What's going on over at the
Sears Outlet store in Wheaton? It has been rebranded as American Freight Appliance Furniture Mattress. That's quite a mouthful. It's also a fairly complicated story.
American Freight has been a retailer of furniture and mattresses since 1994, and is based in Ohio. A company named Liberty Tax changed its name to the ridiculously-generic-sounding Franchise Group. Franchise Group acquired the Buddy's Home Furnishings retail chain. It then acquired Sears Outlet, which had been spun off from Sears Holdings in 2012. As 2019 ended, Franchise Group grew further by acquiring American Freight, an Ohio-based retailer of furniture and mattresses since 1994.
Franchise Group decided to expand American Freight by merging it with the Sears Outlet stores, thereby adding "appliance" to the brand name. Conversion of all Sears Outlet stores to American Freight is anticipated to be completed by this summer, according to Sears. It looks like Wheaton is ahead of the curve. It's quite odd that they are jettisoning an iconic American brand name for one with no recognition in these parts.
How long do you give the Sears in White Oak, given the slow death of the company? And what will take its place? Hopefully, not thrift stores a la Hillendale.
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