Jennifer Convertibles

Jennifer Furniture is an American retail company, based in Farmingdale, New York.

Jennifer Furniture
TypePrivate
IndustryFurnishings
Founded1975
HeadquartersFarmingdale, New York, U.S.
Key people
Nitin John Garg, CEO
ProductsHome Furniture
Websitewww.jenniferfurniture.com

It is the owner and licensor of sofa bed and leather-furniture specialty-retail stores in the United States, with stores located throughout the Eastern seaboard, in the Midwest, on the West Coast and in the Southwest.

History and operations

The company was founded in 1975 in Woodbury, New York.[1]

On July 19, 2010, the company announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a consequence of "substantial losses".[2][3] According to Furniture Today magazine, the company was number 48 among furniture retailers with US$114 million in sales for its fiscal year ending August 29, 2009.[3][4] It subsequently emerged from Chapter 11 under the control of its major supplier, the Haining Mengnu Group.[5] In 2020 "Jennifer Furniture" brand along with the company assets was purchased by JenniferOpCo. Presently the company 6 stores and its online channel is owned and operated by JenniferOpCo.

Stores

As of July 20, 2010, the company operated 142 namesake stores and 12 Jennifer Leather stores across the U.S. It also owned 154 Ashley Furniture HomeStores and licensed five others.[6]

As of April 30, 2013, 65 company-owned stores operated under the Jennifer Convertibles and Jennifer Leather names and six stores operated under the Ashley Furniture HomeStores name.

Jennifer Convertibles stores specialize in the retail sale of complete lines of sofa beds, as well as sofas and companion pieces, such as loveseats, chairs and recliners, bedrooms and dining rooms. The company is a dealer of Sealy sofa beds in the United States.

Jennifer Leather stores specialize in the retail sale of leather living room furniture. During the fiscal year ended August 26, 2006, the company closed three stores, of which one was located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and two were located in Indianapolis, Indiana.[7] The year prior, the company closed 20 stores across the country, including locations in Missouri, Kansas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, California, Massachusetts, Indiana, Florida, Michigan, and New York.[7]

Upon its emergence from bankruptcy in February 2011, the company had 64 Jennifer Convertibles stores and eight Jennifer Leather stores, as well as six licensed Ashley Furniture HomeStores in the greater New York City area.[8]

Criticism

On July 29, 2004, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced a consent order and judgment that would significantly reform the company's sales practices and provide restitution to consumers. The judgment permanently enjoined the company from engaging in deceptive, fraudulent or illegal business practices, and requires the company to make substantial reforms to its sales practices and customer service operations. The judgment also requires the company to make restitution to consumers for its failure to replace or repair defective goods. In addition, the company agreed to pay $275,000 in penalties, and $2,000 in costs.[9]

The company received a grade "F" from the Better Business Bureau each year from 2006 through 2009[10] and a grade "A" in 2013.[11] Across the U.S. the company has had complaints for deceptive sales practices, delivery problems, not honoring its warranties and bait-and-switch techniques. Customer complaints are regularly ignored and lawsuits frequently follow.[12]

Bankruptcy

It was no surprise that on July 18, 2010 Jennifer Convertibles filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[13] At the time of the filing Mr. Rami Abada was the president of the company and Harley Greenfield was the CEO. The company listed their assets as valued at about $26 million, with debts estimated to be valued at approximately $46.4 million. The large and unsecured creditors included Haining Mengnu; Ashley, with a $1.4 million claim, Klaussner, and former manufacturer Stratford/Caye.[8]

Upon emergence from Chapter 11 in February, 2011 the Chinese supplier and creditor Haining Mengnu Group received about 90% of the company's new stock. The new management team included CEO Gebing (Morris) Zou, while Mr. Abada continued as president. At the time of the re-organization Jennifer had 64 stores selling sleeper-sofas, eight Jennifer Leather stores and six licensed Ashley Furniture HomeStores in the New York City area.[8]

See also

References
  1. "About Us". Jennifer Convertibles. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  2. "Jennifer Convertibles Chapter 11 Voluntary Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. PacerMonitor. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  3. Stock, Sue (July 20, 2010). "Jennifer Convertibles Closing N.C. Stores". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  4. Engel, Clint (July 20, 2010). "Update: Several Factors Drove Jennifer Convertibles into Chapter 11 – Chinese Supplier Will Own 95% of Retailer". Furniture Today. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  5. Engel, Clint (March 4, 2011). "Jennifer Exits Bankruptcy – Specialty Chain Has New Owner, CEO". Furniture Today. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  6. "Company Stats". The Miami Herald.
  7. "JENNIFER CONVERTIBLES, INC". SEC.GOV.
  8. Engel, Clint (February 23, 2011). "Jennifer Convertibles emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy". Furniture Today. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  9. "Supplemental Consent Order and Judgment" (PDF format). Office of the New York Attorney General.
  10. Database (n.d.). "LA BBB: Grade F for Jennifer Convertibles". Better Business Bureau. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012.
  11. Database (n.d.). "BBB Business Review – Jennifer Convertibles". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  12. "Jennifer Furniture Bait and Switch Allegations". ConsumerAffairs.com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  13. Engel, Clint. "UPDATE: Several factors drove Jennifer Convertibles into Chapter 11". Furniture Today. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
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