Bernie & Phyl’s, a Massachusetts-based furniture store chain, plans to open a showroom in the former Toys R Us store in South Portland by Memorial Day Weekend.
It purchased the 42,000-square-foot store for $7.7 million, according to company CEO Larry Rubin. He said the store will hire about 25 employees.
[Subscribe to our free morning newsletter and get the latest headlines in your inbox]
That will bring to nine the number of stores the furniture retailer has in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and soon, Maine. The company is based in Norton, Massachusetts.
The most recent store opened four months ago in Newington, New Hampshire, across the border from Maine. That location attracted many Maine buyers, so Rubin decided moving into Maine was a good idea.
“We were advertising in the Maine market, so it made perfect sense to add another store,” Rubin said.
All Bernie & Phyl’s stores are showrooms, with items stocked in its distribution center in Norton and shipped to customers. Rubin said the store chain is looking for another warehouse location closer to Maine, likely in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Rubin expects the Maine store, which is across from the Maine Mall, will generate $15 million in annual sales during its first full year of operation. Current sales for the entire company are $125 million.
He said a study of the area indicated that the furniture store would do well in southern Maine.
“The only real big player in the area is Bob’s Discount Furniture, and it is doing well,” he said.
He also said that consumers in New Hampshire and Maine are willing to drive an hour or more to a store, which helps sales.
Rubin said his work crew in Maine is starting demolition on the inside of the Maine store and plans to keep an open concept layout.