Flint Energies’ appliance store in Warner Robins plans to close before April 30 or when existing inventory is gone.

The store at 924 S. Houston Lake Road has been open since 1998, and it serves only Flint customers, according to a news release.

Senior vice president Jimmy Autry said in the release that the appliance center had weathered the economic downturn for more than four years, but closing the store was the best decision for members in the future. “We had some very good years serving our members in the decade of the 2000s, peaking in 2006,” Autry said. “But the market has not rebounded enough for us to continue.”

The Flint appliance center market was constrained somewhat by a legal ruling in 1999 that dictated the store only sell to members of Flint Energies, the release stated. For this reason, the Reynolds appliance store closed soon after it opened in 1998.

The Warner Robins store has three workers and the company “will be offering support to the ... employees as they seek other employment in the community,” the release stated.

The store closing would have no material impact on the finances of the not-for-profit Flint Energies and its members, the release stated.

To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.