AT THE MARKET — Longtime case goods, dining and bedroom source Richardson Bros.


is getting out of the furniture business.

Customers were notified last month that the company was liquidating and would immediately vacate its High Point and Las Vegas showrooms, said Jim Richardson, president.

Dealers were given a chance to fill in with existing merchandise and did so over the last seven weeks, he said.

“This liquidation in no way affects the rest of our businesses, which remain vital and profitable. That would include Richardson Building Products, Richardson Yacht Interiors, Richardsons Furniture Emporium, and Richardsons Furniture Clearance Center,” Richardson said. The latter two are retailers.

He added that the company reassigned the Richardson Bros. employees to other divisions and did not lay anyone off.
 
In 2003, the company closed its factory in Wisconsin, where it had manufactured for more than 120 years, to become an importer of solid wood dining and bedroom furniture. 
 
In a Feb. 5 letter to dealers, the company said sales erosion over the past two years made it difficult for the company to support inventory expenses, which led to the decision to dissolve the furniture division.
 
“As you are all aware, in the last few years the furniture industry has seen many major changes,” the letter said. “We had always positioned ourselves as a solid wood resource and as this category of furniture continued to shrink in importance, we were faced with the decision to either follow the current trend to repeatedly lower our prices – which would ultimately force us to leave the solid wood arena – or to exit the market with our legacy intact. This was the root of our decision.”
 
The company said it had sourcing partners in China and Bolivia. It operated warehouses at its Sheboygan Falls, Wis., headquarters and in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., and also provided direct container service.