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Jay Cronin, owner of Stratham Furniture and Mattress Gallery, located at 145 Portsmouth Avenue, the former Frank's Furniture, features pieces manufactured in the USA.Rich Beauchesne/rbeauchesne@seac

STRATHAM - The folks at the Stratham Furniture & Mattress Gallery are trying to do something different.

And in being different, they are taking a risk, said store owner Jay Cronin. In a country where the economy is in shambles and jobs are difficult to come by, Cronin is opting to sell American, quality furniture instead of cheaper, imported goods.

The brand-new company just opened this spring at 145 Portsmouth Ave. in Stratham, the former location of Frank's Furniture. While many furniture stores are going out of business, Cronin hopes his dedication to selling American goods will help his business.

About 80 to 85 percent of the inventory at the shop is made in the United States, said Cronin.

Cronin believes many furniture stores are on a "race to the bottom." They want to see who can import the cheapest furniture so they can advertise absurd prices, he added. All of the big-name companies out there are trying to sell their furniture at the best prices that they can, said Cronin. Most of this inexpensive furniture is imported from China.

"It's amazing how much merchandise we have being imported from overseas, merchandise that used to be made in this country," said Cronin.

It's cheaper to buy these imported goods at first, this is true. However, Cronin argues the cheaper, imported furniture will not last in the long run.

"People love you when you're selling them the stuff, but they hate you six months later they bring it back," said Cronin.

Cronin said the difference is evident in both the materials and in the make. He asserts that in lower-quality sofas, for example, the steel bends more easily because cheaper metals are used. Plus cheaper labor is used. He stands by the quality and durability of couches at his store, and the bed frames at the Furniture & Mattress Gallery are hard wood, as opposed to pressed wood.

That's part of why Cronin made a conscious effort to sell American goods.

The other reason is because it's what our country needs right now, he said.

"Politicians aren't doing their job in keeping jobs in America," said Cronin. "We tell the customers to buy American goods and to help one another. We want to keep the jobs here in this country."

Stratham Furniture & Mattress Gallery sells brands such as Klausner, Lancer, Best, King Koil, Tempur-Pedic, Vaughn Bassett, and Craftmaster.

Cronin picked these brands based on past experiences. "I want to make sure we're carrying quality pieces," he said. "Customer service is very important."

They preach "made in America," but having worked in the furniture industry for 20 years now, Cronin can walk customers through the process of manufacturing a mattress, from the construction of the frame to the type of springs used, to the type of foams.

According to Cronin customers have been receptive to their efforts. He hopes his efforts will create a Domino effect, and other businesses in the area will start selling more made-in-American goods.

"They enjoy that we're an American company selling American-made goods," said Scott Dube, who works in the warehouse at the new store.

Sales Associate Paul Singleterry said in the end, quality will win.

"Some of them leave and come back. They come back because they understand the quality that goes into it. We say it's all American made, we have good-quality wood. It would be pretty silly not to pay the extra money to make it last," he said.

Cronin knows that it's going to be hard to compete with bigger companies with cheaper stock, but he is confident with what they're selling.

"We're never going to be the cheapest, but we are going to be the best value," he said.

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