At Home Retail Chain Files For Bankruptcy, Blaming Tariffs

A furniture and home decor chain with hundreds of locations nationwide has filed for bankruptcy, pinning it largely on the federal government’s tariff policy.

Dallas-based At Home Group has entered a restructuring agreement “that will eliminate substantially all” of its $2B of debt and provide a $200M cash infusion as the company cedes ownership to its lenders, according to a Monday press release.

“We are operating against the backdrop of an increasingly dynamic and rapidly evolving trade environment as we navigate the impact of tariffs,” At Home CEO Brad Weston said in a statement.

“The steps we are taking today to fully de-lever our balance sheet will improve our ability to compete in the marketplace in the face of continued volatility and increase the resilience of our business for the long term.”

In court papers, Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Aguilar made the link with tariffs more explicit.

“The volatility of the current tariff environment came at a time when the management team was working to address the company’s existing issues,” Aguilar said, according to Bloomberg. “At Home, a company that relies heavily on foreign suppliers, was — and remains — significantly impacted by these tariff policies.”

At Home executives had previously told investors about the issue with its supply chain, which is heavily dependent on trade with China, Bloomberg reported. The firm had already begun importing a larger share of its products from other countries, including Vietnam, India and Turkey. 

At one point, the Trump administration leveled 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, a move which roiled the retail industry nationwide. They’ve since been temporarily lowered to 30%.

But GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders believes there is more to At Home’s financial woes.

He pinned the company’s struggles on its lack of differentiation from competitors like Ikea and Wayfair as well as the large amount of debt it had accrued.

“This was not sustainable and its elimination under Chapter 11 will provide a more stable basis on which the company can operate,” Saunders told CNN.

The bankruptcy declaration doesn’t mean that all of At Home’s 260 locations across 40 states are set to shutter. Although 20 will close their doors, most of them will remain open, CNN reported.