Bassett Furniture Direct to open here this autumn

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Bassett Furniture Direct will open a 35,000-square-foot store in Springfield this fall, said Randy Ray, who will own the store with his father, Henry Ray.

The estimated cost for the project is $1,845,603 and the store will be located at 1831 E. Independence.

The store will sell a complete line of Bassett furniture and will have wall coverings, floor coverings and window treatments.

Bassett Furniture Direct stores sell furniture manufactured by Bassett, Ray said. In the past, other furniture stores would showcase Bassett furniture along with their other lines. The Bassett stores will carry all of the products Bassett makes.

The local store will be managed by Mike Freyer, who is a Springfield native. Ray said that the decision for Bassett to locate a store in Springfield came because "Springfield is one of the top markets in Missouri."

The nearest Bassett store to Springfield is in Columbia, and it is owned by the same individuals who will own the Springfield store.

The Bassett store will employ about 25 people, and interviews will be held in late September and early October.

Bassett Furniture was founded in 1902 in Virginia by the Bassett family. Bassett now produces more than 400 different styles of collections and about 4,000 different items.

The Rays are the authorized licensees for the state of Missouri. There are currently 27 Bassett Furniture Direct stores in the country, Ray said, adding that, by 1999, that number will more than triple.

[[In-content Ad]]