During the darkest days of the covid pandemic, people lucky enough to still be working found themselves in their homes a lot more. In many cases, this was due to forced lockdowns and companies moving to a work-from-home model.
In addition, many schools were closed and students were forced to move to online learning. That put a lot of families living, working, and going to school in homes that weren't designed to have so many people needing private space all at the same time.
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Since many of those families didn't have to spend money on things like commuting, eating out, and having fun, they invested heavily in their homes. Those home-improvement efforts produced a sales boom for retailers like Home Depot (HD) -) and Lowe's (LOW) -).
Best Buy, Target, and Walmart (WMT) -) also gained from the pandemic lockdown/work-from-home period as people not only wanted to make their living spaces more usable, they splurged on items to make their homes more comfortable.
Covid was a huge sales driver for everything from exercise equipment to furniture, and electronics. That gold rush, however, was not going to last forever. In some cases -- particularly electronics -- the pandemic simply speeded the replacement cycle. People bought new TVs, computers, and more so they wouldn't need to do so again for a few years.
That's bad for Best Buy (BBY) -) and, to a lesser extent, Target (TGT) -) and Walmart, but electronics have a limited life cycle, so the sales change is more a disruption than a game-changer.
In the case of furniture, however, if people treated themselves to a new couch, desks, kitchen sets, beds, and other big-ticket items, they might not need to replace those items for a decade or more.
Wayfair (W) -), the online furniture retailer, has felt that pain as its sales have fallen since their pandemic highs. And now, a high-end furniture chain has closed so quickly that it's still taking orders on its website.
Image source: Best Buy
Upscale furniture maker closes with no warning
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, an upscale furniture maker and retailer that operates 27 stores across 14 states and multiple Canadian provinces, closed its doors over the weekend of Aug. 26-27.
The retailer closed when it was “unable to secure critical financing to continue business operations,” according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (or WARN) notice filed in North Carolina.
The company's interim CEO, who has been in that position for four months, the WARN letter to the state on Aug. 26. In the letter, he said the company “recently and unexpectedly learned” it didn’t have enough money to keeps its doors open.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has not closed its retail stores and its website was still taking orders as of 3 p.m. U.S. Eastern on Aug. 30.
In addition to its 27 retail stores, the company also operates about 40 virtual stores and six brick-and-mortar outlet locations.
The company was purchased by Stephens Group in 2014. That entity recently made a $20 million investment in the brand, according to a report from Retail Dive.
“Unfortunately, shortly after this restructuring, the company’s lender withdrew its support, forcing Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams to cease operations,” the firm said in a written statement to the website.
Stephens Group "knows that the company has done the best it could in a very challenging situation and empathizes with all those who are impacted.”
Over 500 people who worked on the company's campus were let go immediately at the time of the abrupt closure. The company's website makes no mention of the closure.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams did not immediately return a request for comment from TheStreet made through a form on its website.
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