Florida furniture retailer puts 35 stores, three distribution centers and HQ on the market

POLK COUNTY — Badcock Home Furniture is selling 42 properties, including its Mulberry headquarters and a 371,240-square-foot distribution center less than a mile away, with the intention of leasing them back from new owners.

The 2.2 million-square-foot portfolio, according to the online listing from B. Riley Real Estate in Los Angeles, includes 35 retail stores, three distribution centers and the multibuilding headquarters.

The listing says the company will consider offers for the entire portfolio or individual properties.

Badcock Home Furniture got its start in 1904 when Henry Stanhope Badcock opened his first store in Mulberry. The store was bought by Badcock’s son Wogan 16 years later and the company remained family owned until November when it was sold for $580 million to the Franchise Group Inc. 

According to a press release announcing the sale, Badcock’s revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30 was $901.9 million.

“With a 117-year operating history, W.S Badcock Corporation represents a high-quality, stable operator that continues to exhibit strong performance sustaining solid store network and revenue growth over the past decade,” B. Riley says in the listing. “Looking forward, the company has made the necessary capital investments across its retail and distribution portfolios to support significant future network expansion.”

The largest piece of the portfolio is the company’s headquarters complex about 33 miles east of Tampa and 10 miles south of Lakeland. The complex includes a 184,000-square-foot administration building, 43,000-square-foot corporate office building, 9,000-square-foot maintenance facility and 8,000-square foot communications building.

As for the stores, the company is selling 34 of its 38 owned stores — Badcock leases 345 stores. The stores on the market are five states — 21 in Florida, including seven along the Gulf Coast, and 14 in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

According to the listing, most of the stores were built between 1964 and 2008 with more than 90% of the locations renovated in the past six years. These locations include the company’s two top performing stores, according to listing, which doesn’t disclose which two.

Along with the Mulberry distribution center, two others are for sale as well.

One is in LaGrange, Georgia. The 537,855-square-foot facilty was built in 2016. The other, in Mebane, North Carolina, is 369,420 square feet and was built in 2004.

As for how much this will all cost you, B. Riley says a non-disclosure agreement must be signed to get details on pricing, lease terms and other financial information. The real estate company is also asking that offers be submitted by Feb. 9.