As Lexington-Rowe Furniture, the company is poised to regain its footing, a spokeswoman said.


By Duncan Adams

Rowe Furniture of Elliston has a new owner and, possibly, a brighter future.

If the beleaguered manufacturer of upholstered furniture survives and thrives, that could be good news for 825 people who work at Rowe’s factory in Elliston or its frame shop in Salem.

After a prolonged financial spiral, the Rowe Cos., of which Rowe Furniture was a subsidiary, filed in September for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Rowe Cos., based in McLean, subsequently closed and liquidated Storehouse, its retail furniture subsidiary.

On Jan. 19, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Rowe Furniture to Lexington-Rowe Furniture, a new affiliate of Florida-based Sun Capital Partners. The sale price was $30 million, with $24 million in cash and the remainder earmarked for the assumption of certain liabilities. The deal closed Thursday night.

As Lexington-Rowe, freed of the costly Storehouse chain and with manufacturing operations consolidated in Elliston and Salem, the company “is poised to become a very profitable, healthy company again,” said Stefanie Lucas, a spokeswoman for Rowe. Rowe Furniture closed a Missouri factory last year.

Rowe Furniture, founded in 1946, has struggled in recent years.

The Rowe Cos. posted a loss of $5.3 million in fiscal 2012 and fired its chief financial officer in January 2013. A glitch-plagued conversion in 2004 to an “enterprise resource planning” software system caused delivery delays and cost Rowe some customers. The company had relied on quick delivery to compete with foreign manufacturers.

At one point, Gerald Birnbach, president and chief executive officer, halved his salary and pledged $1.5 million of his own money to undergird a new financing agreement.

Lucas said all indications suggest Birnbach will head Lexington-Rowe.