HomeLife Furniture closes all 130 stores
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
It happened suddenly yesterday: HomeLife Furniture Corp., the eighth-largest U.S. furniture retailer, slammed the doors shut on its 130 stores across the country.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiesr
Among the stores closed were two in Hawai'i: one at the Sears Roebuck and Co. distribution center in Pearl City and the other inside Sears at Ala Moana Center.
The HomeLife store in Pearl City is one of 130 to close across the nation.
"Isn't this the strangest thing?" asked John Biazo, a HomeLife customer at Ala Moana yesterday.
Biazo said he furnished his downtown Honolulu apartment six weeks ago with HomeLife purchases and had returned to show employees pictures of his remodeled apartment. But the employees were gone.
The Ala Moana store, which occupies about one-third of the upper level of Sears, was dark and cordoned off. Signs in a nearby hallway read, "We regret that financial circumstances have resulted in the temporary closure of HomeLife."
The privately held company, formerly owned by Sears and based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said the closure was temporary as it negotiates with lenders to obtain more financing. The company said it had temporarily laid off its approximately 2,000 employees. It was unclear yesterday how many worked in Hawai'i. No date was set for reopening.
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HomeLife Furniture says customers with merchandise on order should call 1-877-570-2336 for information on the status of their purchase.
Mainland analysts said the shutdown was no surprise. Nationwide, the furniture industry has been hurting from slumping consumer confidence. HomeLife also had fallen behind on payments to vendors and suppliers and struggled with transportation and other costs.
Signs at Ala Moana yesterday urged customers seeking details on purchases to call (877) 570-2336.
