Marc Barnes
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HIGH POINT — The main challenge many stores face involves opening up a new location.


For Billy Rippner, president of Compass Furniture in New Orleans, the challenge went way beyond what he had ever imagined.

New Directions, a casual lifestyle store, was supposed to open last August, joining the Compass main store and a Compass For Kids store, both of which had been open for some time.

But the day that New Directions was supposed to open, Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, breaching the levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans and ultimately flooding 80% of the city. When the rains and winds died down and the losses were counted, an estimated 1,836 people were killed and more than 700 were unaccounted for.

“No one in New Orleans was unscathed,” said Rippner.

One of the Compass stores suffered considerable damage; the other two were slightly damaged. Insurance paid for the losses and building damage, but the storm had a ripple effect.

*For the complete story, see the Furniture|Today preint issue from June 26.  For an electronic copy of the “Beyond the Top 100” report, click here.