The original Schneiderman's Furniture store in Meadowlands will close after more than 40 years of selling sofas and dining sets in Northeastern Minnesota.
Max and Edna Schneiderman began the family business in 1948 with a grocery and hardware store in the rural town about 45 miles northwest of Duluth. In 1967, the store began selling furniture, carpet and appliances. And in the 42 years since, the company was handed off to their sons Russell and Larry Schneiderman, and it grew to seven stores across the state.
It's time to downsize.
"From a business standpoint, it made sense to close the store," President Larry Schneiderman said. "We've needed to do so for three or four years now, but put it off because it was a tough decision."
The Meadowlands store once drew customers from Duluth and the Iron Range. But with Duluth becoming more of a regional retail center, the Meadowlands store didn't attract the same number of customers, Schneiderman said.
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Schneiderman's Furniture first came to Duluth in 1982, and built a new 50,000-square-foot store near Miller Hill Mall in spring 2005.
"With the Duluth store and shopping habits changing, it was tough to keep that store open there," said Stu Lunsford, the Duluth store manager.
The Meadowlands store will host a going-out-of-
business sale at 10 a.m. today to mark the end of the era. Once the merchandise is all sold, the store will close and about 10 employees will be let go, Schneiderman said. The company, which employs about 200 statewide, will retain an administrative center in Meadlowlands.
"We're also trying to keep in mind that we've had a lot of good times and it's been a nice run over there," said Schneiderman from the company headquarters in Lakeville, Minn.
Schneiderman's Furniture also has stores in Plymouth, Lakeville, Roseville and Woodbury, with an outlet and distribution center in Burnsville.
