day and go to work. And, when you have 500 people in our organization working together with more than 27,000 people at Ashley all moving the same direction, thinking about how we can get better at making amazing rooms for our clients, you make progress very quickly. The experience improves exponentially for our guests. That’s why we’re growing. And, we like to think, it’s why our clients come back to us again and again." – Bill Fonti
- Bill FontiPresident & Chief Executive Officer
- Vince Jr. FontiChief Procurement Officer
- Joe FontiChief Operations Officer
We Improve The Quality of Peoples Lives by
Making Amazing Rooms Together
“We know that outside of a house and a car, furniture is one of the biggest purchases families in Wisconsin will make in their lifetime. We aim to make it as painless as we can by getting better deals from our manufacturers, offering convenient financing options with approved credit for any budget and operating as efficiently as we can to drive our prices down.” – Bill Fonti
Our Story Furniture & ApplianceMart is a family and employee‑owned company
Now with 16 stores and over 500 employees , Furniture & ApplianceMart is one of the largest independently owned furniture, mattress, and appliance retailers in Wisconsin.
- Established1969
1969
Vince Fonti Sr. and his partner, Pete Gambino, left positions at American TV and went into business on their own. With a $5,000 investment, ApplianceMart in Madison was born.
1984
Vince Sr. brought his "big city" operating style to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and opened Furniture & ApplianceMart off Church St. in the former Boston Furniture building.
1986
When Pete Gambino passed away in 1985, Vince Fonti Sr. decided to sell the store in Madison to American TV and focus entirely on growing the central Wisconsin market.
1990
Opened Furniture & ApplianceMart Superstore location in Wausau, Wisconsin.
2000
Vince Fonti Sr. retired and turned over the keys to the second generation Fonti family. Bill Fonti became the new President & Chief Operating Officer.
2001
A 70,000 square foot Distribution Center was built in Stevens Point.
2003
Furniture & ApplianceMart Superstore was built and opened in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
2004
The company’s first Ashley Furniture HomeStore is purchased and built in Appleton, Wisconsin.
2006
A new Ashley Furniture HomeStore was built and opened in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
2007
A building in Oshkosh was acquired, remodeled, converted, and the former business establishment was renamed Furniture & ApplianceMart.
2007
A new store location was built in Stevens Point with the dual Furniture & ApplianceMart and Ashley Furniture HomeStore brands. It was built as an open concept store and was the first of its kind worldwide. The original Stevens Point store, two miles down the road, officially closed upon opening of this new flagship store.
2011
A retail location was acquired in the Wood Ridge Mall in Marshfield, WI. The space was remodeled and converted into the company’s third dual-branded store with Furniture & ApplianceMart and Ashley Furniture HomeStore under one roof.
2014
Bill, Joe, and Vince Jr. Fonti brought the journey full circle when they returned to Madison in December and took ownership of the Ashley Furniture HomeStore near the East Towne Mall.
2015
The iconic former American TV building located off the Beltline on Madison’s West side was purchased and renovated. The building was turned into a superstore that houses Furniture & ApplianceMart, Ashley Furniture HomeStore, and Ashley Sleep Mattress Store.
2017
In September, the Boston FAM took ownership of the two existing Ashley HomeStore locations in Greenfield and Richfield and opened for business in a new location in Pewaukee.
2019
In March, Boston FAM took ownership of the existing Ashley HomeStore in Kenosha, WI.
2019
At the beginning of 2019, the company became the first furniture, appliance, and mattress retailer in Wisconsin—and the first Ashley HomeStore licensee in the world—to become a family and employee-owned company. The Fonti family gifted 40% of the shares of the company to the employees.
2019
In August, a new Ashley HomeStore in Janesville, WI officially opened for business. This store has Ashley’s latest visual design including new technology and a custom lifestyles for home fashion.