Furnitureland South

Furnitureland South

Industry	Furniture Home Decor Beds & Mattresses Design Consulting
Founded	1969
Founder	D. Harris
Headquarters	Jamestown, North Carolina
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Home Furnishings
Brands	American Drew Baker Hooker Lexington Stanley & more
Owner	J. Harris
Number of employees	700
Website	www.furniturelandsouth.com

Furnitureland South in Jamestown, North Carolina is the largest retail furniture store in the United States^[1] with 1.3 million square feet and $180 million in sales as of 2004. Called "The Walt Disney World of Furniture",^[2] the store is known for its 85-foot-tall highboy, and is the first of the group of stores which in 2004 came to be known as "Furniture Row" as well as "Gateway to the Furniture Capital of the World."^[2] As of 2012, the store had over 450 employees.^[3]

History

Darrell Harris opened Furnitureland South on South Main Street in High Point, North Carolina in 1969.^[2][3]

In 1986, the original store had $18 million in annual sales. Harris built a furniture distribution center on 50 acres at Business 85 and Riverdale Drive, in an area that was mostly farms.^[2]

Corporate offices moved to the Jamestown site in 1988.^[4] A $10 million, three-story 228,000-square-foot retail store opened October 1, 1990. USA Today wrote about the event. The 78,000-square foot High Point store became a clearance center.^[5]

A 342,000-square-foot expansion in 1994 to the corporate headquarters and distribution center provided more space for showrooms. Sales were $70 million and 80 percent of customers were from outside the state. A Raleigh, North Carolina location was planned.^[6]

By 1996, Furnitureland South called itself "The World's Largest Home Furnishings Showplace."^[7]

A $22 million, 500,000-square-foot addition completed in 1998 gave the store over twice the space it had before. During the 1990s, annual sales had already increased from $20 million to $129 million.^[8]

In 1999, an 85-foot-tall highboy became the largest item of furniture in the High Point area.^[9]

A $15 million, 250,000-square-foot distribution center opened in 2001, replacing five warehouses.^[10]

Good Morning America did a story on Furnitureland South on April 29, 2002.^[11]

In 2008, a $15 million addition gave the distribution center 225,000 additional square feet, for a total of 475,000 square feet that also included corporate offices.^[12]

In October 2010, A. Darrel Harris and Stella S. Harris, the company founders, were inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame by members of the American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. based on their professional achievements, personal standards, and civic involvement.^[13]

The company expanded its web site to allow online shopping as of December 3, 2012, with 2000 items available.^[3]

In 2013 the company opened a 17,000-square-foot high-tech Design Center for customers.^[14]

After the death of A. Darrell Harris in August 2015, Jeffery D. Harris became the company president.^[15]

In March 2015, Stella Harris died,^[16] leaving the leadership of the company to sons Jeffery Harris, as President and CEO, and Jason Harris, as Vice President.^[17]

In September 2015, Furnitureland South was recognized as one the “Triad’s Best Places to Work” by the Triad Business Journal.^[18]

Subway opened its largest restaurant, with 6,668 square feet, in Furnitureland South on November 11, 2015, joining Starbucks.^[19]

In April 2016, the company donated $1 million to High Point University.^[20]

Criticism

In 1996, Thomasville Furniture stopped selling its products at Furnitureland South because the store apparently violated Thomasville's policy of not quoting prices over the phone.^[7]

In 1999, when asking for rezoning for expansion, Furnitureland South agreed to switch from wells to municipal water. People in the area had wells go dry and had blamed Furnitureland South, which used several wells.^[21]

After 45 years of selling furniture, Scott Knox filed a complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General regarding the practice of exclusive deals for manufacturers to only sell their product in one area store. Knox was no longer able to sell products from some companies which had deals with Furnitureland South, and he could not afford a lawsuit. The attorney general's office said this practice was not normally a problem.^[1]

Furniture Row

In the mid-1990s, Boyles Furniture bought 65 acres near Furnitureland South. Boyles chief operating officer Rick Grant said, "We knew when we bought the land that our vision was to make this a furniture destination."^[2] Boyles only needed eight acres for its store, which it moved from downtown, which the company believed was not doing well. The new location allowed Boyles to expand more than they could have at the former site. Ziba Fine Oriental Rugs started with space in the Boyles store on built a separate location in 2001.^[2]

Also in the mid-1990s, Abu Khan saw significant potential because of the size of Furnitureland South, and he bought a building for his Abu Oriental Rug and Home, which he later expanded.

In 2003, Charlotte, North Carolina developer Jay Chambers announced plans to develop the site into "Furniture Row", in an area he called "Gateway to the Furniture Capital of the World." During the next several years, Drexel Heritage, Thomasville Furniture and Klaussner Furniture built stores on Furniture Avenue, and Furniture Galleries, with six tenants, was announced by Greensboro, North Carolina developer R.W. Hamlett, Jr. Chambers wanted hotels and restaurants to locate in the area to make it convenient for people traveling long distances to buy furniture. Most of the area, but not Furnitureland South itself, was in the High Point city limits, though an agreement between High Point, Jamestown and Greensboro gave High Point the right to later annex the area.^[2]

As of 2005, according to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 200,000 people came to High Point each year to buy furniture, from locations as far away as Chicago. The High Point Market has many locations in downtown High Point, but they are not open to consumers. People coming to High Point to shop for furniture have a difficult time finding a store downtown where they can shop, so a central location for retailers would provide a benefit to tourists.^[2]

References

External links

• Official website