Clint Engel — Furniture Today,
Detroit retailer closed its three stores last week

DETROIT — A lender says it will request that a court appoint a receiver for Furniture Express, a retailer that closed its three Detroit-area stores last week.

The Romulus, Mich.-based retailer, which had 10 stores at its peak, said in a press release this week that its lender, Comerica, “seized all operating funds, leaving Furniture Express no choice but to close it doors immediately.”

It said the action occurred during negotiations with the bank and referred calls from creditors, suppliers, customers and employees to Comerica.

Sara Snyder, a Comerica spokeswoman, confirmed that the Furniture Express stores closed Aug. 17. She said the Detroit-based bank is asking Wayne Country Circuit Court to appoint a receiver and that the “receiver establish a procedure to address the questions of customers and creditors.”

“We also are asking (for) the receiver to take control of the furniture inventory and the buildings,” she said. Asked if the stores will be liquidated, Snyder said that’s up to the receiver. She declined to elaborate on Comerica’s business relationships with Furniture Express or answer additional questions.

The midpriced Furniture Express, led by President Bob Berman, had three remaining stores in Warren, Taylor and Clinton Townships, Mich., according to a report by The Detroit News. It operated 10 stores as recently as early 2013 and was named among Furniture/Today’s Beyond the Top 100 furniture stores in the 2012 report with estimated sales of $25 million to $29.9 million.

Berman could not be reached for comment.

The Detroit News report quoted a consultant and friend of the Berman family, Paul Bensman, who said Bob Berman was distraught and worried about employees and customers. Berman “had hoped the bank would be more sympathetic because the furniture industry has been hit so hard by recession,” Bensman said in the report.

The newspaper also noted that a former Furniture Express store on Eight Mile was acquired and converted to Park Furniture earlier this month.