Friday, November 12, 1999
Ball Furniture liquidation wrapping up
Local chain victim of bigger stores
BY MIKE BOYER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ball Furniture Co. opened its doors in downtown Cincinnati in 1942, just as World War II was heating up in Europe and the South Pacific. Today, the retailer will hold a liquidation sale, a victim of the war against larger furniture store chains.
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ABOUT THE SALE
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• When: Kicks off at 9 a.m. today. Sale ends when inventory is depleted.
• Where: Two Ball stores: 7798 Reading Road and 8 Madison Ave. in Covington.
• What shoppers will find: $3 million worth of merchandise, including such brands as Broyhill and Hickory Hill. To be sold at savings as high as 75 percent.
• Delivery: Available for a charge. Customers also can take merchandise directly off the floor.
• How to pay: Cash and checks only. No credit cards.
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The going-out-of-business sale involving a local, longtime player in the Tristate retailing scene has become commonplace. Since 1995, Swallen's Inc., J. Schloemer Furniture, Leugers Furniture Co. and McAlpin's Signature store in Crestview Hills have closed their doors.
“Encroachment of "big-box' chain retailers has made it difficult for independents like Ball to survive,” said John Somers, president of the furniture division of Fox Promotion. That is the New Jersey retail liquidator that purchased Ball's inventory and is conducting the liquidation sale.
Ball's four local stores and clearance center closed Nov. 4. About $3 million worth of inventory has been consolidat ed into two locations: the Ball stores at 7798 Reading Road in Roselawn and 8 Madison Ave. in Covington.
The company's two other stores on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine will remain closed.
Industry experts say “big-box” furniture giants — such as Value City Furniture, Furniture Fair and Roberds — are thriving. Their success is making it tougher for the smaller chains to keep up.
Founded by the late Wilfred Schwartz and Jule Gildenblatt, Ball started as a downtown variety store in 1942. It opened a furniture store a few years later in Winton Terrace.
At its peak the company operated five stores with $6 million in annual sales.
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