A family-owned, 77-year-old furniture retailer has filed for bankruptcy protection — and said the sluggish housing market was partly to blame.
American Signature Inc., the Ohio-based parent company behind the Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture chains, plans to shutter more than two dozen stores across the US as it reorganizes its debt, court papers show.
The retailer, which had already announced plans to close several stores, mostly in Tennessee, now plans to shut down a total of 33 stores, or roughly one-quarter of its total, it said in court filings. The company currently employs about 3,000 people and runs more than 120 stores across 17 states.
In legal filings, the retailer blamed several factors for its financial downfall, including rising costs, elevated interest rates, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It also cited “one of the most severe housing market declines in recent history.”
As Business Insider reported earlier this month, the housing turnover rate — or the pace at which homes change hands — has dropped to its lowest levels in decades amid rising rates, according to an analysis by Redfin.
For American Signature, this has contributed to steep losses amid declining sales. The furniture retailer reported sales of $803 million in 2025, down from $1.1 billion in 2023, according to the court filings.
The company reported net operating losses of $18 million in fiscals 2023 and 2024 — and $70 million in fiscal 2024, court filings said.
The retailer said in court documents that it plans to continue to liquidate inventory and close underperforming stores — a process it began in September — while pursuing a sale of its remaining businesses and assets.
According to the filings, the retailer expects to enter into an asset purchase agreement with an entity identified as ASI Purchaser, LLC, pending court approval. The bidder and its guarantor are tied to the Schottenstein family, which founded American Signature in 1948.
American Signature told Business Insider in a statement on Monday: “Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture stores and websites remain open at this time, and we will continue to fulfill customer orders and provide ongoing customer service to the best of our ability through this process.”
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“We expect the future of our store footprint to be determined by the outcome of the sale process,” it added.
Court filings revealed only some of the store locations targeted for closure early next year. They include:
- Value City Furniture at 2320 Sardis Road North, Charlotte, NC 28227
- American Signature Furniture at 1770 Galleria Blvd, Franklin, TN 37067
- American Signature Furniture at 2130 Gallatin Pike North, Madison, TN 37115
- American Signature Furniture at 2821 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040
- American Signature Furniture at 2075 Old Fort Parkway, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
