Wickes Furniture was a privately held

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

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 ...

stores based in Wheeling, Illinois. The company was founded in 1971 with a showroom in

Fridley, Minnesota Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...

, and at its peak, operated 43 stores in

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and

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. The company, despite its expansion into other markets, declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 2008, and eventually went into liquidation for failure to find a buyer or an investor. At the time of its closing, it was owned by

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

History

Growth

After its founding in 1971, Wickes Furniture had grown to 43 showrooms and five distribution centers. The company had over 1,700 employees, making it one of the ''Top 25 Furniture Retailers'' in the United States. By the beginning of the 1980s, it had grown into the United States' largest furniture retailer, but it closed nine of its then twenty four stores in the wake of the bankruptcy of its parent company in 1982, Wickes Corp. After Wickes was purchased by two investment firms in 1988, Wickes Furniture was sold to a management led group in April 1989. Master Home Furniture, based in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, purchased Wickes Furniture in 1998; the company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

in 2000, when Master Home Furniture defaulted on its bank debt. Master Home Furniture sold one stake of Wickes Furniture in February 1999. In August 2002,

teamed with an affiliate of the furniture chain Rooms To Go to purchase Wickes Furniture from Master Home. In March 2004, Sun Capital bought out Rooms To Go's interest in Wickes. In March 2004, John Disa was hired as president and CEO of Wickes Furniture by private investment firm Sun Capital Partners. Before he joined Wickes, he spent most of his career in athletic shoe businesses.

Bankruptcy and liquidation

In May 2007, Wickes Furniture announced it would close five stores in Minnesota, and a Brooklyn Center distribution center, as part of its plan to focus its resources in expanding into markets in California, Chicago, Portland, and Las Vegas. In mid to the end of 2007, however, the furniture industry was hit hard by the high cost of fuel prices and

subprime lending In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpri ...

markets. Wickes Furniture filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

Bankruptcy protection on February 3, 2008. At that time, Wickes operated thirty eight stores. The company listed debts of more than $50 million, and assets of less than $50,000. On February 14, 2008, it was announced by Richard Clausing, the company's chief financial officer, that Wickes Furniture needed a buyer or an investor by February 25, 2008, to recapitalize the company and to keep from shutting its doors, due to a deadline set by the court and creditors. However, neither of them came forward, so Wickes, with bankruptcy court approval, commenced its liquidation sales in March 2008, and closed all of its remaining stores. On January 1, 2012, Wickes Furniture reopened, and rebranded, as Wyckes Furniture.

References

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External links

Sun Capital Partners
Defunct furniture manufacturers American companies established in 1971 Retail companies established in 1971 Retail companies disestablished in 2008 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Illinois