High inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain issues, and changing consumer attitudes over the past year have financially impacted furniture chains, forcing several retailers to file bankruptcy and close stores in some cases.
In October 2023, the parent company of upscale furniture and home decor retailer, Z Gallerie, which operated 21 stores in nine states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as supply chain and import cost increases in 2021 and 2022 severely impacted its brand profitability and cash position.
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Furniture and mattress retailer The RoomPlace on Feb. 2, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois to restructure its debts and close several of its stores, blaming declining retail sales across the country and other challenges in the furniture industry.
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The Lombard, Ill., furniture retail chain with 26 locations closed six stores in the Indianapolis area, one in Kenosha, Wis., and one in Peoria, Ill., and planned to concentrate on strengthening its remaining 18 stores in Chicagoland.
Unable to secure critical financing to continue business operations, upscale furniture chain Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams ceased operations on Aug. 26, 2023, and closed 27 stores in 14 states. It then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 6, 2023. A month later, it converted its case to Chapter 7 liquidation.
The company had also operated about 40 virtual stores and six brick-and-mortar outlet locations.
At the time, the company's interim CEO, who had been in that position for four months, said in a WARN letter to North Carolina officials that the company had “recently and unexpectedly learned” it didn’t have enough money to keep its doors open.
The company, which had been purchased by Stephens Group in 2014, had recently made a $20 million investment in the brand, according to a report from Retail Dive.
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“Unfortunately, shortly after this restructuring, the company’s lender withdrew its support, forcing Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams to cease operations,” the firm said in a written statement on its website.
More than 500 people who worked on the company's campus were let go immediately at the time of the abrupt closure.
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Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams furniture brand relaunches
Home furnishings and design company Surya on Nov. 14, 2023, completed the acquisition of the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams intellectual property, inventory, and manufacturing equipment in a bankruptcy sale. Surya plans to restart manufacturing and assembly at the 35-year-old company's Statesville, Hiddenite and Taylorsville, N.C., facilities.
More bankruptcy stories:
- Big Lots retail chain ready to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Popular retail product maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Mattress Firm rival files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Surya said it would reintroduce the brand as a trade-only partner, accessible to leading interior designers and design-driven retailers. The company even hired co-founder Mitchell Gold as an adviser on its fall product lineup.
Surya on Aug. 5 rolled out 50 iconic Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams upholstered furniture pieces available in over 200 configurations for designers to purchase on the company's website.
The company will relaunch the brand Oct. 24-28 at the High Point Market in its showroom at the International Home Furnishings Center. The center is in High Point, N.C.
In approving the sale of the name and intellectual property of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in 2023, a federal judge had signed off on a deal that enabled some of the company's customers to take delivery of orders that had been frozen during the bankruptcy case.
Ryder had been holding about 2,000 deliveries that Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams had not paid to be shipped. The delivery company had charged the furniture maker and retailer daily fees for storing those undelivered orders.
This impasse put customers in an impossible position. They had paid for delivery but their money had not been sent to Ryder. Under a court-approved deal, those customers had the option to pay Ryder to deliver their items, and the shipping company would waive the storage charges.
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