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Furniture store closing its doors

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By Jennifer DeWitt | Wednesday, December 13, 2006 |

Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES The owners of Norwalk: The Furniture Idea furniture store, located at 4882 Utica Ridge Road in Davenport, have announced that the store will be closing its doors, citing the economy and faltering sales. The store celebrated its first anniversary Oct. 1.

After just a year in the Quad-City market, Norwalk: The Furniture Idea is preparing to close its doors because of what its owners call faltering sales.

Located at 4882 Utica Ridge Road, Davenport, the furniture store specializes in custom upholstered furniture. It celebrated its first anniversary Oct. 1.

“We were open only one year, which is the hardest one,” said Lou Ray, who owns the store with her husband, Michael. “The economy played a little bit (in the decision). Sales were not enough to make corporate happy.”

Lou Ray, who has an interior design degree, said the corporate office actually wanted to close the franchise for several months, but she’s battled to keep it open.

“We had a very strong opening,” she said. “But unfortunately in the spring the economy shot us down.”

Despite her efforts to keep the store open, she now has accepted its closing. “Right now, I’m to the point that I don’t have the support from corporate which makes it harder being here. Unfortunately, I’m ready to leave this even though I loved it.”

The 4,400-square-foot showroom brought together interior decorating with a home furnishings store.

“I thought there was a need in this area for a furniture store that could customize,” she said.

Ray also blames some of the store’s problems on its Utica Ridge location. “We’re right here in the middle of all these restaurants. People go to Elmore to shop and come here to eat.”

The Rays have not set a closing date, but she expects it will take two to three months. “We have to sell what’s in our warehouse and as soon as we get rid of everything in stock (we’ll close),” she said.

The store has seven employees, some of whom already have other job offers. “I have some extremely talented people that have been sought after since they been here,” Ray said.

Ray said the Norwalk, Ohio, chain also has closed stores in Louisville, Ky., Kansas City, Mo., and one in California. “Norwalk Furniture Corporation is a solid foundation. I think a few of these stores just got in the wrong time,’’ she said.

The chain has a network of 80 stores.

Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.