FEATURE/Named American Home ShowPlace: Neither blizzards nor raging infernos can deter one entrepreneur's vision for creating the largest, up-scale home furnishings store in U.S

Business Wire,  May 12, 1995  

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--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--

What do you do if a snowstorm caves in your store's roof, and seven days later, a construction torch touches off a fire that burns your business to the ground. Well, if you are Lamar Hennon, president Carpets of Dalton in Georgia, you stay flexible, keep all of your people, and move ahead "business as usual."

Not only did he re-build the second time around, but he created the largest home furnishings store under one roof in the United States. The unique new home furnishings concept store -- named American Home ShowPlace -- was officially opened May 11 by its parent organization, Carpets of Dalton, Inc. The one-stop-shopping concept consists of mid- to up-scale home furnishings.

The American Home ShowPlace consists of more than 500,000 square feet, 300,000 of which represents retail space in the main facility. The additional space in two other buildings represents warehousing, shipping and receiving.

Lamar Hennon, visionary of the American Home ShowPlace, said, "For many years, we studied our customers needs and desires and, as a result, we arrived with the American Home ShowPlace concept. Our customers wanted a store where they could actually see, compare and touch quality home furnishings at one showplace. This concept is the rationale for who we are. One-stop shopping for quality products at reasonable and affordable price levels."

The American Home ShowPlace consists of over 380 different brands and brand names within 13 different departments. The core departments within the new facility are: carpets, furniture galleries, area rugs, ceramic tile, wood flooring, vinyl flooring, consumer electronics and consumer electronic furniture, carpet and rug pads, cabinet displays, counter tops, appliances, plumbing fixtures, and wallpaper and fabrics. More brands are scheduled to be announced in most core areas in the not too distant future, according to Hennon.

In addition, there are specialty areas with multiple-brand names designed into the one-story facility including a design center, leather and dinette products.

The American Home ShowPlace features nine furniture companies with comprehensive furniture galleries: Hickory Chair with 7,000 square feet; Broyhill, 6,000; Lineage, 5,200; Bernhardt, 5,100; Lane, 3,500: Rowe, 3,400; Berkline, 3,000; Carson's of High Point, 2,000, and Rex, 1,500. The furniture galleries display, other furniture and storage represent a little more than half of the store with nearly 160,000 square feet.

Old Fashioned Theater Facade Opens to Home Theater Section

In the middle of the store, there is a unique home theater section which is fashioned after the front of a Circa 1920 New York City theater complete with marquee, movie theater doors with the old-style round windows, movie theater lobby with a popcorn machine, and movie preview posters. Leading away from the lobby, there are several doors opening -- not to different movie screens -- to different consumer electronics home theater areas.

Consumer electronics companies displaying their home theater products are Mitsubishi, RCA/Thomson, Sony, and Polk Audio. Home theater furniture companies include Action Lane, Hooker, and Lane. The home theater section represents approximately 3,000 square feet of space.

24 Full-Size and Equipped Kitchens & 10 Complete Bath Displays

The American Home ShowPlace features 24 full-size kitchen displays in the cabinet display area along with 10 different bathroom displays. Four different companies supply the cabinets, while three different companies supply the counter tops. Contrasting and complementing flooring designs are finished in wood, vinyl flooring and ceramic tile.

Magic Chef and Jenn-Aire are the lines used for the appliances, while Kohler provides the plumbing fixtures throughout the store. In addition, the American Home ShowPlace is a registered Kohler showroom.

The Carpets of Dalton name will continue to be used in conjunction with the carpet and flooring business, while the American Home ShowPlace will be used for non-flooring areas and will be emphasized for the growing retail business.

CONTACT: Hanley-Wilson & Associates

Patrick Wilson, 615/922-3380

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