furniture and home: August 2008 Archives

McMahan's, a longtime west coast furniture retailer, is closing all its stores. The retailer, which operates 17 La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery and McMahan's stores in California and Oregon, cited the "current business environment" as a factor but did not elaborate in its press release.

McMahan's, which had been family-run since 1919, was one of the nation's oldest furniture retailers. It had $45 million in 2007 sales, according to Furniture Today.

McMahan's follows by nine months Levitz Furniture, which went bankrupt in 2007 after 97 years in business.

The Bombay Company, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last September, had its reorganization plans approved by a judge Thursday.

Bombay began liquidating shortly after the initial filing; only now, a year later, will the final assets be distributed and the company's stock delisted. Creditors will receive between 16 and 28 percent of their claims, meaning Bombay is shorting its debts by as much as 84 cents on the dollar.

Alongside bombay is Domain Home, which also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in January, and liquidated its stores in the spring.

In Manhattan Domain and Bombay occupied parallel corner storefronts on Broadway one block apart. Both stores now stand empty, their For Rent signs a stark testimony to the retail and real estate landscapes in New York.