WEST FARGO — Furniture for Less has been in business for 25 years and owner Darrell Hansen says their longevity is based on a basic philosophy of offering items that are unique, affordable and in stock.
Those watchwords were particularly important during the pandemic, he said, when Furniture for Less tended to have inventory at a time when other stores found it hard to find merchandise to sell.
Today, Hansen said, Furniture for Less is busier than it's ever been.
Ironic, perhaps, given that Hansen and his long-time business partner, Barry Sundlie, are in the process of retiring.
That means there will be a period of discounted pricing until all inventory is sold, after which the two men will move on to other things.
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In the meantime, Hansen said the business is for sale, though the building that houses Furniture for Less on Sheyenne Street was sold a little more than two years ago.
Hansen said if someone buys the business, the 30 or so Furniture for Less employees would provide a ready and talented workforce at a time many businesses are finding it a challenge to find employees.
Hansen and Sundlie were employees themselves and working at the Arvid Benson furniture store in Moorhead when they decided to open a used furniture store in Moorhead in 1998.
They gradually added new furniture to the mix and after about a year they moved to a north Fargo strip mall, expanding their business footprint whenever other tenants in the mall moved out.
About 20 years ago, they purchased the former home of the SuperValu store in West Fargo after the city offered tax incentives to set up shop there.
Hansen said the temporary incentives, which he said have been paid back many times over, were the deciding factor in the decision to move to West Fargo and he said since then the neighborhood has experienced something of a business rebirth.
Furniture for Less opened a store in the Moorhead Center Mall in 2010, but in 2020 it was announced that store would close due to workforce issues.
Hansen said he doesn't know how long it will take to sell their existing inventory, but he said it will take some time, as they have "a ridiculous amount."
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He said it's also unclear how he will fill his time when he doesn't have to go to work every day.
"I'll find out," he said.
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