High end furnishing brand goes bankrupt

In a sign that the worldwide home furnishings industry may still be in recovery mode, high-end furnishings purveyor Brunschwig & Fils announced Friday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The North White Plains, N.Y.-based business, which sells a wide assortment of fabrics, upholstered furniture and table collections, listed more than 200 creditors.

The home decorating and design market is still suffering from decreased spending, which has negatively impacted sales at 111-year-old Brunschwig.

“The textile industry has been hard hit by the significant decrease in consumer spending and severely affected by the global economic downturn,” read the filing. “As a result, Brunschwig has experienced declining sales and profitability over the last several years.”

As part of the restructuring agreement, the furnisher has agreed to be purchased by Kravet, a Syosset, L.I.-based, privately-held distributor of fabrics and home furnishings, in a deal that is subject to a competitive bid process. Brunschwig's assets are $10.9 million, and its debts are valued at $18.4 million, according to its bankruptcy filing.

Brunschwig does not plan to close any of its 22 showroom locations, which include an outpost at Third Avenue, between East 58th and East 59th streets—the heart of the interior design industry.

“The restructuring is a business decision that will not affect the quality of our products, or present and future orders,” said Olivier Peardon, Brunschwig's chief executive, in a statement. “Our relationships with the lines we represent remain intact and the Brunschwig & Fils Design Studio is creating new patterns for future release.”

There are signs that the retail furnishings industry is recovering. Several established furniture chains, many of which offer lower-priced alternatives, have recently taken on first-time locations in Manhattan. Such newcomers to the area include Nadeau, an eclectic California-based furniture chain, and Home Goods, which sells overstock items from upscale department stores.

Clarification: Kravet, of Syosset, L.I., has offered to buy the company. It is not running the business now. That fact was not clear in an earlier version of this article, published Jan. 14, 2011.