Art Van Furniture

Art Van Furniture Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Furniture retail
Founded	1959
Founder	Archie "Art" Van Elslander
Defunct	2020
Fate	Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and shut down all locations; later converted to Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Headquarters	Warren, Michigan, United States
Area served	Midwestern United States (Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri)
Key people	Archie "Art" Van Elslander (founder)
Products	Furniture, mattresses (including PureSleep brand)
Parent	Thomas H. Lee Partners (from 2017 until bankruptcy)

Art Van Furniture Inc. was a prominent American furniture retail chain based in Warren, Michigan, with numerous outlets across the Midwest region. Established in 1959 by entrepreneur Archie "Art" Van Elslander, it expanded to become the leading furniture retailer in the Midwest before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and shutting down all its locations in 2020.

History

The company was founded by Archie "Art" Van Elslander in 1959, starting with a single 4,000-square-foot store located in East Detroit. Within its inaugural year, the business grew to three stores and added a fourth location in 1960, coinciding with the hiring of its first employee. Initially specializing in modern and Danish-inspired furniture designs, Art Van swiftly increased its operational footprint.

By 1963, Van Elslander had expanded to seven stores and brought on additional partners, including his brother Bob Van Elslander. Although three stores were divested in 1964, the company continued to broaden its presence throughout the 1970s. In 1973, Art Van purchased its headquarters in Warren and operated fifteen stores at that time. The late 1970s marked further growth beyond Detroit into cities like Flint and Lansing, complemented by new warehouse facilities and the establishment of a corporate training division.

The introduction of the company’s first credit card came in 1980, followed by the opening of clearance centers attached to many outlets by 1985 to offer overstock inventory at reduced prices. This approach contributed to revenue enhancement and strengthened Art Van’s market position within its Midwestern target area.

Acquisitions & expansion beyond Michigan

In 2009, Art Van introduced PureSleep, a mattress-focused brand available both as departments within existing stores and as independent retail locations. The following year, it acquired Brewbaker's Furniture, converting two stores in northern Michigan into Art Van outlets.

Growth continued with the acquisition of Howell-based Mattress World in 2011, transforming several locations into PureSleep stores. In 2013, Art Van extended its reach outside Michigan by opening new stores in Orland Park, Illinois, and near Toledo, Ohio.

Further expansion included franchised outlets established in Cedar Falls and Coralville, Iowa, during 2016. In March 2017, private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) purchased Art Van for $617 million. Later that year, Art Van acquired Pennsylvania-based Levin Furniture and Wolf Furniture.

In 2018, the company entered Missouri through four franchised stores located in the St. Louis metropolitan area by taking over former Rothman's Furniture sites. That same year saw the opening of Art Van’s flagship store in Canton, Michigan.

Bankruptcy

On March 5, 2020, Art Van announced plans to close all company-operated stores and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy four days afterward. During liquidation events, one Warren, Michigan location experienced overwhelming customer turnout that led police to order an early closure. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted liquidation activities, resulting in a conversion to Chapter 7 bankruptcy by April.

During bankruptcy proceedings, former owner Robert Levin repurchased Levin Furniture stores and reopened them later in 2020. After store closures, private equity owner THL initially failed to provide severance payments, prompting former employees to advocate for a 'Hardship Fund' from investors.

Loves Furniture & Mattresses

In May 2020, U.S. Assets, a private equity firm based in Texas, purchased 24 former Art Van stores along with three Wolf locations, relaunching them under the name Loves Furniture & Mattresses, a tribute to its founder and CEO Jeff Love. By December of the same year, Loves announced the shutdown of 13 stores and sold three Pennsylvania outlets back to Levin Furniture.

Loves filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2021 and declared that all remaining stores would close permanently; the final closures occurred on July 27, 2021.

Following these closures, many of the previous Art Van and Loves sites were acquired by competing retailers. Gardner-White Furniture, the largest competitor in Metro Detroit, took over Art Van’s former headquarters and its main store located in Canton. Numerous other locations were converted into Value City Furniture stores, broadening their footprint within the Detroit metropolitan area.

Stores

At its height, the company operated 141 retail outlets spread across Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri, complemented by a comprehensive e-commerce platform. Additionally, franchised stores in the Midwest brought the total number of locations close to 200. Art Van also distributed a mail-order catalog showcasing its furniture offerings.

PureSleep

PureSleep served as Art Van’s mattress brand and maintained both standalone small-format stores and in-store shop-in-shop locations. Originating in Canton, Michigan in July 2009, PureSleep expanded to roughly 60 independent stores by 2020 while maintaining a presence inside every full-line Art Van store. However, all standalone PureSleep outlets were permanently closed on March 16, 2020 as part of Art Van's bankruptcy process.

Scott Shuptrine

Scott Shuptrine was an upscale furniture brand acquired by the Van Elslander family in 1986. It operated two outlets in Metro Detroit and one in Petoskey before ceasing operations in October 2002. The brand was revived in 2010 as Scott Shuptrine Interiors, a shop-within-a-shop concept featured in selected Art Van stores, with a standalone location opening in Grosse Pointe in 2015. All Scott Shuptrine stores were shuttered in 2020 during Art Van’s corporate restructuring.

Paul's TV

In 2010, Art Van collaborated with the California-based electronics retailer Paul's TV to launch 18 store-in-store setups within selected Art Van outlets. Nevertheless, by 2015, all Paul's TV branches had ceased operations.

Marketing

Art Van allocated $2.5 million in 2015 towards a marketing initiative that offered refunds to 3,000 customers if snowfall reached three inches in Toledo, Fort Wayne, and Chicago. The following year, the company showcased its commitment to corporate social responsibility by substituting regional Super Bowl advertisements in Detroit and Grand Rapids with acknowledgments to donors who provided water aid during Flint, Michigan’s water emergency.

References

External links