Conlin's to become Al's Furniture

Conlin's Furniture in Evergreen will close within the next three months, then reopen with a new name and owner.

Al Rohrich is in the final stages of purchasing the store and also will buy the Missoula Conlin's store.

Rohrich hopes to reopen the store in late fall as Al's Furniture.

Conlin's Furniture currently operates at 16 locations in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wyoming. The Conlin family is selling the Evergreen and Missoula stores.

Originally, the Conlin's store was on Main Street in downtown Kalispell. After 10 years there, Conlin's in 2004 moved to the former Ernst store building on Montana 35 in Evergreen.

Scott Hansen, general manager of the Evergreen store, said that over the next few months Conlin's will hold a liquidation sale.

All prices on pieces of furniture have been marked with a red "X" and shoppers are encouraged to suggest a price. If the price checks out with the manager, the piece will sell. The more pieces a customer purchases, the lower the prices.

Conlin's has also brought in a number of temporary employees to help with the sale, which the company hopes to complete as fast as possible.

Kathleen Oswald of California said she will live in Kalispell until the store is empty. She said the store already has been incredibly busy.

She described Thursday morning's rush as "a buying frenzy."

When all pieces have been sold, employees will restock and the store will likely reopen under its new ownership in mid- to late September, depending on the length of the liquidation. Hansen said Al's Furniture will service anything that has been purchased at Conlin's.

Rohrich worked for Conlin's for 34 years before moving to Minnesota for eight years,

where he continued working in the furniture business.

"I opened the store [in Missoula] in the early '80s, so I'm just coming back and I had the opportunity to buy the stores," Rohrich said.

The building will remain the same, except for signs. Some of the furniture lines will remain the same, too.

"We are trying to appeal to a broader spectrum of customers," Hansen said. "We will have a much better selection in the medium price range."

Rohrich said he wants to stock the right products at the right prices.

"All the years I've been in furniture I've seen a lot of ups and downs. They don't surprise me any more," Rohrich said. "These economies are cyclical and you have to merchandise to the economic conditions."

Rohrich said he plans to divide his time between the two stores.

Rohrich has invited the 18 Conlin's employees to stay on when ownership changes. He made a similar offer in Missoula.

"This is a much smaller venture, just two stores, not 16 stores," Hansen said. "We've given everyone the opportunity to stay and it's up to them to do that or not."

Reporter K.J. Hascall may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at kjhascall@dailyinterlake.com