Furniture Outlets USA started an aggressive expansion five years ago that doubled its sales- and the company does not plan to stop any time soon. With sales nearly doubling fro $33.8 million in 1997 to $59.8 million last year, general manager Gordy Wallenstein said he expects the same growth again by 2005.

“We’re very aggressive by nature. We don’t like to be second, ever,” he said about the company that operates South Dakota Furniture Mart in Sioux Falls and Unclaimed Freight Furniture in Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Watertown and Yankton and other stores in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota.

The company moved into its new 189,000- square-foot warehouse and distribution center last year in Sioux Falls. Wallenstein said the operation gives the company the opportunity to grow to more than $180 million in Annual sales.

“When this facility goes to running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we’ll need to increase out labor force,” Wallenstein said.

Although Furniture Outlets USA is looking to expand in the Minneapolis area – where it already has two stores – Wallenstein said nearly 80 percent of the company’s products will go through the Sioux Falls warehouse.

In 1977, the company opened its first store, Unclaimed Freight in Sioux Falls. Since then, it has bought other stores and properties. This will be the style of the future expansion of Furniture Outlet, Wallenstein says.

“We’ve seen a lot of businesses come and go in our 25 years. We’ve been able to keep running because we are able to operate on a margin others can’t operate on. This allows us to give better prices to our customers,” he said.

For Lynnette Olson, director of human resources, the strength of the business is its values. “They are very determined to expand. But it’s still a family-owned business,” she said.

“Whenever a company expands, those values in a family business start to get lost, but they are doing a lot to make sure they keep those values.” Wallenstein said the qualities of the company’s employees are tremendous.

“You’re only as good as your employees working for you. We have a strong nucleus of management and employees,” he said.

“When you get to towns the size of Sioux Falls, your reputation is all you have. I am very proud of our reputation.” Olson said the variety of stores and effort of employees is carrying the company into the future.

“Even though the businesses are owned by the same owner, all out stores are different. They all have their own unique personalities,” she said.

Source - Argus Leader