FBI buys back St. Louis stores
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2007
St. Louis — Furniture Brands International has acquired 11 dedicated Broyhill, Lane and Thomasville stores from dealer Steve Kloss, the third known take-back of key dealer stores in recent months.
Furniture Brands spokesman Marty Richmond confirmed the company acquired four Broyhill, four Lane Home Furnishings and three Thomasville Home Furnishings stores, all in greater St. Louis.
He said FBI will continue operating the stores. He would not disclose the purchase price or what led the company to take back the stores.
Earlier this month, Thomasville Stores of New Jersey and Virginia said it sold its four northern Virginia stores to Furniture Brands' Thomasville Furniture Inds. division and will focus on growth in New Jersey.
The retailer, led by President and CEO Michael Massood, has five Thomasville stores in New Jersey and plans to add five more over the next three to five years.
Late last year, Hendricks Furniture Group sold three Drexel Heritage stores in North Carolina to Furniture Brands and converted its two remaining Drexel stores in Raleigh, N.C., and Greenville, S.C., to its full-line Boyles Distinctive Furniture format.
"We have acquired stores over time," Richmond said. "I think that's the natural evolution of the store programs. I think it's coincidence that there happens to be a bunch of them right at this moment, and I would not expect to see this pace continue."
Asked if the tough business climate in the industry was a factor, Richmond said he doesn't know, but that circumstances varied.
"Kloss had options," he said. "Massood wants to focus on New Jersey. Hendricks wants to focus on Boyles. Different transactions had different reasons."
At the end of last year, Furniture Brands said it had 21 company-owned stores, up from 14 a year earlier.
The Kloss and Massood deals would push the count to 36 company-owned stores.
Richmond said Furniture Brands' plan to use dedicated stores as a main form of distribution for Thomasville and Drexel Heritage hasn't changed.
But the manufacturer and importer has tempered its once-aggressive plans for Broyhill and Lane stores. Broyhill isn't opening new stores, putting its focus on in-store gallery dealers. Lane will open a few stores this year, Richmond said.
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Kloss sells 11 stores to Furniture Brands
Feb 26, 2007
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