Ashley Furniture store closing is temporary, manager says

by David Reed

January 26,2008

The Ashley Furniture store on Bull Run Drive in eastern Columbia closed Monday amid a change in the franchise ownership.

Columbia store manager Paul Bacon told the CBT on Wednesday that the owner of another Ashley Furniture store will be replacing Ed Franks, who opened the store in February 2006 just south of the Interstate 70 Lake of the Woods exit.

The president of the local store, Roger Snodgrass, and the operations manager, Matthew Snodgrass, are no longer involved in the Columbia franchise, Bacon said. He declined to name the incoming owner because not all the required documents have been signed.

Bacon said all pending orders will be fulfilled. “We are actively delivering customer merchandise,” he said. “But if anyone is concerned, we will be glad to refund money and cancel the sale.”

Attorney General Jay Nixon sent out a news release on Tuesday advising consumers to contact his consumer protection hotline or his online site with complaints if they do not receive furniture they have paid for.

“There have been indications that this store has been having problems, and now we are hearing that consumers who paid for furniture aren’t getting answers,” Nixon said.

Nixon said that in May, his office obtained a temporary restraining order against an Ashley Furniture store in Joplin after it closed suddenly, leading to complaints being filed by more than 200 consumers who paid for furniture but did not receive it.

But Nixon added that Ashley’s corporate headquarters in Wisconsin has indicated that it is shipping furniture to the Columbia store for distribution to consumers who have already paid.