By CATHY JETT
\nFredericksburg had only three furniture stores when Powell’s Furniture opened on the corner of Winchester and William streets in 1942.
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\nAnd those stores–Beck Furniture, E.C. Ninde and White & Weeks–were all locally owned and operated.<\/p>\n
Sixty-four years later, Powell’s original competitors have either closed or been bought by chains. But the store, now run by the third generation of Powells, is facing more competition than ever.<\/p>\n
The Fredericksburg area currently has several dozen major furniture stores and a number of smaller, specialty stores selling everything from baby cribs to La-Z-Boys. Many are chains, although there are still a handful of home-grown stores such as D’Marie’s in Thornburg, Gallahans near Lee Hill Shopping Center, and Simms, which has stores on U.S. 1 and in Chatham Square Shopping Center.<\/p>\n
“The area has grown,” said James Franklin Powell II, the current owner of Powell’s. “That has a lot to do with it.”<\/p>\n
The Powell family moved their store from downtown Fredericksburg to State Route 3 near Heatherstone Drive in 1985 because it was clear development was headed that way after the opening of Spotsylvania Mall, he said.<\/p>\n
Today, so many of the area’s furniture stores are located along that corridor that it has become something of a mecca for shoppers locally as well as Northern Virginia, Washington and Maryland.<\/p>\n
The stores include Havertys Furniture in front of Spotsylvania Towne Centre; RoomStore and Trivett’s Family Furniture near Powell’s; Value City Furniture in Spotsylvania Crossing shopping center; and Ashley Furniture Homestore, Bassett Furniture Direct, Bombay, Cargo Kids and Ethan Allen in Central Park.<\/p>\n
“You have to be down here,” said Edward Roget, who manages the Bassett Furniture Direct store. “It makes it unique.”<\/p>\n
The Fredericksburg area’s attractive demographics also played a big role in the Southwest Virginia company’s decision to open one of its 130 Bassett Direct stores in Central Park, he said.<\/p>\n
Stafford and Spotsylvania are the fifth- and sixth-fastest-growing counties in the state, according to the latest Weldon-Cooper Center statistics.<\/p>\n
Planning District 16, which includes those counties, also currently has an estimated 28,082 households with a combined income of $100,000 or more, according to statistics from the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance. That’s about 26 percent of the 108,000 households in Planning District 16, and an increase of 13.2 percent from 2012.<\/p>\n
No wonder Furniture Today, a High Point, N.C., trade magazine, has projected that furniture sales in the Washington metro area, which includes Fredericksburg, will increase 26 percent from 2012 to 2017. That’s higher than the 24 percent increase projected for Virginia, and the 23 percent increase expected nationwide during the same time period.<\/p>\n
Powell’s is already working on an addition that will expand its showroom from 70,000 to 85,000 square feet. The new space, which will open early next year, will include a children’s furniture gallery and an expansion of its recliner and home theater sections.<\/p>\n
“The home theater is huge,” Powell said. “With so many homeowners putting in a media room with surround sound, we saw that need for that.”<\/p>\n
The furniture market isn’t all rosy, however. Rising gas prices and a slump in housing sales have slowed the current demand for new furnishings somewhat, area furniture store owners say.<\/p>\n
“We find it still to be a strong market,” Powell said. “We’re very fortunate in that we’re selling to the second and third generation of our customers. That seems to be one of the big keys to our success here.”<\/p>\n
To reach reporter CATHY JETT: 540\/374-5407<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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