Furniture chain files for bankruptcy after less than a year in business

That didn’t take very long.  

Love’s Furniture and Mattresses has filed for bankruptcy protection several months after it opened its first round of stores. Loves, which is owned by private equity firm U.S. Assets, was founded by entrepreneur and investor, Jeff Love in early 2020 when it purchased the inventory and assets of 27 Art Van Furniture, Levin Furniture, and Wolf Furniture stores. (The 167-store Art Van Furniture filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2020 following a liquidity crunch.)

The filing came weeks after Loves was sued for breach of contract by Southern Motion and its Fusion Furniture subsidiary over what the plaintiffs alleged is more than $1.8 million in unpaid merchandise.

In its filing, Loves estimated assets of $10 million to $50 million and a similar amount of liabilities spread out over as many as 200 creditors. The company also detailed its challenges, including shipping and logistics problems and higher-than-expected expenses after purchasing the Art Van locations. 

In November 2020, the company hired Mack Peters as interim CEO. He replaced Matt Damiani, who resigned to pursue other interests. Peters is the major shareholder of retail and wholesale furniture consultant MP Furniture (MPF). 

Loves hopes to emerge from bankruptcy with less inventory and a reduced portfolio of 12 stores.