National furniture retailer American Signature is on its way to liquidation as roughly 90 of its remaining stores and warehouses across more than a dozen states officially go on the block.
A&G Real Estate Partners on Thursday said it is now marketing the last batch of properties leased or owned by Columbus, Ohio-based American Signature, the parent of Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture. The firm is handling the sales on behalf of the successful stalking-horse bidder for the chain.
In January, American Signature, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November last year, sought approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to put those properties up for sale. The liquidation plan, including certain lease-designation rights, of stalking-horse bidder ASI Purchaser was approved by the court Feb. 6, according to A&G. The stalking horse is an affiliate of the Schottenstein family, a major shareholder of the retail chain.
American Signature's demise marks the latest round of store closings by troubled retailers this year. The list includes brick-and-mortar retail locations of Saks Off 5th, Saks Fifth Avenue, Amazon Fresh, Eddie Bauer, Francesca's and Allbirds.
A&G is marketing leased and owned stores and distribution centers in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
The firm said it is entertaining offers for four owned properties, namely two stores in Orlando, Florida, and one distribution center in Thomasville, Georgia, and a distribution center in La Porte, Indiana. The rest of the locations are leased, according to A&G.
The stalking horse is also accepting offers for private sales, according to A&G.
"The retail boxes on offer are a strong expansion opportunity for healthy operators, as well as for landlords who want to creatively repurpose large-format spaces," Emilio Amendola, co-president of A&G and leader of its real estate sales division, said in a statement.
The home furnishings stores range from 24,634 to 91,336 square feet and are suitable for furniture operators, off-price retailers, discount department stores, specialty grocers, sporting goods brands and entertainment tenants, according to A&G.
The half-dozen distribution centers in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio range in size from 55,817 to 604,800 square feet, A&G said.
"Across the country, the high cost of warehouse construction is a major barrier to operators like supermarket chains or omnichannel retailers that want to break into new parts of the country," A&G Senior Managing Director Mike Matlat said in a statement. "Purchasing a warehouse lease or fee-owned property can be a cost-effective way to overcome that barrier to entry."
Depending on the property, bids are due either later this month or in March.
When it filed for bankruptcy, American Signature, blaming a sales drop tied to the weak housing market and tariffs, said it was set to close 33 stores. It had roughly 120 stores when it filed. In December, A&G kicked off the first auction for American Signature properties, leases for 23 stores.