By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Donna Anderson just wanted a complete living room set, but now that may just be a dream.
“I bought a living room set that was on sale, and it didn’t have the ottoman,” said Anderson, a 2001 Goodrich graduate. “So I had to special order it, but Art Van said they didn’t have it.”
Anderson is one of thousands of customers dealing with the consequences of Art Van Furniture’s liquidation and bankruptcy. Many people are being told the furniture they ordered weeks, or even months, ago is not in stock and they can go to a store and pick a different floor model or lose their money.
“They told me that I wasn’t getting it, and they didn’t charge me for it,” she said. “But I had a bench I had to reorder after they sent me the wrong size, it was 18 inches, I ordered the 24 inch, and they told me I would only get in-store credit.”
Last week, the furniture chain announced it would begin liquidation sales on March 6, and by March 8, the company had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The sales caused such high traffic to stores, both of customers looking for a deal on furniture and customers looking to replace furniture they ordered recently that they were told they would not receive, that stores had to close until Monday afternoon.

“I could hardly get anyone at the store in Burton,” said Anderson. “There was no ottoman in stock anywhere or the bench. And there was no offer for a refund. The ottoman was the best part.”
While Anderson acknowledged she didn’t have the worst situation, as there have been reports of people ordering furniture and now being out thousands of dollars, she was still not happy with the company. She also didn’t feel the sales were what people expected.
“The sales weren’t that great, it was 15 percent off,” she said. “When I bought my furniture a month ago, it was 20 percent off.”
Art Van released a statement that the reason they were filing for bankruptcy and liquidating was due to lack of sales and over expansion, though the company was purchased by a private equity firm back in 2017. All of the around 190 stores are to close in 60 days, putting near 3,100 employees out of work. The company also stated warranties will not be honored, and Anderson is relieved she didn’t purchase a warranty on her furniture.