Morris Furniture to Open Sixth Ashley Store

January 18, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on January 2007 Fairborn, Ohio-based retailer Morris Furniture Co. will open a 30,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Springfield, Ohio. The new store should open this spring after remodeling of an existing building located in Springfield’s growing Bechtle Avenue shopping district.

Morris Furniture already operates five Ashley stores in Dayton, Beavercreek, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio, and Crescent Springs, Ky.

“It is exciting to be opening our newest store in Springfield’s most vibrant shopping area,” said Larry Klaben, president and chief executive officer of Morris Furniture, and a Springfield native. “New stores like Kohls and Bath & Body Works give area shoppers new reasons to shop locally instead of taking shopping dollars outside the marketplace.”

He said the timing is right for a expanding into the Springfield market, noting that Roberds closed a store there in 2000 and that Value City Furniture also left the market.

In addition to a full line of Ashley products, the new store will include a Sealy Sleep Shop that Mike VanAutreve, vice president of merchandising for Morris Furniture, will have the area’s largest selection of Sealy mattresses.

The store will have an expanded home accents department that will feature accessories to complement a wide range of home styles.

“An expanded selection of area rugs, lamps, vases, floral arrangements and other gift items will be showcased,” said Robert Oda, director of Ashley stores at Morris Furniture.

In addition to its Ashley stores, Morris Furniture Co. owns and operates two Morris Home Furnishings locations. Morris also operates the Dayton area’s only Thomasville showroom; the Midwest Clearance Outlet in Fairborn.