Bob’s Discount Furniture is opening 20 new stores this year, expanding into Vermont and North Carolina, in an era when furniture retailers have faced tough times as home sales slow and consumers cut back on discretionary spending.
The Manchester, Connecticut-based chain, with over 194 stores across the United States, on Friday said six of the new brick-and-mortar locations will be in the Tar Heel State, marking Bob’s Discount's entry into the Southeast. The chain, describing itself as one of the nation’s fast-growing furniture retailers, will also debut its first Vermont store in Williston, "reinforcing the company’s strong ties to the Northeast, where it was founded in 1991," it said in a statement.
Bob's Discount is growing at a time when there has been a contraction in brick-and-mortar furniture retailers. Furniture stores saw an uptick in sales during the pandemic, when Americans confined to their homes spent to make their surroundings more comfortable.
But by the end of the COVID outbreak, people had already acquired new furnishings and didn't need more. Then inflation spiked, and Americans were scrimping to buy gasoline and groceries, not couches. Higher interest rates impacted home sales, stifling new homeowners from acquiring furniture for their new abodes.
In the aftermath, Badcock Home Furniture & More and Conn's HomePlus announced plans to liquidate last year, as did Big Lots. In its bankruptcy, Franchise Group pulled the plug on discount furniture retailer American Freight.
North Carolina a good fit
Bob's Discount remains bullish. The company didn't respond to an email from CoStar News asking how it may be impacted by tariffs on imported goods from China.
“Bob’s has built a loyal customer base throughout New England, and opening a store in Vermont allows us to strengthen our connection with a region that has supported our brand for years," Ramesh Murthy, chief operating officer at the chain, said in a statement. "In North Carolina, we believe that the growing population and rich furniture market will be a great fit for our value-driven approach to furniture shopping.”
The grand openings for the 2025 expansion kicked off over President’s Day weekend in February, with stores debuting in Burnsville, Michigan; Winchester, Virginia; Reno, Nevada; and Davenport, Iowa. Additional openings are scheduled for the spring in Roseville, Michigan; Bohemia, New York; and Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania.
Summer and fall grand openings will include the Vermont store as well as locations in Long Island City, New York; Eatontown, New Jersey; Easton, Pennsylvania; Troy, Michigan; Dorchester, Massachusetts; and Sacramento, California. That round of openings will also include several cities in North Carolina, including Durham, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Jacksonville, Winston-Salem and Cary. Bob's Discount will hit 200 stores with these debuts.
The company will also be relocating stores within Newington, Connecticut, and Mays Landing, New Jersey.
Bob’s Discount will turn to its infrastructure to support the expansion, with plans to use its existing distribution centers and third-party delivery partners in the new markets. The chain said "we will continue to look for opportunities in the Southeast and beyond," according to Murthy.