Dennis Closes Furniture Store

Kenneth Dennis, owner and founder of Dennis Home Furnishings, retired at 84 and closed shop June 9 after 51 years of business. 

The Fayetteville dealer of home and office furniture, located at 3525 S. School Ave., expanded three times since the store’s opening in 1959, to reach its 50,000 SF showroom. 

The store had 13 employees.

Dennis declined to comment on the store’s closing.  However, in a March letter to customers, he stated he was retiring from the business “after much thought and with mixed emotion.”

Gerry Dennis, Kenneth’s wife, said her husband was ready to retire so that she would not have to worry about taking over the business should the need arise.

Assistant manager Velma Pershall said, “It’s bittersweet.  I’ve been here 32 years.  We have had a lot of repeat customers in that amount of time.”

Lynch Sales Co. conducted its $3 million closing sale event, which lasted for two months.

Other furniture and equipment suppliers in Northwest Arkansas have also undergone major changes in the last year. An annual list of the area’s largest furniture equipment dealers begins on Page 12.

National Home Centers Inc. of Springdale downsized from 11 to five offices in Arkansas before it was bought out in April 2010 by Stock Building Supply Holdings LLC of Raleigh, N.C.  The sale took place after mounting bad debts from contractors and Chapter 11 reorganization.

Moser Corp. of Rogers reduced its staff size from 75 to 49 during the past year. Co-owner Linda Moser attributed this to declining sales and decreased spending by businesses.

Today’s Office Inc. downsized from a 10,000 SF showroom at 3157 W. Sunset Ave to a 2,500 SF showroom at 800 Clayton St. in Springdale in November.