R.S. Basso to shut shops

<p>R.S. Basso, the company that grew from a single Sebastopol upholstery shop into a prominent Bay Area home furnishings company, is closing its doors after 25 years as its owners prepare to retire.</p><p>The company plans a liquidation sale starting next week and intends to close its flagship store in downtown Sebastopol and its shop on Healdsburg Plaza when the sale is complete, founder Ron Basso said Thursday.</p><p>The company closed its Corte Madera store earlier this month and its Danville store in April.</p><p>"It's been a long time, it's a tough business, and I've found better ways to make a living," said Basso, a Sebastopol native who got his start in a downtown upholstery shop 1981.</p><p>Basso, who said he is retiring from the furniture business to spend more time on commercial real estate projects, owns several key downtown Sebastopol properties.</p><p>A slump in the furniture market over the past 18 months is contributing to his decision, he said. The downturn in local real estate sales has weakened demand for furniture at the same time the company is facing higher costs - including gas and labor - that threatened to force it to raise prices, he said.</p><p>"The economy is making my decision very easy," Basso said.</p><p>Basso and his wife, Mary Li, built the business from a single store in Sebastopol in 1981 into a well-known Bay Area chain with six stores, 70 employees, and more than $10 million in revenue in 2003.</p><p>That year, Basso built a $5million flagship store at the site of his first shop in downtown Sebastopol on North Main Street. The two-story, 26,000- square-foot building won praise for the elegance and European flair it brought to downtown. Massive wooden doors and wrought-iron balconies grace the facade, while a broad central staircase connects two stories filled with an eclectic selection of sofas, tables, armoires, artwork and antiques.</p><p>When the building was completed, Basso said locating such a large store in his hometown signified his commitment to the local retail community. That building is now on the market for $8.5 million.</p><p>Inventory from a nearby warehouse, which Basso owns and is slated for development, is being moved to the main store. Closure of the remaining stores depends largely on how quickly the merchandise sells, he said.</p><p>"It could be six months, it could be a year, it could be three months," he said.</p><p>Sebastopol City Manager David Brennan said he knew the R.S. Basso building was for sale but did not know about the plans for the business.</p><p>"We would hope that current use as a furniture store would continue," he said.</p><p>The company is sending out 5,000 cards to its customers announcing the retirement sale, which begins next week, Basso said.</p><p>The company has sharply scaled back operations in recent years. It closed its St. Helena store in 2003, citing high rents. The Palo Alto store closed around the same time. The Danville location closed in April, and the Corte Madera store closed earlier this month.</p><p>The closures were deliberate decisions to scale back the business as the transition to retirement approached, Basso said.</p><p>He designed the North Main Street building with potential future uses in mind, he said. It has an open floor plan that will allow it to be carved up into offices or smaller retail spaces if the new owner desires.</p><p>"I'm not a guy that flies by the seat of his pants," he said.</p>