Conn’s HomePlus has filed for Chapter 11 protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after revealing a store closing plan for 70 locations. However, if it is to emerge, a buyer may need to step forward.
The Conn’s voluntary filing was made on July 23. By press time, the company had made no statement about the Chapter 11 filing.
In reviewing the case, Pulse Ratings noted that the company has, in its declarations to the court, cited significant headwinds in the market and a shift in purchasing patterns after the COVID-19 pandemic as contributors to the challenges that led up to the bankruptcy. Then, a merger with W.S. Badcock didn’t go as planned and strained liquidity. Pulse Ratings also noted that Conn’s made a separate filing to conduct going-out-of-business sales at all its stores by October 31 if need be.
Conn’s posted a list of store locations it already plans to shutter across the southern tier of the U.S., but the states where it intends to close the most were Florida, with 18, Texas, with 9, and Arizona, with 7.
In June, Conn’s received a NASDAQ delinquency notice due a delay in filing its quarterly report. The Nasdaq notice gave the company 60 days, or until August 19, to submit a plan to regain compliance with the quarterly report rule.
