SOUTHAVEN — The city of Southaven will be home to a new “big box” furniture store
later this year.

With a 54,000-square-foot retail store and a 70,000-square-foot distribution center
warehouse, the Great American Homestore will be a first of its kind in DeSoto County.
“It’s going to be unique,” said architect Doug Thornton with Architectural and
Engineering Resources for Construction (AERC). “I don’t know of any others like it up
here.”
Thornton said that Miskelly Furniture in Jackson provided a good comparison furniture
store.
From the outside, the store and distribution center will be sure to catch the eye with
its prominent, elevated position near Interstate 55 and Church Road.
“It’s a steel frame building with a stucco finish,” Thornton said. “It’ll have
several large two-story tall glass windows along the front.”
Thornton said that the outside reflected a classical design.
Construction is ongoing at its location on Pepperchase Drive north of Church Road and
west of the interstate. The facility is between American Metal and Mississippi Valley
Gas.
Ron Becker, the new store manager of Great American Homestore, said that a stunning
exterior was central to the wishes of the owners when the facility was in the design
phase. They wanted an exterior that would grab the attention of passing motorists on
the interstate.
“We hired Doug Thornton and his firm because we didn’t want it to be designed like a
typical furniture store,” Becker said. “We wanted to take advantage of modern
architectural designs.”
“It’s a fresh architectural design and it is just going to be beautiful,” Becker
said. “It was elevated to be visible from the interstate.”
Becker said that one advantage that a retail outlet being connected to the distribution
center will be for the customers. “People won’t have to wait to get an item that is
out of stock,” Becker said. “We can just go back there to our warehouse and get it or
have it delivered to you the next day.”
Although the store and distribution center will be a single structural unit, the
distribution warehouse will be on the rear of the building and separated from the store
by a wall.
The store will house a variety of moderately priced furniture of all types, ranging
from dining room to bedroom furniture as well as a vast assortment of decorative items.
“I think it’s going to have everything that you could possibly have related to furniture,” Thornton said.
Becker said that Great American will probably have on display 15 to 20 furniture lines.
Of the total 54,000-square-foot retail space, there will be a 4,500 square foot space
for children’s furniture and a 10,000-square-foot area set aside for clearance items
such as discontinued lines. In addition, the store will have an entertainment area for
men and children who tire easily of furniture browsing.
“It will have what we call a ‘motion area’ with several wide screen televisions
where gentlemen can go eat popcorn and watch a game,” Thornton said. “There will be a
place for children to go play, also.”
“The store will be full of little interesting vignettes,” Thornton said.
Officials said that the store should employed about 40 overall, which include about 18
salespeople.
The store manager is shooting for a July opening.
“I’d really like to have it open by the first of July so we can take advantage of the
Fourth of July sales weekend,” Becker said. “The groundwork has been completed and
the walls have gone up so everything should move quickly now.