Winans sale marks end of 40-year furniture business

It's the beginning of the end for the Winans Furniture stores in Reno and Minden.

The family-owned furniture stores open for business today for a going-out-of-business sale that will pay back more than 100 creditors.

Andrew Winans, company president, said Friday he decided to file for bankruptcy because of a bad business climate, which was exacerbated by the harsh Northern Nevada winter. The 40-year-old CEO has headed the company for five years and owns all of the stock.

"As I look back and look forward, there is a lot more competition coming into the market this fall, like RC Willy," he said. "We just felt like it was time. We didn't have the financial footing to be super competitive in this market."

Sparks-based Carson Furniture Inc., which owns Winans Furniture in Reno and Winans in Minden, filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code on March 22. It promptly shuttered its two showrooms and turned the process over to Planned Furniture Promotions, a company that comes in to help a furniture business fulfill all its open customer orders and then run the sale.

Winans, who lives in Minden, said savings will be up to 60 percent on some items. More products will be brought into the showrooms as they arrive. The sale will continue until all the merchandise is gone. Customers who had placed an order before the stores closed should ask Planned Furniture Promotions about their order.

"In this life there is a beginning and end to everything. It's kind of like a death in the family to me. It's a sad time, but it's also a necessary thing we need to do."

He said Winans' 39 employees will be put in contact with RC Willy, which is owned by financial tycoon Warren Buffett. The company has 10 mega-stores and is also opening in Sacramento.

Winans said RC Willy is interested in hiring him, but he also has other employment opportunities on the manufacturing side of the business. He has about $180,000 invested into Carson Furniture, which goes into bankruptcy proceedings.

The company's largest unsecured creditor is Winans LLC with $1.7 million. He is listed as an officer in Winans LLC, which is in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He said that he is not sure what amount he owns.

"We plan to go out by fulfilling all of our orders and by having a huge sale. We'll have one last giant sale for the customers."

And the creditors.

According to the filing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno, Carson Furniture has additional debts that reach into the millions.

n Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.