Dennis Is State?s Second-Largest Furniture Store

In 1959, Kenneth Dennis opened a used furniture and antiques store in a 1,200-SF building in south Fayetteville.

Forty-two years later, Dennis Home Furnishings has grown to be the second largest furniture dealer in Arkansas in terms of volume and floor space.

At least that’s what Dennis believes. He hasn’t checked with every furniture store in the state, but Dennis knows Brandon House furniture in Little Rock is larger.

Dennis Home Furnishings has a 47,000-SF showroom at 3525 S. School St. in Fayetteville. In addition, Dennis has about 70,000 SF of warehouse space in three different buildings. Dennis said he keeps an inventory of about $2.5 million worth of furniture and bedding on hand. The warehouse next door to the showroom is stacked five levels high with sofas and three levels high with mattresses. Dennis has been a dealer of Sealy mattresses “for years.”

For the past 42 years, profit has increased consistently.

“We’ve always had a gain, every year since 1959,” Dennis said.

Nationally, retail sales for furniture and home furnishings hit $7.1 billion in January, up 7.3 percent from $6.6 billion in December, according to the Bureau of the Census.

Dennis said part of that success is because his store has always sold furniture and bedding at different price points. The store’s most inexpensive lines of furniture are Broyhill and Action Lane. Thomasville is the store’s mid-range furniture, and Henredon is the top of the line there.

A four-piece bedroom set can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 at Dennis Home Furnishings, depending on the line chosen.

Dennis said wealthy people don’t seem to mind shopping for Henredon furniture amidst lower-line couches and beds. They often purchase the less expensive lines for children’s rooms, he said.

“People deserve service,” Dennis said. “I don’t care if it’s a small purchase or a big purchase.”

Dennis said he thinks the variety of inventory helped him weather recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s. Sales increases were down from normal, but “not much,” he said.

No More Legacy

Legacy Furniture, located at 4900 S. Thompson Street in Springdale, is having a liquidation sale before owner Judy Purtle plans to close the business around the end of April.

An employee of the business said Purtle is closing Legacy because she plans to move out of state. A salesperson told us Purtle would have no comment concerning the store closing.