by Gordon Brothers, which relaunched the line in April, said it will start to hit retail floors in the 4th quarter, supported by marketing across all categories
BOSTON — When Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024, it created an unknown future for the Broyhill brand, which the retailer had owned and carried on its floors since acquiring it out of the Heritage Home bankruptcy in the summer of 2018.
Enter Gordon Brothers, the global advisory, restructuring and investment firm that purchased the rights to the brand in early 2025 as part of the Big Lots bankruptcy.
Today the company says the brand has a bright future, following its relaunch at the April High Point Market in partnership with licensees — Living Style in upholstery, case goods, office furniture, outdoor furniture and lighting; Bedding Industries of America in mattresses and Town & Country Living in indoor and outdoor rugs, decorative pillows and window treatments.
In the furniture realm, Living Style launched more than 300 SKUs across stationary and motion upholstery, bedroom, dining, occasional, home entertainment, accent and outdoor furniture and lighting.
Talia J. Spiegel, senior director of brand operations at Gordon Brothers, recently spoke to Home News Now about the revived furniture line and what it means for dealers across the industry.
For one, she noted that the reception before, during and after the April High Point Market was extremely positive.
“Overall everyone is extremely excited to see this iconic brand back,” she said, noting that the furniture is expected to hit retail floors sometime in the fourth quarter. “They felt that the collection that Living Style presented was extremely encompassing of what the brand has always represented, but in a fresh and modern way. They feel like it has gotten a rejuvenation, if you will.”
She noted that for so long, the brand had been shown exclusively at Big Lots, where it occupied a significant amount of floor space, which included displays seen just off the entrance of various locations. While Big Lots continues to purchase the line — with expectations of showing it in a smaller footprint than previously — the relaunch has brought it to more retailers large and small alike across the U.S., Speigel noted.
“It’s going to be back in the hands of customers, including those who are loyal to the brand, but also a younger and newer customer, for whom this fits both needs and budgets,” she said, noting that the brand lost some of its relevance in recent years being shown at just a single retailer. “It also fills a lot of white space for these other retailers.”
To help promote the line at retail, she said, Gordon Bros. plans to provide marketing materials that retailers can use on their floors.
“More to come on that, but overall we are just really excited for this brand,” she added. “We are going to get behind it in a really big way. It is one that not enough attention was given to in years past and now we are doing that. It has gotten good reception and the licensees are really excited. The leading category is furniture, but the other categories like rugs and mattresses and accessories will fall in the footsteps of the furniture.”
Sourced globally through a wide network of producers, including U.S. producers that manufacture the bedding line, the company also is pricing the overall mix of product firmly in the middle price points that customers have come to expect.
“We are not trying to become a luxury brand, but we also are not trying to diminish it either,” she said. “We are staying true to what it historically has been.”
The company also is expanding the mix for the October High Point Market, where it plans to introduce new and existing products to retailers that may not have seen it in person the first time around. However since then, it has told the story of the reinvigorated brand to as many retailers as possible to help generate even more interest in the product mix.
“The interest is there,” Speigel said. “This is a brand that has a lot of nostalgia on multiple levels, so for the customer, retailer and supplier, it has a story, which a lot of brands don’t. So we really believed in it. It just needed a home and now it is going to get that. And of course it will end up being in many homes.”
