Ashley Furniture HomeStore Opens at Waikele

Furniture World Magazine

Owned principally by Hawaii investors, the Ashley Furniture HomeStore occupies in excess of 50,000 square feet in the Waikele Shopping Center, next to CompUSA. The store employs more than 60 people, all locally hired. The mega store will carry a vast assortment of furniture, principally from Ashley Furniture Industries, one of America's largest furniture manufacturers and the nation's largest selling home-furniture brand. The benefits of factory direct are apparent in the reasonable pricing of this quality furniture. Ashley's furniture line is known for both quality and value. The advanced technological manufacturing process employs equipment from around the world. Supply chain management maximizing inventory flow, and information technology will allow Hawai'i customers to receive shipments quickly. George Norcross, CEO of the Hawai'i Ashley Furniture HomeStore, said this factory direct store represents the future for furniture shopping. "Our large selection and designer presentation is impressive. It'll be a fun place for the whole family to visit. Comparison shoppers will find Ashley HomeStore Hawai'i a winner." Michael Cutler, the Ashley Furniture Industries factory representative for Hawai'i said, the Ashley slogan sums it up pretty well: "You're going to love this place(TM)". The Hawai'i store is latest of more than 90 Ashley Furniture HomeStores. This year, Ashley has opened similar stores in Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Phoenix and Las Vegas. It has stores in Canada and in Japan. "We want an 'enjoy the visit' atmosphere. There's no pressure," Norcross said. "The price today is the same as tomorrow, is the same as next week. For the home furniture buyer, it's a relief not to be under the gun of a 'sale' to get a good price." Members of the management team at Ashley Furniture HomeStore are all local furniture and retail store veterans. They are: Store manager Donald Okimoto, sales manager Gary Martin, warehouse manager Terrence Bega, visual merchandize manager Robin Maeda and customer service manager Natalie Okouchi. Ashley Furniture Hawai'i is a full-line store. There are more than 4,000 individual furniture items for the Hawai'i customer to select from, as well as a large assortment of accessories.