HomeLife Furniture shuts stores; files Chapter 11

HomeLife Furniture Corp., originally started by Sears, Roebuck & Co., has shut its 133 stores, and will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy later this week. Locally, HomeLife has stores in Bellevue, Tukwila and Lynnwood.

The company's Web site has only a short message saying, "We regret that financial circumstances have resulted in the closure of our stores." It goes on to give options for refunds for undelivered merchandise.

Answering machines picked up calls to local stores, with no reference to the closure.

Chicago-based Sears launched the HomeLife concept in the 1980s to give its department stores freedom from the bulky furniture in its showrooms. About two years ago Sears sold about 80 percent stake in the unprofitable venture to Citicorp Venture Capital, a division of New York-based Citigroup Inc., for $100 million cash and $10 million in debt.

HomeLife had sales of $680 million last year, but did not turn a profit.

http://seattle.bcentral.com/seattle/stories/2001/07/09/daily19.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 11, 2001