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Gallahans of Fredericksburg is closing after a tumultuous 37 years Date published: 10/16/2008
BY CATHY JETT "End of an Era" is emblazoned on the huge sign over the Gallahans of Fredericksburg's front door. The area's largest furniture store, which drew customers from as far away as Maryland and North Carolina, is going out of business after 37 years of triumph and tragedy. It is liquidating its stock, and will likely close by the end of the month. "Our business plan called for a 12- to 18-month turnaround effort, and although expenses were reduced and sales are up 8 percent this year over last year, Gallahans just simply fell short of our performance requirements," Jim Shrawder, whose company bought Gallahans almost two years ago, said in a prepared statement. Severegn Furniture Management, which also owns Danker Furniture in Gaithersburg, Md., and Sheffield Furniture in the Philadelphia metro area, purchased some of Gallahan's Home Furnishings' assets from Stone-Lee Inc. for an undisclosed sum in January 2007, after Stone-Lee's credit dried up. Severegn also acquired the lease on Gallahan's 82,000-square-foot showroom next to Lee's Hill Shopping Center in Spotsylvania County, and renamed the business Gallahans of Fredericksburg. At that time, Shrawder said he hoped to save the struggling store. He projected Gallahans could reach $20 million in sales by last December. According to an article in the trade publication Furniture Today, the current economic climate may have played a role in Gallahans' demise. The magazine quoted Shrawder as saying, "We believe that it is financially irresponsible to continue business as usual based on the hope that the economy will turn any time soon." On Monday, which had been advertised as the store's final day, Gallahans' customers wandered two floors of the store in search of bargains. Oversized tags on Henredon sideboards, Stickley chairs and handmade Oriental rugs bore their original prices in black ink and markdowns in red. Some also wore "Sold" signs and were packaged in bubble wrap and awaiting delivery. Shrawder has promised that Severegn will continue to support Gallahans until all orders are delivered and all customer service issues are closed, according to the prepared statement posted on Gallahans' Web site. The site, gallahans.com, also urges customers to contact Kurt Brachwitz, its customer service team leader, at
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