Family-owned Larrabee’s furniture store closing after 60 years in Colorado

Larrabee’s furnishings retailer, a Colorado staple for about six many years, is closing the doorways of the four-generation household enterprise on the finish of this 12 months.

Larrabee’s Furnishings + Design, whose roots stretch to 1943 in South Dakota and Minnesota, has employed a number of short-term staff to organize for a going-out-of-business sale at its showroom at 311 E. County Line Highway in Littleton. Co-owners Scott and Carolyn Larrabee, each of their early 70s, mentioned Thursday whereas the time is correct to maneuver ahead, it received’t be straightforward.

“It’s a bittersweet second for us. We’re trying ahead to the following chapter of our lives, however we completely love our staff and our clients,” Scott Larrabee mentioned.

“We have now nothing however gratitude for all of the years that we have now been doing this,” Carolyn Larrabee mentioned. “We’ve been so supported. I feel the most effective factor is our workers. We have now such an excellent workers that has helped us from begin to end.”

The Larrabees opened the Littleton showroom in 2013 after they moved right into a constructing the place the now-closed Kacey Effective Furnishings was. They employed a number of of Kacey’s former staff.

The Colorado chapter of the Larrabee household enterprise began in Boulder in 1962.

“I began 60 years in the past this month, establishing dinette units for dad and my uncle Cliff,” Scott mentioned.

Scott’s uncle and grandfather, Howard Larrabee, began the furnishings enterprise in 1943 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Ortonville, Minn. Scott joined his uncle and his father, Lee, within the household custom. He and Carolyn had three totally different shops in Fort Collins and one in Greeley earlier than opening their retailer in Littleton.

A fourth era has helped develop the enterprise. The Larrabees’ daughters, Erin and Heather, and son, Matt, are a part of the crew. Erin is the chief vice chairman of operations and advertising.

Matt, who lives in California, is the e-commerce supervisor and will probably be in Colorado this summer season to assist with operations on the firm’s three warehouses. Heather, who has helped with the corporate’s branding, is steering communications for the enterprise.

“It’s actually all palms on deck. That’s how we’ve at all times operated as a household,” Erin mentioned.

An element behind closing Larrabee’s now’s that the shop’s lease is up for renewal.

“We had an enormous lease in entrance of us so far as the variety of years,” Scott mentioned. “We needed to resolve if we needed to signal a lease that may run into our 80s or was this the higher time to perhaps…”

“Exit,” mentioned Carolyn, supplying the phrase Scott was in search of.

Larrabee’s, like companies nationwide, has needed to navigate the pandemic’s uneven waters which have included such hazards as supply-chain disruptions and labor shortages. Regardless of the challenges, Scott mentioned “enterprise has by no means been higher.”

Early on, Larrabee’s constructed up its stock to verify it might climate the storm, Scott mentioned. “When folks had been out of inventory, we had loads of merchandise.”

Even after closing for 9 weeks in 2020 due to COVID-19-related restrictions, Larrabee’s surpassed its 2019 gross sales as a result of demand was so excessive, Scott mentioned.

Nonetheless, folks’s give attention to house enhancements when different actions had been restricted did meet up with the enterprise. Erin mentioned producers had backlogs of a number of months. Whereas the waits are getting shorter, she expects the snarls within the provide chain to take years to work out.

Contemplating the outlook, that is the correct time for her dad and mom to retire, Erin mentioned.

“After which we had been at all times going to be arising in opposition to the brand new method of consumerism, which is extra on-line purchasing,” Erin added. “We do have an internet site and e-commerce arrange, however at our value level, which is center to excessive, I simply assume it’s a tougher approach to navigate purchasing.”

Scott mentioned he’ll miss the enterprise, even with all of the modifications and challenges. “I really like coming to work day by day. I actually, actually do.”

Nevertheless, Scott and Carolyn agree there’s one thing even higher: spending extra time with their three grandchildren.

“I really like this furnishings enterprise, but it surely’s nothing in comparison with being a grandfather,” Scott mentioned.