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American Freight Furniture, Mattress, Appliance, or American Freight, is an American retail company that sells
The company partnered with the National Volunteer Fire Council in November 2013 to raise money for local fire departments. The objective of the campaign was to provide firehouses with funds to improve resources for training, equipment, and financial support.
When former parent Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 15, 2018, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores was not affected due to having been spun off from Sears since 2012.
In April 2019, it was announced that Transformco, TransformCo would acquire the company. However it was reported a few days later that Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores acquisition offer was rejected, and as a result Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores could have faced liquidation, similarly to Sears Holdings but which was acquired by ESL Investments a few months earlier.
In June 2019, it was announced that TransformCo would acquire the remaining shares in the company. Under the terms of the new merger agreement, Sears Hometown was given a specified period of time to market and sell its Sears Outlet and Buddy's Home Furnishing Stores businesses (together, the "Outlet Segment") to a third party for not less than $97.5 million. If the Outlet Segment is sold in accordance with the terms, it would not be acquired by Transform in the acquisition of Sears Hometown. At the time of the announcement, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores had 491 Hometown stores and 126 Outlet stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
In August 2019, Franchise Group, Franchise Group, Inc., the parent of Liberty Tax, announced plans to acquire the Sears Outlet division from Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, and on October 23, 2019, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores completed its sale of Sears Outlet division to Franchise Group. TransformCo completed the acquisition of the remainder of Sears Hometown at the end of the same business day.
The first American Freight store was founded by Steve Belford in
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
, mattresses
A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, contain ...
and home appliances
A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation.
Appliances are divided into three ty ...
. The company's history dates to 1968, when Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
established a surplus store
A surplus store, military surplus store or disposals store in the Commonwealth of Nations sells items that are used, or purchased but unused, and no longer needed. The surplus is often military, government or industrial excess often called army-na ...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, which later became Sears Outlet; and 1994 when Steve Belford established American Freight Furniture & Mattress in Lima, Ohio
Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...
.
History
Sears Surplus and Sears Outlet
In 1968,Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
opened a Sears Surplus store in Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
. This was the first of its kind operated by the Sears brand. The purpose of the store was to liquidate returned items. Sears continued to open Surplus stores throughout the USA until 1993, and the network included many converted Kmart
Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States.
The company was inc ...
stores.
In 1994, the Surplus stores were renamed to Sears Outlet.
Apparel was introduced to in 2008 stores and served as a liquidation outlet for Lands' End.
In 2009, SearsOutlet.com was launched as an e-commerce platform allowing customers to purchase items online and in 2011, nationwide delivery was offered.
In 2012, parent Sears Holdings spun off Sears Outlet along with Sears (Authorized) Hometown Stores, Sears Home Appliance and Showroom Stores, and Sears Appliance and Hardware Stores to form Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc (SHOS). The new company became its own independent, publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ. At the time of the separation, there were 122 Sears Outlet Stores in operation.
The company partnered with the National Volunteer Fire Council in November 2013 to raise money for local fire departments. The objective of the campaign was to provide firehouses with funds to improve resources for training, equipment, and financial support.
When former parent Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 15, 2018, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores was not affected due to having been spun off from Sears since 2012.
In April 2019, it was announced that Transformco, TransformCo would acquire the company. However it was reported a few days later that Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores acquisition offer was rejected, and as a result Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores could have faced liquidation, similarly to Sears Holdings but which was acquired by ESL Investments a few months earlier.
In June 2019, it was announced that TransformCo would acquire the remaining shares in the company. Under the terms of the new merger agreement, Sears Hometown was given a specified period of time to market and sell its Sears Outlet and Buddy's Home Furnishing Stores businesses (together, the "Outlet Segment") to a third party for not less than $97.5 million. If the Outlet Segment is sold in accordance with the terms, it would not be acquired by Transform in the acquisition of Sears Hometown. At the time of the announcement, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores had 491 Hometown stores and 126 Outlet stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
In August 2019, Franchise Group, Franchise Group, Inc., the parent of Liberty Tax, announced plans to acquire the Sears Outlet division from Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, and on October 23, 2019, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores completed its sale of Sears Outlet division to Franchise Group. TransformCo completed the acquisition of the remainder of Sears Hometown at the end of the same business day.
American Freight
The first American Freight store was founded by Steve Belford in Lima, Ohio
Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...
in 1994 as American Freight Furniture & Mattress, to provide working families with affordable furniture options. The store's strategy was to use modest warehouses to store the company’s furniture, and therefore eliminate markups associated with high-end showrooms.
The company was successful and by 2014 was operating 95 stores in 18 states, and October that year was acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm The Jordan Company of New York City, New York.
The company was acquired by Franchise Group for US$450M on February 14, 2020, and combined with the former Sears Outlets under the brand American Freight Furniture, Mattress, Appliance.
Awards
* Customer Engagement award from the online publication Retail TouchPoints in 2014 for integration of in-store and online shopping experiences at Sears Outlet stores.References
External links
* {{Sears Holdings Corporation Sears Holdings brands American brands Retail companies of the United States American companies established in 1968