Merit Home Furniture is a family business, and it has been from the very first day. We have been part of Vancouver Island for three generations, and everything about how we work comes out of that.
It started with Sandy Sandhu
Sandy came to Canada from India in 1936, at fifteen years old. He settled in the small town of Lake Cowichan and took a job at the sawmill in Mesachie Lake. He worked the mill by day, and in the evenings he went door to door selling watches, jeans and ladies' nylons. Much to his own surprise, he was good at it.
His real start came when the first television signal reached Lake Cowichan. Sandy began selling televisions door to door, and it went so well that he left the mill to sell full time. Appliances and furniture followed, and in the mid 1950s he opened his first store in Lake Cowichan. Over the years he built furniture businesses right across British Columbia, from Kamloops to Prince Rupert, wherever the television signal reached.
Then in 1984 he bought an existing furniture store in Nanaimo called Merit Interior Designs. That is where the Merit name we carry today began.
From one store to the Island's own chain
From that Nanaimo store, Merit grew. Campbell River opened in 1987, Port Alberni in 1997, and Duncan in 2001. Along the way Merit became the largest independent furniture chain on Vancouver Island, and it is still family owned and locally run.
Sandy was known for hard work, generosity, and plain honesty. He is remembered most for helping hundreds of families immigrate from India and build a life on the Island. The stores he started serve those same communities to this day.
Islanders look after the Island
Island people are loyal to Island businesses. That has always been true here, and it is a big part of why Merit is still standing. When you buy from Merit, you are buying from a family that has been part of these communities for decades, and the money stays here on the Island.
We lean into that. We carry a lot of Canadian made furniture, from makers like Island Living and Decor-Rest, and our Mako bedroom suites are solid wood, made to be bought once and kept for a lifetime. Buy Island, buy Canadian, and buy something built to last. That is how Islanders have always shopped, and it is how we like to sell.
The family today
Sandy's eldest son, Jeet Sandhu, runs the company now, the second generation. The third generation has started to step in. Here in Duncan, that is Rubeena Sandhu and her husband Michael Ruhr, who run the store together, and Rubeena's sister is starting up in Nanaimo.
Michael has been in furniture since 2000, starting alongside Rubeena's father at Ashley in Kamloops. He ran the Pemberton Valley Hardware store while they raised their children, then moved to the Island to help run Merit, and has been a co-owner since 2025. Michael is the person you want when you are planning a room. He will take your measurements, draw it out, and help you choose the configuration, the fabric and the size that fit your space. He knows mattresses inside out, and he is passionate about Canadian made furniture.
Rubeena grew up in the family business her whole life. She trained as a teacher and then as a counsellor, helped found the Okanagan Waldorf School, and was later Head of School at Whistler Waldorf School. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a master's in educational leadership, and she is a Registered Clinical Counsellor. After twenty five years in non profit administration, she now brings that same care for people and systems to running Merit Duncan.
How we do things
Take your time when you come in. We have a strict no pressure policy. Nobody is going to follow you around the showroom. We want you to stroll, sit in a few, measure at home, and come back when you are ready.
When something needs fixing, we handle it. Merit backs the manufacturer warranties, we order the parts and we do the repairs. We deliver across the Island, and delivery includes setting your furniture up in your home. Most of all, we are here for the long run, the same way we have been for the families who have shopped with us for years.
Come and see us
Our Duncan showroom is on Ingram Street, and there are Merit stores in Nanaimo, Campbell River and Port Alberni too. Come in and see the range, or call the Duncan store at (250) 746-5527.