Perry ? A longtime furniture store in this small Jefferson County community has fallen victim to a slowdown in the economy.

Oak Warehouse, in downtown Perry, closed its doors recently after 15 years of business. Ross Smith, company manager, said sales had dropped about 75 percent since the economy turned sour in 2001. The store is owned by his mother, Pat Smith-Huhs, Oskaloosa.

The closing comes on the heels of an announcement last week by Topeka-based Marlings Home Furnishings that it would close its Lawrence store by the end of the year because of increased competition from the Kansas City market.

“I don’t feel like Nebraska Furniture Mart put me out of business,” Smith said Tuesday, referring to the furniture giant that opened last year near the Kansas Speedway in western Wyandotte County. “The economy was the biggest thing.”

Smith said many consumers decided to live with the furniture they had rather than buy new merchandise.

“We’re more of a luxury,” Smith said. “We’re far from a necessity.”

James Hill, manager of Oak Classics, a competitor in Perry, said business had remained at adequate levels at his store but said the economy had taken a bite out of sales.

“It is going well, but were not going as fast as we used to,” Hill said. “Unfortunately, furniture is one of the first things people can live without.”

Oak Warehouse will sell its remaining inventory at an auction.

The closing and auction have created concern for some customers.

Lawrence resident Sam Hunsaker had paid about $200 for a coffee table that he was purchasing on layaway at the store. Hunsaker said he went to the store Saturday to make a payment and found only a sign on the door advertising the auction.

“It made me wonder what is going to happen to my furniture or my money,” Hunsaker said.

Smith estimated he had about 10 people who were in the process of purchasing merchandise on layaway or had made deposits for items that were ordered. Smith admitted that he hadn’t made contact with all the customers. But he said he would work with them to either refund their money or allow them to finish the layaway program.

“Everybody will be taken care of,” Smith said. “We were in business for 15 years, and we didn’t get here by being fly-by-night people.”

The company, at one point employed seven people, but during the past year Smith has been its only employee.