Once-Hot Furniture Industry Cools Off, And Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Is The Latest Casualty
Fifteen years of business came to a screeching halt this week after Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams failed to secure financing that would have allowed the luxury furniture-maker and retailer to continue operations.
The North Carolina-based company has begun shutting down its roughly two dozen retail locations, including its 11K SF store at 210 Lafayette St. in New York City. Stores in the Uptown area of Dallas and at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver also appeared to have closed, per CoStar.
Employees were notified of the shutdown via a letter from interim CEO Chris Moye, as well as signs and notes posted at its three North Carolina manufacturing plants. The events leading up to the closure were unforeseen, Moye said in his letter, which kept the company from providing employees more notice.
"While we have been buoyed by the support of our wonderful employees, like yourself, [the company] has recently and unexpectedly learned that we are unable to secure critical financing to continue business operations,” he wrote. “In the wake of this unfortunate development, the company will sadly need to wind down operations and terminate the employment of our employees beginning on Aug. 26.”
Parent company Stephens Group recently invested $20M in Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams to restructure the business, but the infusion wasn't enough to satisfy the lender, who pulled support shortly after, CoStar reported.
“Throughout our history, we have been able to help many companies unlock their value and succeed in the marketplace,” Stephens Group said in a statement. “While we do everything we can to support our portfolio companies, how their stories play out are not always fully within our control.”
The closure comes as interest rates rise and fears of a recession prompt consumers to tighten their budgets. Year-over-year spending growth slipped from 4.2% in the first quarter to 1.6% in the second quarter, per the National Retail Federation. At the same time, employment growth is beginning to level out, with 185,000 jobs added in June, the lowest number since December 2020.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams isn't the first furniture store to bite the dust amid economic turmoil.
Although the industry saw a major surge at the start of the pandemic as remote and laid-off workers feathered their nests, Klaussner Home Furnishings, Ashley Furniture and United Furniture Industries have all slimmed down operations through layoffs or all-out closures.
