Hoping to meet the upcoming Christmas sales season demands, Ashley Furniture Industries recently announced plans to open an Ashley HomeStore in the currently vacant multi-story building near the northwest corner of the Prescott Gateway Mall.
The multi-story, 42,000-square-foot building previously had been occupied by The Roomstore, but was vacated when The Roomstore filed for bankruptcy three years ago.
Ashley Furniture HomeStores Senior Vice President Kurt Haines told Quad Cities Business News that he hopes Ashley HomeStore will open sometime in early to mid-November.
“We want to meet the Christmas season shopping demand. We’re already working on a significant remodel of the building,” he said. “We’ll have 25 to 30 professional employees staffing the store.”
Haines, a 32-year employee, is based in California. He said Ashley is “…making a significant investment in Prescott. The company has long wanted to have a store in Central Arizona.”
Remodeling began in late August. Dan Wallner from Colton, California, serves as the construction manager for Ashley. He is working with Mike Freet, Arizona Commercial facilities manager in Prescott, and Zach Cagley, of SO Commercial Contracting, also of Prescott.
Wallner said they are hoping to have remodeling and renovation done in time so the store can be stocked and ready for holiday shoppers.
Store hours will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, except for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving, Haines said.
The Prescott site will be the 13th Ashley HomeStore in Arizona. The largest furniture chain in the state, Ashley has five stores in the Phoenix area, two in Tucson and one each in Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, Lakeside, Thatcher and Yuma.
Ashley HomeStores ranks as the largest furniture chain in North America, with more than 650 stores. With corporate offices in Arcadia, Wisconsin, and under the leadership of President and CEO Todd Wanek, the company is international in scope, with manufacturing and distributing businesses in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and several other countries.
Ashley Furniture also is the world’s largest furniture manufacturer and is considered a major player in almost every furniture product category.
Haines indicated several job opportunities would be available in the near future and said a web link soon will be set up for online job applications. In the meantime, those interested can call 623-209-2713 in Phoenix for further information about opportunities with the Prescott Ashley HomeStore. QCBN
By Ray Newton, QCBN