A 120-year-old furniture chain will shutter all 380 stores after its parent company filed for bankruptcy — the latest brick-and-mortar business to buckle from high overhead costs and massive debt.
Badcock Home Furniture & More, which has stores throughout the South, announced a “going out of business” sale Tuesday.
The company was purchased last year by Conn’s, a Texas-based furniture retailer, which filed for bankruptcy last week.
Conn’s operates an additional 150 stores but has amassed $2 billion in debt, according to the bankruptcy filing.
The publicly traded company finished 2023 with a net loss of $77 million, Conn’s said in an April disclosure.
Conn’s shares have plummeted 93% this year. The stock opened at $4.48 in January and now sits at $0.32 a share.
The company recently received a delisting notice from Nasdaq.
Conn’s did not respond to requests for comment.
Conn’s reportedly bought Badcock in hopes the sprawling Southern US furniture chain would boost sales.
Badcock has locations in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia.
Conn’s and Badcock stores employ about 3,800 full-time workers and 150 part-time workers, according to the report.
Conn’s started as a plumbing and heating company in 1937.
It began selling refrigerators, then transitioned into a home goods and furniture store, according to the report.
It is not the only home goods company to struggle amid sticky inflation.
Other furniture chains, including Bob’s Discount Furniture, Z Gallerie and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, filed for bankruptcy this year.
Overall, US retailers had announced the closure of almost 2,600 stores in 2024.
Those include Dollar Tree, Rue21, Rite Aid, 99 Cents Only, and Express.
