On July 11, 2025, it was reported, The discount retailer sold the banner to private equity firms more than a decade after acquiring it for about $8.5 billion. Months after first announcing the deal, Dollar Tree has completed its sale of Family Dollar to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management for just over $1 billion. With amounts subject to final adjustments about 90 days after closing, the sale's net proceeds are estimated at about $800 million, per a company press release Monday. Dollar Tree anticipates the economic impact of tax benefits from losses to be around $375 million. The completed sale marks a notable loss from when Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar for $8.5 billion over a decade ago. "With a singular focus on our core business, we are doubling down on what we do best delivering value, convenience, and discovery to our customers every day. Family Dollar will now operate as a private retailer after more than a decade operating within the publicly-traded Dollar Tree company. Dollar Tree won a bid for Family Dollar in 2014, beating out a higher offer from competitor Dollar General due to antitrust concerns. Family Dollar has since been a weight on Dollar Tree's overall performance, with Dollar Tree publicly considering the sale of the banner since June 2024. Earlier that year, Dollar Tree announced it would close almost 1,000 Family Dollar stores in a larger turnaround effort. Without the impact of Family Dollar on the larger business, Dollar Tree first quarter net sales announced in June grew 11.3% year over year to $4.6 billion, with comps increasing 5.4% and traffic rising 2.5%.
On July 10, 2025, it was reported, Howard Miller, a family-owned clock and furniture maker with a storied and near century-long history, will wind down operations and close its manufacturing plants by early next year, according to a statement released by the company. The company employs about 195 people at facilities in Zeeland and Traverse City, Mich., as well as two locations in North Carolina. These were legacies of its earlier acquisitions of Hekman and Woodmark, located in Lexington and High Point, respectively. Production is expected to continue into the fourth quarter of 2025, with the business remaining open into 2026 to sell off finished inventory. "We are incredibly disappointed to have reached this point in our journey," Howard J. "Buzz" Miller, president and CEO, said "For nearly a century, we have manufactured clocks, custom cabinets and other furniture designed to enhance the lives of our customers at home. We've been blessed with an incredible workforce of skilled craftspeople and professionals who enabled our company to grow and prosper for decades. But in recent years, a convergence of market influences beyond our control brought us to this point." Miller cited a struggling housing market, rising inflation and interest rates, along with tariffs that disrupted the supply chain and increased costs as factors driving the decision. The company has worked with an investment banker to seek a buyer but has been unable to secure one. Miller said the company would still consider offers. Founded in 1926 by Howard C. Miller, the company became known for its handcrafted chiming clocks, later expanding into curio cabinets and other home furnishings. In 1983, it acquired Hekman Furniture Co., which will also close.
On July 10, 2025, it was reported, Bassett Furniture Inds. reported a modest revenue increase and a return to profitability in its fiscal second quarter. The company highlighted cost-cutting, its U.S. manufacturing base and improved margins for helping to offset the impact of a sluggish housing market that has weighed on consumer demand for home furnishings. For the quarter ended May 31, the company posted consolidated sales of $84.3 million, up 1.1% from $83.4 million in the same period last year. Excluding sales from Noa Home Inc., which closed in late 2024, revenues rose 2.5%. Operating income was $2.5 million, representing 3% of sales, a reversal from a loss of $8.5 million in the prior-year quarter that was driven by $5.5 million in asset impairment charges and $2.7 million in inventory valuation adjustments. Diluted earnings per share improved to 22 cents per share, compared with a loss of 82 cents per share a year earlier. Gross margin reached 55.6%, up 310 basis points, reflecting the absence of last year's inventory charges. Excluding those charges, margins were essentially flat. Selling, general and administrative expenses fell to 52.7% of sales, down 330 basis points, as Bassett benefited from its 2024 restructuring plan and ongoing cost containment measures. The company generated $7 million in operating cash flow during the quarter. By segment, wholesale sales rose 3.1% to $54.2 million, while operating income in that division increased to $8.3 million, or 15.3% of sales. Retail sales climbed 7.5% to $54.2 million, with retail operating income improving to $0.5 million from a loss of $2.2 million last year.
On July 8, 2025, it was reported, Five bedding companies are on the list of American Mattress' top 20 unsecured creditors list for a total of $2.06 million in claims. The specialty sleep retailer filed this week for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The American Mattress' filing indicated that the top 20 unsecured creditors have claims of more than $3.76 million, less than double than the total of the five industry players. Adventure Mattress, founded in 2023 by Bob Sherman and Barbara Bradford, sits at the top of the list with an unsecured claim of more than $1.21 million. Serta and Simmons combined are owed $340,372, with Simmons carrying the largest claim of the two at $227,164.59. Tempur-Pedic is listed with a claim of $194.670.60. Bedding Industries of America is owed $175,350.30, and Customatic Sleep Technologies has an unsecured claim of $139,276.40. Here are the other top unsecured creditors to round out the list: Canterbury Logistics, $255,983.83 Schuetz Ventures, $148,846.97 Schoenberg Finkel Beederman Bell & Glazer, LLC, $147,846.61 HH Associates, $126,271.95 Google, $110,427.03 Roosevelt Galleria LLC, $110,000 BMD-I, LLC, $107,432.63 Florida Panasoffkee 470, LLC, $106,288 National Shopping Plazas, $105,134.83 Iversan Limited Partnership, $105,000 LP Holdings 1953, LLC, $96,976.23 DF Oak Park, LLC, $96,029.38 Core Huntley, $88,665.09 Elefherios Kriakos, $88,382.81 (disputed)
