The home furnishings retail area suffered another massive blow with the Monday, June 16, 2025, Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing by At Home, the Texas-based home furnishings chain. The home furnishings retailer, with more than 260 stores in 40 states, attributed increasing financial strain and the effects of tariffs as main motivations for taking this drastic restructuring step.
The financial crisis behind the filing
Home’s bankruptcy filing follows several months of increasing financial trouble that hit a peak in May 2025. The firm skipped a key interest payment on May 15 and then entered forbearance with lenders that was set to expire on June 30. That shrewd maneuver marked the company’s transition into bankruptcy proceedings instead of trying to solve the skipped payment.
The company’s chain is weighed down with almost $2 billion in debt, which is now impossible to shed based on existing market conditions. CEO Brad Weston, having guided Party City through its own bankruptcy process in the past, conceded that the environment is tough, stating that the company is “operating against the backdrop of an increasingly dynamic and rapidly evolving trade environment as we navigate the impact of tariffs”.
Restructuring support agreement and new ownership
As part of the Chapter 11 process, At Home entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with lenders who hold more than 95% of the company’s funded debt. Under the deal, it will retire “substantially all” of the company’s approximately $2 billion of funded debt and will include a $200 million capital investment to fund the restructuring.
The recap will lead to the ownership passing from existing private equity owner Hellman & Friedman to the group of lenders, the leading investment groups Redwood Capital Management LLC, Farallon Capital Management LLC, and Anchorage Capital Advisors LP. Hellman & Friedman bought At Home in 2021 for $2.8 billion, but the enormous debt burden has proved hard to carry in the downturn retail environment.
Scheduled store closures throughout the United States
While At Home guaranteed shoppers that most of its stores will still be open throughout the restructuring process, the retailer is scheduling the closure of about 20 stores at first as part of its bankruptcy strategy. That is roughly 10% of the existing store base of the retailer, with possible further closures as the restructuring process continues.
The company has not yet announced a lengthy list of individual store locations to be closed. However, some individual closures have been publicly announced outside the bankruptcy process, such as an At Home store in Eastdale Mall in Montgomery, Alabama, which closed prior to the end of 2024, and a St. Paul, Minnesota store that closed in September 2024.
Impact of tariffs and supply chain challenges
One of the major reasons behind At Home’s financial woes has been the over-dependence on Chinese vendors and the resulting effects of tariffs under Trump. At Home imports a vast majority of its inventory from China, whose items are currently subjected to a 30% tariff rate, raising import costs considerably.
In order to meet these trade pressures, At Home initiated a shift in sourcing policy late in 2023, looking for new alliances with Indian and other foreign manufacturers. This shift has been difficult and is not yet complete, however, with the company remaining vulnerable to shifts in trade policy.
Operations during bankruptcy proceedings
In spite of bankruptcy petitions, At Home reaffirmed it will continue normal operations during the Chapter 11 process. At Home has secured $600 million in debtor-in-possession financing, including the $200 million capital investment from current lenders and a “roll-up” of $400 million of outstanding senior secured debt.
CEO Brad Weston was optimistic that restructuring would continue to enhance the long-term prospects of the company, saying that “the things that we’re doing today to completely de-lever our balance sheet will strengthen our ability to compete in the marketplace in the event of additional volatility and strengthen the resilience of our business for the long term.”
The bankruptcy filings are the latest victim of the dysfunctional home decor category, which has endured declining consumer outlays and increased competition from online merchants as well as big-box retailers such as IKEA and HomeGoods. While At Home is navigating its restructuring, the retail universe waits with bated breath to see if the company is able to successfully exit bankruptcy with a viable business model.
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