A 134-year-old home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy and is closing more than 70 stores

Conn’s HomePlus, a 134-year-old furniture and electronics retailer with locations primarily in the southern United States, has filed for bankruptcy and is closing nearly half of its 170 stores.

The Texas-based company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, has been struggling with slumping sales amid a broader slowdown in discretionary spending among consumers. Conn’s has assets and liabilities worth at least $1 billion each, according to the filing.

The 73 Conn’s HomePlus stores closing are listed on its website. Florida is the most affected state with 18 stores soon shutting down, followed by Texas with 9 locations. Other states where stores are closing include Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia.

A Conn’s spokesperson said that as the company goes through the Chapter 11 process, it “continues to have ongoing discussions with potential buyers to sell all or parts of the business and preserve jobs.”

Shares of the company have fallen more than 90% for the year and the company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq a few weeks ago.

Last year, Conn’s bought W.S. Badcock, another home goods retailer that operates in the southeast US under the “Badcock Home Furniture & more” name. That purchase increased the company’s total retail footprint to more than 500 stores among the two brands, however 35 Badcock stores are also closing.

Major furniture retailers continue to struggle after a pandemic boom, particularly as Americans struggle with persistent inflation. Discretionary big-ticket items, such as furniture, have quickly dropped off the shopping list for more budget-conscious consumers.

That has resulted in furniture chains Z Gallerie and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filing for bankruptcy within the past year and Wayfair drastically reducing its workforce.

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