Several significant retailers have already marched to bankruptcy court in 2024 after several others filed in 2023. The Body Shop and Joann Fabrics filed for bankruptcy in March. In April, 99 Cents Only and apparel retailer Express filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
One year ago on April 23, 2023, kitchen and bath retailer Bed Bath & Beyond filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eventually liquidating and closing all of its stores.
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Kitchen and bath retailers struggle
The retailer's demise was preceded by the February 2023 bankruptcy filing from another retailer that sold kitchen and bath products, Tuesday Morning. The Dallas retailer, which was established in 1974, followed its bankruptcy filing with liquidation and store closings in May 2023.
The kitchen and bath retail segment hasn't improved much after the closings of Bed Bath & Beyond and Tuesday Morning, as about one year later another major retailer in the space has filed bankruptcy, and this time it's a Chapter 7 liquidation.
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Luxury kitchen appliance and bath fixtures retailer Pirch on April 19 filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate its assets as it faces a wave of legal challenges from customers.
Pirch files bankruptcy to liquidate
The Vista, Calif., debtor filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego, listing $100 million to $500 million in liabilities and $10 million to $50 million in assets in its petition.
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Pirch in March abruptly closed all of its showrooms and issued a statement to all of its customers online:
"As of Wednesday March 20th PIRCH is temporarily closing all our showrooms through this weekend. This is a pause of business to give management the opportunity to complete a go-forward plan.
"We are navigating through various options. We take this situation seriously and are working diligently to resolve it. we appreciate your patience while we work to find a path forward. We intend to share the go forward plans sometime next week."
The message concluded with a list of email addresses for answering customer questions, including "For All Open Order Inquiries," "For All Returns and Exchange Inquiries," "To Cancel an Open Order," "For All Refund Information," and "Direct Other Inquiries to: Gene Hodges, VP marketing and corporate communications."
The online message was never removed from the website and remains posted as of April 23. The website listed six showrooms in Southern California, including Costa Mesa, Glendale, La Jolla, Rancho Mirage, Solana Beach and Mission Viejo, which remain closed. The company planned to soon open a seventh showroom in Santa Monica, Calif., which it listed as "Coming Soon."
However, the company subsequently sent an email to staff saying that it was permanently shutting down, Business of Home reported. It also on April 4 reportedly sent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices to employees as part of a layoff of 40 employees at several of its locations.
Pirch faces a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California by American Express Co. (AXP) on April 12 seeking to collect up to $33 million in credit card transaction chargebacks, after the retailer "abruptly halted its business operations (with no explanation) in mid-March and has refused to engage in any meaningful communication for weeks," according to court papers.
One former Pirch customer has reportedly filed complaints with the San Diego and Orange County, Calif., district attorneys, seeking investigations for alleged breach of contract and fraud.
