Before online dealers established themselves, shopping for furniture was a time-consuming task, requiring visits to multiple stores to find the right piece for the right room.
Consumers browse the showrooms of major furniture retailers, such as Brunner’s Home Furnishings or Levitz Furniture, as well as regional and local stores, sitting on chairs and couches and lying on beds.
Once Internet furniture dealers began to proliferate in the 1990s, customers could search hundreds of retailers’ catalogs on their computers for the best deal and ideal piece. Of course, they couldn’t actually try the furniture delivered to their home, unless there was a local store nearby.
Prior to the 1990s, the furniture industry was vibrant as major national retailers such as Breuner’s, founded in 1856, dominated the market, and grew to more than 50 stores. The Breuners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2004 and converted to Chapter 7 liquidation.
Breuner’s remaining assets were purchased from the bankruptcy estate by Oak Point Partners in 2012.
Then there was the iconic Levitz Furniture, a national retailer founded in 1910, which filed for bankruptcy in 2007, liquidated and closed all of its stores in 2008 during the Great Depression. Levitz had grown to about 200 stores at one time.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the retail industry in 2020, a combination of economic problems has rocked the furniture industry, leading to store closings and bankruptcies.
A sluggish housing market, persistent inflation, and a volatile supply chain were major challenges for the furniture industry, IBIS World reported. A distressed housing market led by high mortgage rates and rising housing prices has led to a decline in home sales and low demand for new furniture.
Many furniture stores that have operated for decades closed retail stores and in some cases filed for bankruptcy in 2025.
The 77-year-old retail chain operator American Signature Inc., which operated 120 stores in 17 states under the American Signature Furniture and Value City Furniture brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 22 after closing four Nashville-area stores in October.
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Delaware
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Florida
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Georgia
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Illinois
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Indiana
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Kentucky
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Maryland
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Michigan
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Missouri
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New York
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North Carolina
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ohio
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Pennsylvania
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South Carolina
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Tennessee
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Virginia
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West Virginia.
Also, Buddy’s Home Furnishings franchisee Buddy Mac Holdings LLC, which operates 47 franchises in eight states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 4 to stay foreclosure proceedings on three of its properties in Texas, Missouri and Illinois.
