Last week, Conn’s HomePlus announced that it was closing about 100 locations as part of an impending bankruptcy filing. The locations included both Conn’s stores and Badcock Home Furniture, a chain that Conn’s picked up at the end of 2023. However, between the release of the initial closing list and the publication of court documents, the tide apparently turned, with Conn’s choosing to completely wind down operations instead. There are around 45 Conn’s locations in the Houston area, and the company has been headquartered in The Woodlands since moving from Beaumont in 2013. At this point, it’s still unclear what the final nail in the coffin was for the newly combined company. However, it seems that the purchase of Badcock’s may have involved more than just a company that was struggling financially. According to store personnel, the final days at Conn’s are expected to come sometime in October. Conn’s first entered the Houston market by leasing Sage’s appliance department in the 70s. The company would return to Houston in 1984 under their own name. Conn’s was originally founded in Beaumont in the 1900s but has older roots in a family business from the late 1800s.
From JE
This week has been a sad one for sure. Conn’s going out of business and Greenspoint Mall permanently closed yesterday.
Back in May, I did a full tour of Greenspoint inside and outside of what could be accessed. Little did I know it would be my last visit. There are a lot of hidden retail gems hidden behind the drywall and locked doors that we will never see again. Judging by the amount of boarded up windows on the property, the mall will really begin to deteriorate quickly.
Work is kicking my tail right now so about all I can do is comment every so often. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can provide some new blog stuff. I appreciate Houstonhistoricretail keeping the retail news of the area going strong!
Looks like Greenspoint is going to stay open another month if conflicting news reports are correct. Either way, we are losing yet another retail icon from the past. Macroplaza has to be close to shutting down as well since only 3 businesses are now left there.
It is always nice to get an update from you, Je. Yeah, the closure of Greenspoint Mall felt inevitable, but I didn’t know Conn’s was in trouble until hearing some of the news that came out earlier in the month. Conn’s has a lot of locations in Houston so that’ll be a void for a lot of workers and for some prominent retail space. A lot of old Bed, Bath, and Beyond locations, at least locally, are starting to fill up so maybe the Conn’s spots can find new retailers as well. We’ll see.
Good riddance to Conn’s and their predatory practices, they will not be missed.
It looks like Conn’s might have bitten off more than they could chew. I remember back in the 1990s, Conn’s was an appliance store which also sold some higher-end home audio and video electronics. I liked having them as an option for some electronics brands which weren’t common at other stores like Mitsubishi. We bought a Mitsubishi picture-in-picture CRT TV from there in the early-to-mid 1990s and then a VCR a little later on.
In more recent years, Conn’s pivoted away from electronics and towards furniture. That made sense to a certain degree. Conn’s also seemingly pivoted towards in-house financing. I only visited Conn’s a couple times since around 2010 and I wasn’t really impressed by their electronics and appliance selection so I didn’t really view them as being a viable place to shop in modern times. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one who felt that way given what has now happened to Conn’s.
I reckon Conn’s was based in the Houston area towards the end, but I always viewed them as a Golden Triangle retailer. Well, anyway, along with Stage, that is another fallen Houston retail chain.
From JE
This week has been a sad one for sure. Conn’s going out of business and Greenspoint Mall permanently closed yesterday.
Back in May, I did a full tour of Greenspoint inside and outside of what could be accessed. Little did I know it would be my last visit. There are a lot of hidden retail gems hidden behind the drywall and locked doors that we will never see again. Judging by the amount of boarded up windows on the property, the mall will really begin to deteriorate quickly.
Work is kicking my tail right now so about all I can do is comment every so often. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can provide some new blog stuff. I appreciate Houstonhistoricretail keeping the retail news of the area going strong!