Lane furniture just shut down entire business

[Brian Elfert]

People getting rid of lots of out of style furniture shouldn't cause a furniture manufacturer to go under. A lot of people want new furniture that is in style. I recall reading stuff a number of months back on how retailers ordered too much furniture from China and other overseas countries and now they have way too much inventory. It was taking so long to get product and sales were strong so they ordered a lot. By the time the furniture came in people were starting to spend on things others than their homes.

High end USA manufacturers like Hancock & Moore still have order backlogs of at least six months.

[Mel Fulks]

And lots of really expensive wines are being sold , while the kool aid stands are hurting. People are beginning to discern the expensive stuff
costs more and they don’t want to be stuck with the cheap stuff , so they have to “act now “. One indication of fine modern furniture is it’s
often given to a TV game show contestant ….who is wearing a pie on his face. Tradition runs strong.

[Mike Soaper]

I feel for the folks who lost their jobs.

This thread brings to mind the 1950's movie Executive Suite with William Holden. It's about the executive challenges and shenagans of a furniture company, Holden gives a rousing presentation to the board at the end of the movie

[Alex Zeller]

Speaking as someone who has had to shut down companies a couple of times (small biotechs that ran out of funding), that just says there was really bad planning on the part of management combined with an utterly callous disregard and disrespect for the people who worked there. Funding a transition for your employees is something you plan for and deal with if you are a competent and responsible employer. It's the decent thing to do.

Running out of money isn't something that sneaks up on you; it's something that, as a manager, you constantly make contingency plans for.

The fact that the board of directors fired all the top management at Lane only a few months ago tells me that they weren't overseeing what the management was doing. When they found out they fired them, installed new people, and tried to save the company. I would like to think they didn't know just how bad it was and wouldn't have taken this action unless there was no other choice.

[Alex Zeller]

People getting rid of lots of out of style furniture shouldn't cause a furniture manufacturer to go under. A lot of people want new furniture that is in style. I recall reading stuff a number of months back on how retailers ordered too much furniture from China and other overseas countries and now they have way too much inventory. It was taking so long to get product and sales were strong so they ordered a lot. By the time the furniture came in people were starting to spend on things others than their homes.

High end USA manufacturers like Hancock & Moore still have order backlogs of at least six months.

My neighbor worked for a large ski boot manufacturer that owns several smaller companies. One is a hiking boot company. One of their employees made a mistake and ordered 10x the number of boots (not just one style but every style and size) so the boot company made and shipped them. They were lucky enough to be able to absorb it but still made several mistakes. The first was that they didn't have anything in place for the boot company to confirm an increase of that size. the second was what to do with them. At first they kept them in semi trailers but when it became clear that it would take years to sell the boots they sold them off at a discount to a company. The retailers who were selling the boots got mad that a discounter was selling them for half the price they could so they had to buy all the boots back. I think in the end they destroyed the boots.

[Keegan Shields]

If the company was heavily in debt, it may have been a function of the priority of creditors. There may not have been enough money left over for front line employee benefits.

Contractual obligations like executive compensation would need to be filled prior to that also (I would guess).

Unfortunately its all too common.

[derek labian]

It seems almost certain they tried to keep the company afloat and were unable leading to continue; a catastrophic failure. It could be a bond that came due, lack of a loan or financing, etc. I doubt this is a function of management trying to enrich themselves as these situations are extremely stressful for managers as well (who probably are also out of a gig). When you are trying to turn the company around and something falls apart suddenly, this is what it looks like. I feel for everyone involved

[Ronald Blue]

Regardless of whether in the end it had to be sudden they took a cowards way out in how it was done. It shows that they didn't care in the slightest about the people who were the back bone of the operation. This smells of management covering their own interests and that includes investors. I feel bad for those who depended on these jobs and the accompanying benefits.

[Bill Dufour]

Speaking as someone who has had to shut down companies a couple of times (small biotechs that ran out of funding), that just says there was really bad planning

I have a feeling small startup companies kind of have the possibility of going bankrupt in the back of their minds for years. This means maybe they recognize the writing on the wall sooner. and cut harder and faster then an old line company. 110 years for lane since 1912 founding.
Bill D

[Perry Holbrook]

This lay off is local news here. Although most of the large furniture factories are gone, there are several smaller ones still operating. The local news did an interview with one of them. He said there are plenty of jobs available for any of the people who were layed off.

This in no way makes this any easier or makes their lives less stressful, but at least it may help some of them.

[Brian Holcombe]

Regardless of whether in the end it had to be sudden they took a cowards way out in how it was done. It shows that they didn't care in the slightest about the people who were the back bone of the operation. This smells of management covering their own interests and that includes investors. I feel bad for those who depended on these jobs and the accompanying benefits.

Investors generally do not make out well when a company has to fire all of its staff and shut down. It normally means they are going to get pennies on the dollar for their shares. The bond holders will likely get burned as well. I’m not sure why this is bring framed as some sort of planned management windfall but it seems very unlikely to me. It’s terrible for all involved, including management. I sincerely doubt anyone was looking forward to firing the entire labor force prior to the holidays, most folks just aren’t built like that.

[Frederick Skelly]

Investors generally do not make out well when a company has to fire all of its staff and shut down. It normally means they are going to get pennies on the dollar for their shares. The bond holders will likely get burned as well. I’m not sure why this is bring framed as some sort of planned management windfall but it seems very unlikely to me. It’s terrible for all involved, including management. I sincerely doubt anyone was looking forward to firing the entire labor force prior to the holidays, most folks just aren’t built like that.

Shutdowns happen. But the things Im reading do not make me think the owner of this company cared enough to try harder. The Board wanted to file Chapter 11. The owner seems to have been the one that decided to shut down.

[Brian Holcombe]

My understanding is that restructuring mostly depends on wether or not the debt holders are willing to restructure. They may have decided in this case that they prefer to liquidate.

Owners are typically equity holders, equity holders get their shares paid out only after all debts are paid, which is why they typically get next to nothing for their shares do I don’t see a whole lot of financial incentive for this move.

[Tom M King]

Looks like Ikea is hanging in there:

https://www.inter.ikea.com/en/perfor...ancial-results

[Rich Engelhardt]

Latest news is - David Belford - the owner of United Furniture has fled the country and flew to Paris.