A family-owned furniture store that weathered wars, recessions, and generations of customer loyalty is entering bankruptcy and closing dozens of stores. The company — which was once a suburban mall staple alongside former rivals like Mervyn’s and Gottschalks — said it would start liquidating stores after years of falling foot traffic, mounting costs, and an unforgiving retail landscape that has felled many midsize home-goods brands.
The decades-old company, which has been owned by the same family over multiple leadership changes, said its decision was both painful and inevitable. Executives cited inflation, rising borrowing costs, and a deceleration in discretionary spending as the things that finally broke them. Furniture is one of the first things that consumers cut back on when the economy cools, and this downturn was worse than they had anticipated.
What upended the ground beneath the company was, in fact, about how customers shop today. Big-box competitors, including Costco, Target, and Walmart, pushed hard into budget-friendly home furnishings. At the same time, online sellers like Wayfair and Amazon turned couches, mattresses, and dining sets into two-click purchases. Further upscale rivals broadened financing and quick delivery options, putting midrange stores in a smaller middle.
The company tried to adapt. In recent years, it has modernized its store layouts, updated digital tools, and introduced new collections targeting younger buyers. But the expense of operating big physical stores became unsustainable relative to slowing sales. When leases came up for renewal, additional locations went from being assets to liabilities.
Workers say the writing was on the wall for months: stretched staffing levels, product deliveries delayed for weeks, and an increasing number of clearance events to eliminate products left over from seasonal promotions. Warehouses were packed with items that shoppers simply weren’t buying, as many stores tried to maintain at least a slim inventory of their highest-demand pieces. And some workers said the only visiting customers were bargain-hunters biding their time until the following markdown.
The company intends to close most of its stores, but some may remain open depending on how the bankruptcy proceeds. Loyal customers — many of them patrons who grew up shopping at the store with their parents and now bring their own children in — say the closures feel like losing a hometown institution. For older shoppers, the chain was more than just a place to shop; it was where they bought their first sofa, dining set, and even nursery furniture.
Retail analysts say this collapse is a symptom of a larger problem. Furniture is expensive, competitive, and shockingly susceptible to macroeconomic shifts. When inflation took off, and interest rates gained legs, home-buying cooled, mortgage costs rose sharply, and consumers postponed big-ticket purchases. And that slowdown is still reverberating across furniture retailers nationwide.
The chain isn’t alone. Several regional home-goods brands, mattress companies, and décor retailers have sought bankruptcy protection in the last two years under pressures similar to those At Home faces. What’s different here is the duration — a business run by a family for generations, one that survives the disruptions of every trend and fad over decades only to be undone by forces no individual retailer can fix.
As liquidation sales get underway, customers can expect sizable discounts on sofas, tables, mattresses, and décor. Behind those sales, hundreds of employees stand with uncertain futures. Many of them say they’re proud to have spent time there but lament that the result couldn’t have been different, with the store staking out a place in a new retail era rather than getting dragged under by it.
And so, for now, the brand’s long stride ends not with a reinvention but a retreat. A former stalwart of furniture retailing is shuttering its stores, leaving behind darkened showrooms, discount floor models, and a reminder that even legacy retailers cannot outrun how quickly consumers’ habits are changing.
