Coslett's closing
Fun runs out for Indiana retailer
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, January 17, 2005
Evansville, Ind. — Pat Coslett's Furniture Festival, which built a reputation as a fun place to buy furniture, is closing after 30 years in business.
The retailer will shut down early this year after a store-closing sale, Coslett said. He has hired American Wholesalers of Indianapolis to run the event, which he hopes will raise $1.5 million to $2 million to pay off debts.
Operating in a ramshackle building in a poor area of Evansville, Coslett worked overtime to make the store fun and kid-friendly. He surrounded his furniture displays with colorful props — such as a crashed airplane with a parachuting survivor, a 1,500-gallon fishpond and a petting zoo in the parking lot.
Pearl T. Pig, a pot-bellied pig that Coslett bought as a pet for his kids 12 years ago, became the 200-pound star of the store, and until fairly recently customers could see her napping on a leather loveseat. Pearl inspired countless ad campaigns and charity events.
In 2002, the 65,000-square-foot store had its best year with sales topping $5 million. Coslett opened a second store in east Evansville in late 2002, but closed it a year later after business turned down.
Coslett said there are many factors leading to his decision to close, but "I truly think that location and the time bomb has finally caught up with me."
He said he now faces construction projects on both sides of the store. He also said he believed his business had been hurt by his four-year term on the local school board — some of the board's cost-cutting measures angered parents, who went as far as to picket the store.
Coslett said he's not sure what he will do next, but opening another furniture store is among the possibilities.
"Pearl wants to open a Piggly Wiggly grocery store," he joked. "Or I could write a book on 100 ways to go broke in the furniture industry."
