At Home (store)

At Home Stores LLC

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail (home décor and furnishings)
Founded	1979 (1979)
Founder	Eric White
Headquarters	Dallas, Texas , United States
Area served	United States (40 states)
Key people	Bob Bird (former CEO)
Products	Home décor, furnishings, seasonal goods, greenery, pottery, framed artwork, mirrors
Parent	Hellman & Friedman (since 2021)

At Home Stores LLC is a prominent American big-box retailer focused on home décor and furnishings. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company manages 262 outlets spread across 40 states.

Originally launched in 1979 under the name Garden Ridge Pottery and World Imports, it later shortened its brand to Garden Ridge before transitioning to the At Home identity in 2014.

Origins as Garden Ridge

The company began in 1979 when Eric White founded Garden Ridge Pottery and World Imports in Schertz, Texas. By 1985, a second store opened near Yukon, Oklahoma. The chain expanded to three locations by 1986 and acquired two malls in Houston. In 1987, the Oklahoma store was divested and rebranded as Cimarron Pottery & World Imports Inc. White sold Garden Ridge to investors in 1988 after reaching annual revenues of $50 million.

By 1995, Garden Ridge operated seven stores situated in Tulsa, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Louisville, Memphis, and Oklahoma City. The company went public during the mid-1990s. In November 1999, Three Cities Research took the company private with a $185 million acquisition.

Due to increasing rivalry from Wal-Mart and Home Depot, Garden Ridge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2004. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2005 after closing one distribution center and nine stores while renegotiating leases to save $6 million annually. The business shifted its emphasis toward home décor items including seasonal goods, greenery, pottery, framed artwork, and mirrors while reducing prices, advertising budgets, and workforce size.

In 2008, Garden Ridge expanded into Pennsylvania by opening a store in North Fayette. That year, the company generated $500 million in revenue from 43 stores. Private equity firm AEA Investors purchased Garden Ridge for $715 million in October 2011; at that time, the chain operated 50 stores primarily located in the South and Midwest with annual sales of $388 million. CEO Lee Bird took the helm in 2012 and launched operational reforms after identifying outdated procedures and disorganized retail environments. In October 2013, Garden Ridge debuted its first Colorado store in Broomfield, Colorado.

Transition to At Home

In 2014, all Garden Ridge locations were rebranded as At Home with a fresh logo featuring soft gray and blue tones alongside a house icon. The $20 million rebranding initiative included relocating corporate headquarters from Houston to Plano, Texas, close to its distribution hub. The company entered Wisconsin late that year and expanded into Kansas and Utah by 2015. At Home filed for an initial public offering in September 2015 and completed its public listing by August 2016, accelerating aggressive expansion into Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and eventually reaching the West Coast by 2019.

By April 2019, At Home operated 188 stores but experienced a stock price decline of about 40%, prompting consideration of a sale with Kohl’s among potential acquirers. Following further stock decreases mid-2019, growth slowed and an e-commerce platform was introduced. During the COVID-19 pandemic, At Home benefited from heightened consumer investment in home improvement by reopening stores and implementing curbside pickup plus contactless delivery services. From 2020 through 2021, net sales rose by 27.3%, with comparable store sales increasing by 19.4%.

In April 2021, At Home entered the New York City market and was acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $2.8 billion in May; it returned to private ownership by July. Under new management, the company launched proprietary brands—Honeybloom, Providence, Found & Fable—rolled out a mobile app, expanded branded credit card rewards programs, and partnered with DoorDash and Roadie to improve same-day delivery capabilities. Expansion continued with sixteen new stores opened in 2021 along with entry into six additional states by mid-2022.

Nevertheless, declining post-pandemic home goods demand during 2022 resulted in credit rating downgrades from S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s. Supply chain disruptions throughout 2021–22 caused cost increases exceeding $300 million that led to price hikes later reversed in early 2023 following freight cost reductions. The company secured $200 million through a private placement alongside refinancing agreements in May 2023 to enhance financial flexibility amid competitor bankruptcies. In July of that year, At Home introduced buy-now-pay-later options via Synchrony.

By October 2023, Fitch Ratings highlighted bankruptcy risks for the retailer. Founder and CEO Bob Bird retired after leading growth from an initial base of 58 stores generating $364 million to nearly 268 locations approaching $2 billion revenue. In April 2025, At Home announced potential bankruptcy triggered by tariff-related financial strain linked to the Second Trump tariffs. By May, missed interest payments resulted in forbearance agreements alongside plans to cease sourcing from China.

On June 11, 2025, At Home confirmed intentions to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by mid-June—becoming the first major retailer impacted by tariff conflicts—with plans to shutter approximately twenty underperforming stores out of roughly 250 locations. The official Chapter 11 filing occurred on June 16 citing tariffs, rising interest rates, and decreased consumer spending on home furnishings as primary factors. The restructuring aims to eliminate nearly all of its $2 billion debt while securing $200 million financing to support operations during reorganization. An additional twenty-six store closures are planned by September with further reductions possible. Post-bankruptcy ownership will transfer to hedge funds and investment firms headquartered in New York and San Francisco.