The owners of Furniture General, which opened 38 years ago as General Freight Furniture, said the store will start a going-out-of-business sale beginning next week.

Co-owner Tim Kennedy said poor sales during the past year and heavy competition from national furniture stores has made business unsustainable at the company's retail store-warehouse at 1101 Walton Way.

"The last half of last year was just awful," he said. "We've heard everybody complain about it. We thought the Augusta market was going to be OK, but we got caught right in it."

Mr. Kennedy said he expects the liquidation sale to take two to three months. Once the store closes, the company's property on Walton Way will be put up for sale.

Mr. Kennedy co-owns the 60,000-square-foot store with his brother, Sammy Kennedy. The store was opened by their father, Ralph, who died in 2001. Their mother, Martha, recently retired from the business.

The name was changed from General Freight Furniture to Furniture General in 2006.

Recently, Renaissance Fine Furnishings, a locally owned furniture store in Martinez, announced it would be moving to a new location.