Havertys Furniture Acquired Bed Bath & Beyond Leases For New Store Sites - But First It Turned To A Common Pop-Up Tenant
Havertys Furniture operates 124 furniture stores in 16 states.
The Company usually opens just 2 or 3 new stores per year.
Havertys plans to open at least 4 new stores in 2024, though.
All in sites that were leased to Bed Bath & Beyond
But Havertys did not want the stores to sit empty and bleed cash while it finished plans and applied for permits to renovate the stores.
So like many Landlords it entered into a short term sublease last Fall with a common pop-up tenant for all 4 locations:
Havertys acquired the four Bed Bath leases in a bankruptcy auction last year for a total of about $600,000.
However, the acquisition of the leases was only the start of the expenditures necessary for the Company to convert and open the new stores.
Because it acquired operating leases, Havertys immediately began paying rent and other charges on all sites and costs - a total that has now likely surpassed $2 MM before the Company has even opened one store.
Additionally, Havertys is spending approximately $2.5-$3 MM at each location to refurbish and retrofit the sites to its brand standard.
But Havertys did not want the former Bed Bath sites to sit empty and bleed cash while it finished plans and applied for permits to renovate the stores.
So like many Landlords it entered into a short term sublease last Fall with a common pop-up tenant for all 4 locations:
Havertys anticipates that all 4 of its new former Bed Bath & Beyond stores will open by the middle of 2024.
It is already on the lookout for additional new store opportunities for 2025 and beyond.
Perhaps even additional former Bed Bath & Beyond sites.
Including others that may have also hosted Spirit Halloween last Fall!