HomeLife leases soon up for grabs
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 11, 2001
Hoffman Estates, Ill. — Some 80 HomeLife Furniture leases are coming up for grabs by expansion-minded furniture retailers.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. is moving to get U.S. bankruptcy court approval to designate new tenants for the properties in 27 states, and has hired DJM Asset Management to market them to the home furnishings industry and other retailers.
The stores range from 22,000 to 67,000 square feet.
"We've had lots of interest," said Emilio Amendola, co-president of DJM, the real estate arm of Boston-based Gordon Bros., which also runs liquidation sales.
Industry real estate specialist Julius M. Feinblum Real Estate is assisting DJM in efforts to place leases with "a select group of furniture retailers," Amendola said. He did not provide any names.
HomeLife, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year, is winding down operations. Sears, which developed HomeLife, sold its majority interest in 1999 but retained a 19% stake. HomeLife grew to 128 stores with annual sales of $680 million before filing for bankruptcy in July.
The rocky economy and the tough business conditions plaguing the furniture industry make leasing a challenge today, Amendola said, but he believes the process will go well for Sears and DJM.
He noted that most of the interest in the stores to date has come from furniture retailers. While it's difficult to say for sure, he estimated that "close to a majority" of the leases probably will be placed with the industry.
"You have (HomeLife) stores that performed incredibly well from the sales standpoint, and someone is going to want to capture that market," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity.
"Given the quality of the real estate, I think we'll be successful in the disposition."
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