The furniture retail sector has faced financial distress over the last year, forcing several companies to close stores, shutter manufacturing facilities, and in some cases, file for bankruptcy.
Among the furniture retailers filing for bankruptcy last year was the parent of Texas mattress chain Factory Mattress, which operated 21 locations in the Austin and San Antonio areas.
The retailer’s parent Southwest Mattress filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2024 to reorganize. The owner of the chain blamed road construction for limiting access to some of its stores.
Related: Amazon makes surprising decision on its popular retail brand
Popular discount furniture retail chain Conn’s HomePlus on July 23 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to liquidate all of its stores as it struggled with sales declines.
Conn’s also had difficulty integrating home goods retailer W.S. Badcock into its company after purchasing the chain in 2023. The company closed and liquidated over 380 Badcock stores and about 170 Conn’s locations.
Syracuse, N.Y.-based bedding products retailer Metro Mattress filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 4, 2024, blaming its expansion into new markets and downturns in the industry for its financial distress. The retailer operated about 70 locations in Upstate New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
And now a furniture maker that provides products to several retailers has taken a huge step in its business by shutting down its original manufacturing operations.
Prepac closed its Canadian manufacturing plant and moved operations to the U.S.
Shutterstock
Prepac closes Canada manufacturing facility, moves to U.S.
Canadian furniture company Prepac shut down its manufacturing facility in Delta, British Columbia, and has moved all production to its factory in North Carolina, according to the union representing the plant’s workers.
Related: Beloved breakfast restaurant chain closing more locations
Trump administration tariffs were identified as the reason for the move, according to Unifor, the union that represents Prepac’s workers in Canada. The closing of the Delta manufacturing facility would reportedly result in the layoffs of over 170 workers.
More closings:
Popular retail chain to close unprofitable store locationsBankrupt retail chain unloads store leases, key assetPopular discount retailer files bankruptcy, closes all stores
“Our union has been been warning about lost investment and production since Trump began his economic war on Canada and Canadian workers,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement. “In this case, Prepac and its equity owners are using tariffs as an excuse to redirect all their production to the US. It’s pure greed.”
Prepac, however, has not said whether the plant closure and transfer of manufacturing to North Carolina were a result of tariffs or the trade war between the U.S. and Canada.
All Canadian plant employees will be terminated in May 2025
Manufacturing at the Prepac Delta facilities ceased on March 14, and the company is winding down maintenance at the facilities. The company expects to terminate all employees in May 2025, according to the Unifor statement.
Prepac was established 45 years ago in Delta and was locally owned until private equity firm TorQuest purchased the company in 2019. The company opened the North Carolina factory in 2021.
“It’s a slap in the face to Canadian workers and Canadian consumers who have made this company a success since 1979. We will be calling for a boycott of Prepac products nationwide,” Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle said in the statement. “It’s another example of equity firms stripping companies for profit with no regard for jobs, community, or frankly, decency.”
Prepac ready-to-assemble furniture products are sold at major retailers, such as Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Amazon.
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
