134-year-old home goods chain files for bankruptcy - more than 500 stores at risk

Home and furnishings retailer Conn's has revenge for bankruptcy - putting hundreds of stores astatine risk.

In caller days, nan Texas-based concatenation said it was closing 73 of its stores crossed 13 states while it considered bankruptcy.

Then connected Tuesday it revenge for Chapter 11 bankruptcy pinch debts of much than $1 billion, though it besides said it had assets - specified arsenic banal and stores - worthy that equine too. 

The filing allows it to support operating while it liquidates stores.  

The closures truthful acold correspond 13 percent of its 553 full locations. There are fears nan bankruptcy will lead to moreover much - besides nether nan Badcock Home Furniture & More banner, a marque it bought past year.

Headquartered successful The Woodlands, Texas, Conn's has been astir successful immoderate shape for 134 years.

First, it was a plumbing and heating institution and successful 1933 Carroll Wayne Conn, Sr. acquired nan store, giving Conn's its modern time namesake.

The shop first waded into unit pinch refrigerators successful 1937, but nowadays it sells everything from location appliances to TVs to furnishings and overmuch more.

For years now, Conn's struggled pinch increasing brick-and-mortar footprint.

That led to it buying W.S. Badcock - different location equipment concatenation that operates nether past Badcock Home Furniture & More banner - successful December 2023. That boosted nan shop numbers dramatically. 

But that saddled nan institution pinch indebtedness and precocious overhead costs, Bloomberg reported.

In an April disclosure, Conn's announced it vanished retired 2023 pinch a year-over-year nett nonaccomplishment of almost $77 million.   

Conn's shares person been successful free autumn for complete 3 years, down an astonishing 98 percent since June 2021.

DailyMail.com approached Conn's for remark connected nan closures and bankruptcy but didn't person an contiguous response. 

The astir caller woes Conn's is facing travel amid a wide 'retail apocalypse' that is seeing bricks-and-mortar stores struggle to combat rampant theft and progressively tight margins. 

By nan extremity of April, US retailers had announced the closure of almost 2,600 stores successful 2024.  

Walmart, nan largest retailer successful nan US, has unopen 11 truthful acold this year.

Earlier successful April, dollar shop 99 Cents Only said it will shutter ALL its 371 shops, while Best Buy closed ten in March. 

Dollar Tree is closing 1,000, Macy's 150 - a 3rd of its full - and supplier shop Rite Aid 77.   

In caller months, location has been a spate of bankruptcies adding to shop closures.

Express - a promenade staple - revenge for bankruptcy successful April and said it would unopen 95 Express outlets alongside each of its UpWest stores.    

At nan commencement of May, Rue21 - nan teen manner concatenation that is simply a fixture successful malls crossed America -  also said it will unopen all  its 543 US stores.