Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (Taylorsville, N.C.) announced over the last weekend in August that it had ceased operations, Retail Dive reports. The upscale furniture maker, which also operated 25 retail stores and six outlet locations, closed because it was “unable to secure critical financing to continue business operations,” according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act the company filed in its home state North Carolina.
Mitchell Gold, one of the firm’s co-founders, told Furniture Today he is “furious and heartbroken” over company’s sudden closure and hopes a buyer can be found to revive the brand. Doing so, Gold estimates, would cost $25 million to $30 million.
Gold, the board’s chairman emeritus, had reengaged with the company earlier this year to work alongside Chris Moye, who was named interim CEO and board member in April following the departure of Allison O’Connor, Furniture Today reported.
In the filing with North Carolina, dated Aug. 26, Moye, said the company “recently and unexpectedly learned” it didn’t have enough money to sustain business operations.
“In particular, and as you may have read in the news, the current economic climate has presented significant challenges to the U.S. furniture industry,” Moye said in a WARN letter. In the letter, Moye describes the revelation of the company’s financial issues as “unforeseen.”
Private equity firm The Stephens Group acquired the company in 2014 for an undisclosed price. In response to questions from Retail Dive sent in the aftermath of the filing, Stephens officials said it had recently invested $20 million in Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams “to restructure the company to support its operations and set the business up for success moving forward.”
“Unfortunately, shortly after this restructuring, the company’s lender withdrew its support, forcing Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams to cease operations,” the firm said in a written statement. “The Stephens Group knows that the company has done the best it could in a very challenging situation and empathizes with all those who are impacted.”