The furniture retail sector has faced serious economic challenges over the last two years that has led to retailer and manufacturer closings and bankruptcy filings.
A real estate sales slump caused by increased home prices and interest rates impacted furniture sales across the country. Rising inflation and consumer reluctance to spend on big-ticket items, based on economic uncertainty, also contributed to a decline in sales.
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Furniture chain Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams began a series of company closures as it on Aug. 26, 2023, closed 27 stores in 14 states, then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 6, 2023, and a month later, converted its case to Chapter 7 liquidation.
Related: Major furniture company closing down, no bankruptcy plans
Next came furniture and mattress retailer The RoomPlace, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2024 to restructure its debts and close several of its stores. It blamed declining retail sales across the country and other challenges in the furniture industry.
The struggling furniture chain closed eight of its 26 stores that were located in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
The RoomPlace bankruptcy was followed a year later by an announcement by major North Carolina furniture manufacturer and supplier Progressive Furniture, which revealed that it would close down its business at the end of the year and lay off all 30 of its employees.
The company, a subsidiary of ready-to-assemble furniture company Sauder Woodworking, has not indicated whether it will file for bankruptcy. It also did not say whether tariffs played a role in its decision to shutter.
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Gallery Furniture closes longtime location
Now, Texas-based furniture chain Gallery Furniture is closing its Houston location on Post Oak Boulevard after operating the store for 16 years, Furniture Today reported.
Related: Popular breakfast chain franchise files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The furniture chain’s owner Jim McIngvale said that construction of the Uptown Bus Rapid Transit line had ruined the busiest retail street in Texas, and an increase of crime around the nearby Galleria Mall in Houston had led to a decline for all businesses in the area.
More closings:
- Popular retail chain to close unprofitable store locations
- Bankrupt retail chain unloads store leases, key asset
- Popular discount retailer files bankruptcy, closes all stores
The Gallery Furniture Post Oak location is a former Pier 1 store that was the chain’s smallest showroom at 30,000 square feet. The company announced plans to close the store in an April 2 Facebook post, but an exact date has not been revealed.
The closing will likely come after the furniture chain conducts a companywide sale. The company did not say whether any staff would be laid off and did not indicate whether it would file for bankruptcy.
Instead, the owner said he plans to open a new store in a better location but did not say when that would be.
“We’re looking for another location in that area that’s on the upswing, not on the downswing,” McIngvale said, according to Furniture Today.
The company announced on its website that it will conduct the “most Epic Blowout Sale yet,” with 30% to 70% off high-quality furniture at all three Gallery Furniture stores and online.
Gallery Furniture also operates another Houston location on North Freeway and one in Richmond, Texas. While the website proclaims, “Everything must go,” it also states that the two other stores will continue operating.
“A huge thank you to Gallery Furniture’s cherished Post Oak customers. You’ve been the heart and soul of this journey, and Gallery Furniture couldn’t have done it without you!” the message on the website concluded.
McIngvale, known as “Mattress Mack,” opened his first Gallery Furniture in 1981 at 6006 North Freeway, which continues operating today.
Related: Another struggling trucking company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
