Last Updated on 08/18/2021 by GS Staff
Is Rooms To Go Publicly Traded?
No, Rooms To Go is not publicly traded. It is a private company that is headquartered in Seffner, Florida. Since the company is private, you cannot purchase shares of Rooms To Go stock. Its shares do not trade on a stock exchange such as the NASDAQ or NYSE. Furthermore, the business does not have a stock price or ticker symbol.
Who Owns Rooms To Go?
Room To Go is owned by the Seaman family. Morton and Jeffrey Seaman opened the business in 1990 after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) bought out their previous furniture business in 1987 called Seaman’s Furniture. KKR put up millions for the business for it only to be lost a few years later when the company filed bankruptcy.
The sale of Seaman’s Furniture ended up being quite lucrative because Morton negotiated a deal worth about $350 million in cash and junk bonds. The Seaman family came out of the deal with around $150 million in cash and bonds. In hindsight, KKR overpaid and certainly had buyer’s remorse after the reality of bankruptcy set in.
Meanwhile, Morton and his family capitalize off a generous non-competition agreement that allowed them to open another furniture store business, except in areas where there were existing Seaman’s Furniture stores. Of course, they also could not use the family name as a business name.
Morton and Jeffrey Seaman had 11 Rooms To Go locations by 1992. Today, the company has more than 250 stores in 11 states. Interestingly, if there was no buyout of Seaman’s Furniture, there likely would not be Rooms To Go.
Will Rooms To Go Ever Be Public?
Seaman Furniture became a public company in 1985. This means that the family has an understanding of the workings of a public company. If the company were to go public, it likely would protect itself better from a buyout this time around. However, we would suspect that the company will remain private for the foreseeable future rather than deal with the complexities of being public. Only time will tell whether Rooms To Go will ever be public.
Public Furniture Companies
Since Rooms To Go stock is not available for purchase, here are some publicly traded furniture companies that you may wish to research for potential investment purposes:
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
| Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETD) | The company has over 300 stores in the U.S., Canada, Asia, and the Middle East. Its nine manufacturing plants are located in the U.S. (6), Mexico (2), and Honduras (1). |
| La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB) | La-Z-Boy is known for its reclining chairs. However, it is also one of the largest manufacturers of residential furniture in the United States. |
| Bassett Furniture (NASDAQ: BSET) | The company operates almost 100 stores under Bassett Home Furnishings. Over 75% of the products are manufactured in the U.S. in facilities located in places such as Bassett, Virginia, Martinsville, Virginia, and Newton, North Carolina. |
| Natuzzi (NYSE: NTZ) | This Italian-based company is known for its leather furniture but it also manufacturers fabric upholstered furniture. It was founded in 1959 by the current CEO and Chairman, Pasquale Natuzzi. |
| Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) | Williams-Sonoma is the parent company behind Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBTeen, Williams Sonoma, West Elm, Mark and Graham, and Rejuvenation. |
| Flexsteel (NASDAQ: FLXS) | Flexsteel is headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, and distributes to more than 1,300 independent retailers across the U.S. |
| Haverty Furniture (NYSE: HVT) | Haverty Furniture is located in 16 states throughout the Midwest and South. It has 120 stores under the Haverty name. |
Sources:
Image Credit – Ildar Sagdejev/CC
Sloan, A. (1992, January 14). How Morty Seaman rearranged the furniture store for a small fortune. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/01/14/how-morty-seaman-rearranged-the-furniture-store-for-a-small-fortune/16d813a8-fed6-43cf-8a80-d6dddd19604e/.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/seaman-furniture-company-inc-history/
