Some shoppers see green in all that snow

A couple thousand Chicago-area residents is probably cheering the first few inches of snow that fell Sunday for an unusual reason: free furniture.

Art Van Furniture expects to refund about $2 million to 1,913 area customers who bought furniture during the chain’s “Let it Snow” promotion Jan. 1, 2, 3 and 17.

The company promised refunds if at least 3 inches of snow fell at O’Hare Airport between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday.

The National Weather Service in Chicago said that 8.5 inches had fallen as of noon.

Spokeswoman Diane Charles said customers will be notified about how to claim a refund check.

Charles said the company has no regrets about running the promotion and is pleased to have made thousands of customers happy with their furniture.

“And maybe when they receive their refund checks they’ll buy more furniture!,” Charles said by e-mail.

Art Van took out an insurance policy from Lloyds of London to cover the refunds.

The six area stores covered by the promotion were in Batavia, Bedford Park, Bolingbrook, Chicago, Orland Park and Merrillville, Indiana. The Chicago store is at 2606 N. Elston Ave.

The company ran similar promotions in Toledo, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a total of 2.5 million customers, Charles said.

Contributing: Reema Amin