A Texas electronics and home furnishings retailer with more than 40 stores across South Carolina is holding clearance sales at all of its locations after seeking bankruptcy protection this week.
The parent of Conn’s HomePlus and Badcock Home Furniture & More is liquidating all merchandise, fixtures, equipment and other items under a proposed liquidation plan that calls for winding down the two chains “in an orderly fashion” to “maximize the value of their assets.”
The closeout sales are expected be concluded by Sept. 30.
The bankruptcy plan would claim about three dozen Badcock “dealer” furniture stores in small rural towns and big cities throughout the Palmetto State. Five Conn’s HomePlus outlets also are set to be shut down — in North Charleston, Greenville, Spartanburg, Florence and Rock Hill.
Conn’s Inc. CEO Norman Miller said in sworn testimony filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that the business grew from a one-shop home appliance retailer in Beaumont, Texas, in the early 1900s to a publicly traded company with 553 corporate-run and dealer locations in 15 states, in addition to an online sales platform.
The chain “has faced significant headwinds” in recent years, he added.
The financial challenges have included “drastic shifts in consumer behavior brought on by macro-economic trends,” such as “multiple rounds of government stimulus” money during the pandemic, rising interest rates, inflation and higher costs tied to the purchase of Badcock, Miller said.
“The resulting slowdown in the company’s growth has placed a strain on the company’s sales and liquidity position,” he said.
Conn’s filed for bankruptcy to “obtain the time and breathing room” it needs to wrap up the closeout sales and to “pursue a court-supervised marketing and sale process” for the remaining assets, such as real estate leases, Miller said.
The company kicked off the liquidation at 73 of its namesake and 35 Badcock stores before filing for bankruptcy in Texas earlier this week. An amended court filing on July 25 showed all locations were holding going-out-of-business sales, with some goods marked down 50 percent.
