With hardly a heads up to employees – and virtually nothing told to reps or retailers – Kenroy Home shut its doors on Friday, August 18. Even long-time company veterans found out via an internal memo from Karena Parliment, President.
I heard the news from an employee, who had been with the company for 15 years and was understandably saddened by the news as well as its abruptness. Kenroy Home (also known as Kenroy International) has been in the lighting business since the 1950s, under several owners, which at one time included Hunter Lighting Group. At the time of its closure, it was owned by private equity firm Arch Equity Partners (AEP), which concentrates on “investments in companies in the lower middle market, principally in the consumer, industrial, distribution and services industries.” It also maintained two permanent market showrooms, one in Dallas Market Center and the other in High Point.
Other companies owned by AEP include: Chandler Industries, a multi-site contract manufacturer specializing in precision machining, sheet metal fabrication, and complex assembly for the aerospace, defense, medical, industrial and electronics markets; and Heat Transfer Tubular Products (HTT Products), a specialized distributor of tubing and related products for industrial applications involving heat exchangers, condensers, boilers, feel-water heaters, economizers, and similar equipment.
My source at Kenroy Home likened the situation to what happened to Klaussner Furniture just weeks ago on August 8 (see Furniture Today’s article here). In Klaussner’s case, the 60-year-old furniture company had changed hands several times and blamed the closure on its bank as well as difficulty with its main overseas supplier. “While our eCommerce arm (particularly Amazon) was performing above expectations, it wasn’t enough to shoulder the problems we faced with our supply chain for our larger brick and mortar retail partners,” my source revealed.
Klaussner Furniture and Kenroy are not alone in the sudden closures in the home furnishings industry. In late June, a 91-year-old custom upholstery manufacturer (also in North Carolina) shut down unexpectedly and renowned manufacturer Lane Furniture shuttered its doors just as suddenly last November after 110 years in business. On August 28, Home Accents Today has reported that home furnishings manufacturer and retailer Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams closed its doors and immediately laid off its staff over the weekend. The company operated three plants in North Carolina.
* CORRECTION. Previously, I erroneously reported that Kenroy Home was an ESOP, when actually past president Bob Pape informed me that “Kenroy Home was purchased from Hunter Fan Company by a group of long-time employees whose hard work and professionalism allowed the company to pay off the acquisition debt in record time during the Great Recession and sell Arch Equity a profitable, growing business.”
WHY is this Happening??
Answer!
What the group is offering to their customers is No Longer Relevant OR Needed/Wanted!!
Any quick review of human historical records will show this cycle to be the Rule Not the exception!!
SHN
The rule that you are proclaiming is a symptom, not the actual problem. The actual problem is a private equity firm that felt it knew better than the employees and customers that those employees successfully served for more than half a century. Look at Kenroy’s past successes and compare that to Arch Equity’s track record with their portfolio since buying Kenroy.
How about some compassion for a group of employees, customers and reps left in the dark without recourse, instead of a preachy retort?
And to accurately reflect the facts, Kenroy was not an ESOP. It was purchased from Hunter Fan Company by a group of long time employees whose hard work and professionalism allowed the company to pay off the acquisition debt in record time during the Great Recession and sell Arch Equity a profitable, growing business.
My apologies on misunderstanding that it was an ESOP. I will update that error in the article. Bob, I have a lot of respect for the long-time employees I’ve known at Kenroy. They have always been welcoming and gracious to me and I am sorry to hear that the company is no longer in business. Private equity companies have really become pervasive in the lighting industry (as well as many other industries) and often they don’t understand the nuances of the market. There are good private equity firms out there that operate successful lighting companies and know when to step aside and let the experts in the trenches weigh in, but there are more than a few who do not. I’m sorry to see Kenroy go.
It is not surprising to see Kenroy close. It has nothing to do with no longer being relevant, but more to do with having so many highly paid executives and how they treat their employees. Respect goes a long way!
What happens to the existing Inventory, and can it be purchased and how?
I had a great relationship with Kenroy and found their Sales and Order Staff exceptionally helpful.
Very Saddened to see them close their doors.
Hi Alan, I liked the staff at Kenroy as well and am sorry to hear that they are no longer in business. I have not heard anything at all about any existing inventory or who to contact about it. Everything seemed to happen very suddenly and without a plan in place for customer inquiries.
I appreciate your article on Kenroy Home abruptly closing which would explain why I haven’t heard back from then about my outdoor fountain replacement that was defective. I had connected with a Dot in Customer Service over the phone and then began emailing her since early May of 2023.
I kept following up via email and kept getting responses of how it’s on back order over and over again until I tried to call them directly early November 2023 and their voicemail kept saying for better customer service please email us. I then emailed them and still have not received a response which led me to do an online search on the company to find your article.
Can you provide any contact info on the company that bought them out to help me with my Replacement Fountain ?
Hi Elizabeth, unfortunately Kenroy was not acquired by another company. They simply closed their doors and quit operations. The best option is probably to contact the retailer where you purchased the fountain and see if they can help you with either a replacement or some sort of refund.