79-year-old appliance chain closes all locations, no bankruptcy

3 days ago 5

Daniel Kline

Sat, December 6, 2025 astatine 1:17 PM CST 4 min read

When a edifice closes, it mostly has nary fiscal interaction connected customers unless they had a prepaid catering order, oregon had paid an beforehand deposit connected a enactment oregon different event.

When a retail concatenation closes, however, that tin person deeper fiscal impact. Customers whitethorn person ordered and paid for items that person not been delivered, and immoderate whitethorn person financed larger items straight done the company.

In the lawsuit of financed items, oregon purchases made connected a company-specific recognition paper — well, you inactive person to pay.

"You volition inactive beryllium liable for paying disconnected your balance, adjacent if a retailer files for bankruptcy. Generally, retail recognition cards are issued done a concern institution abstracted from the store itself, meaning immoderate indebtedness you beryllium is held by the bank, not the store. This is existent adjacent for 'closed-loop' cards that are lone valid with circumstantial retailers," Bankrate reported.

When it comes to items you person paid for but not received, that gets trickier.

When a institution shuts down without delivering your paid-for order, consumers should instrumentality definite steps, according to the Better Business Bureau:

Collect receipts, proofs of purchase, and different documents specified arsenic warranties and manuals. These materials volition assistance you hole for your petition for a resolution.
Check with the slope oregon recognition paper you utilized to marque the purchase(s) astatine the now-closed company. You whitethorn beryllium capable to quality the transaction(s) owed to nonaccomplishment to person goods oregon services.
Try to interaction the institution to implicit the transaction oregon resoluteness the issue. Some closed companies volition connection an email, website, oregon telephone fig to interaction for much information.
If the institution has not filed for bankruptcy, the concern is inactive obligated to fulfill your bid for goods, services, oregon a refund. Closing a concern doesn't relieve the proprietor of that responsibility. While it tin beryllium time-consuming and expensive, a user may take the institution to court.
For returns: If you person a warranty for an point you bought astatine the store, look into whether the shaper oregon the store issued the warranty. If the shaper issues the warranty, it volition astir apt grant it. When a institution goes retired of business, its warranties and services often dice unless different agreements person been made.

In the lawsuit of a bankruptcy, consumers mostly go unsecured creditors, which leaves them astatine the backmost of the enactment erstwhile it comes to getting paid.

Customers of Howard's Appliance should travel the supra advice, arsenic the concatenation has abruptly closed each of its doors, but has not, arsenic of Dec. 6, filed for bankruptcy protection.

<em>Howard's closed with nary announcement to customers.</em>Shutterstock

A week aft Black Friday sales, the astir 80-year-old Howard’s Appliance concatenation is shuttering each of its Southern California stores, offering lone a day’s announcement to employees and thing to customers, with orders successful limbo, the Orange County Register reported.

The chain's website could not beryllium reached arsenic of Dec. 6.

"The notice, signed by Isaiah Padilla, the logistics wide manager for Howard’s, said the institution was closing its concern operations, effectual Dec. 6, owed to 'circumstances beyond our control,'" the insubstantial reported.

Padilla could not beryllium reached for remark connected Dec. 5.

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News of the shutdown dispersed connected societal media.

"My genitor conscionable ordered a caller scope from Howard's and past saw this greeting that they are each closing? They haven't received the scope yet, and apparently, each the stores are closing arsenic of tomorrow. My ma called 4 antithetic stores, and nary 1 is picking up," wrote 1 idiosyncratic connected Reddit.

Another poster verified the closures.

"After speechmaking this, I hurried to their store successful Tustin due to the fact that we person had galore issues with them since our bid 4 months ago. Still, we’re awaiting a fewer pieces. Lights off, lone a closed sign, and the hours of cognition were scrubbed disconnected the window," wrote helloninterwebs3.

There is nary nationalist grounds of a bankruptcy filing arsenic of December 6.

The institution was acquired earlier successful 2025 by private‑equity steadfast S5 Equity, according to a property release.
Howard’s has closed all its Southern California stores arsenic of December 2025, The Orange County Register reported.
Employees were reportedly notified of their termination connected December 4, 2025, with nary anterior nationalist warning, according to News Minimalist.
The shutdown affects the company’s web of astir 17 locations crossed Southern California, the Orange County Register added.
Among past closures, the institution had antecedently unopen down its Upland, CA, store (effective Sept. 16, 2020), citing anemic sales, mediocre section retail conditions, and a displacement toward investing successful newer locations, according to a property release.
In 2024, a determination antecedently acquired nether the sanction Midway Home Solutions, which was rebranded to Howard’s successful Victorville, besides closed, Victor Valley News reported.

Related: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's rival closing much restaurants

This communicative was primitively published by TheStreet connected Dec 6, 2025, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Retail section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.