Upstate Furniture Outlet has weathered Rochester’s uncertain economy and competitive retail market to become one of Monroe County’s largest locally owned furniture stores.

A new location opened this spring at 360 W. Ridge Road, joining the original store at 1415 N. Clinton Ave. and Budget Furniture & Mattress at the same Clinton plaza.

Bill Ho, the company’s president, said the variety of furniture at the main Upstate Furniture stores is a main factor. The stores have more than 10,000 pieces from around the world.

Ho, who employs six to 11 workers, hopes the added location will draw more people into his stores.

“This business is like a snowball,” he said. “You keep rolling and rolling, and it gets bigger.”

The new store joins a retail sector with many national and local players across the region.

Ho said he’s committed to investing in the city, which is why he began the company there in 1999 and has since donated $3,000 in furniture to the Recovery Houses of Rochester.

The business is having a tent sale starting Thursday at its North Clinton Avenue location.

Ho first expanded two years ago, opening Budget Furniture & Mattress. Prices at Budget Furniture range from an $85 dinette to a $598 marble-layered table.

“Our role is to provide for the customers who normally would not be able to afford quality furniture. Now they can,” said Amos Turner, the Upstate Furniture executive in charge of Budget Furniture.

At Upstate Furniture, prices and merchandise vary, but you’ll also find higher-end pieces, such as a $4,700 dining room table.

“It’s a big challenge,” said Ho of the business. “Everybody always hopes for the best …. And you just have to put in a lot of effort, bring in new merchandise and have good selection, pricing and service, and have this all combined together to make your business a success.”

Which is why Ho recently got a long-term customer in Mia Muse, 41, a home health aide who lives in Rochester.

Muse used to shop at other big-name retailers, but was tired of high-pressure sales people. So in January, after hearing a Budget Furniture advertisement, she stumbled upon the store and ended up spending $2,500 on furniture to fill her house.

“It’s good quality,” she added. “And I’m very picky about that. I’ll bounce around on the stuff, hit it with my hip. … If it moves too far, it’s too light and not durable. I do look like a crazy woman in a furniture store.

“And I keep going in there,” she added, “which I need to stop doing because I don’t have any more room for more furniture.”

Source; DemocratandChronicle.com

Tags: Amos Turner, Bill Ho, Chester, Clinton plaza, Ford, Furniture, Furniture Store, January, Location, Monroe,