by LAKELAND, Fla. — With 75 stores to serve in Florida, Ashley Furniture has acquired a 705,000-square-foot facility in Lakeland, Florida, between Tampa and Orlando, according to public property transfer records. The building is part of the 740-acre Lakeland Central Park industrial area that is under construction.
Polk County, Florida, records show the buyer as Stoneledge Furniture, which is the parent company of Ashley Furniture. The sale price was $71 million. Without naming Ashley, the industrial park’s developer, Parkway, describes the acquisition as “marking a significant milestone as the first major user” of the industrial park.
I’ve reached out to Ashley’s media relations to confirm that the plan is to make the new facility a warehouse and distribution center, but haven’t yet heard back. It’s difficult to imagine the cross-dock facility being used for anything else, and at least two metro business newspapers are reporting it as a warehouse and distribution center.
A privately owned real estate investment company, Parkway is marketing the 5-million-square-foot industrial park to companies interested in space for manufacturing, distribution and logistics. Roadways and another cross-dock facility are the next projects to be built on the site. Additional sites for buildings that range from 162,000 to 1.7 million square feet also are being marketed.
The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area just east of Tampa is one of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. Over the past five years, the population has jumped nearly 17%, according to U.S. Census data. Lakeland Central Park is jointly owned by Orlando-based Parkway and an LLC set up by Silverpeak, a private investment firm.
Viva Las Vegas
Ashley is also making headlines in Las Vegas, where it has just opened the doors of a new flagship store on a 20-acre parcel off Sunset Road right next to Ikea. Ashley acquired the plot in 2020 for $27 million and subsequently Clark County approved the furniture giant’s plans for a 275,000-square-foot showroom and distribution center, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper.
The building permit for the facility put the project’s price tag at $20 million, according to the newspaper, citing public records, which pushes the total cost of the store to about $50 million. The new store is in a high-growth area of the southwest valley, and it became a possibility when Las Vegas-based Walker Furniture gave up on a showroom-and-distribution facility of its own on the same site.
Walker sold the property to Ashley, which also acquired neighboring land for a bigger footprint, according to the Las Vegas newspaper.
I’ve also asked Ashley’s media relations for some photos of the new store to share with you.
Update on Franchise Group
Meanwhile, in Delaware bankruptcy court, one of Ashley’s wholesale customers, Franchise Group, said it has completed its financial restructuring and is now doing business as Fusion LLC. Ashley supplies both Buddy’s Home Furnishings and American Freight.
“The Company’s Plan of Reorganization was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on June 2, 2025, with the support of its key stakeholders, including secured and unsecured creditors and key business partners,” Fusion stated in a press release.
Another supplement to the reorganization plan was filed late last week, one that stipulates the officers of the new holding company and designates its headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Also stipulated is the name of the new subsidiary of Fusion for Buddy’s Home Furnishings, Buddy’s Newco.
(In my last update, I mistakenly referred to the new holdco as PSP Midco, which is the new Pet Supplies Plus subsidiary designation.)
The filing has Andrew Laurence continuing as president and CEO of Fusion; he has been CEO of Franchise Group since Brian Kahn resigned from the position in January. Also continuing are Eric Seeton, CFO; Andrew Kaminsky, chief administrative officer and executive vice president; and Tiffany McMillan-McWaters, executive vice president and secretary. Previously, McMillan-McWaters was general counsel for FRG.
Not mentioned in the release or the filing is the fate of Michael Bennett, CEO of what was Buddy’s Home Furnishings. It’s not clear whether he continues in the same role for Buddy’s Newco, but it is known he participated in phone calls and negotiations with Buddy’s franchisees as recently as last week. Chris Rowland is identified; he is staying with Fusion as CEO of Pet Supplies Plus, his previous position, as well.
Also unknown and unmentioned is the status of the cure claims brought against FRG by the groups of Buddy’s franchisees, who continue to seek either relief or the severance of their franchise agreements. The FRG press release announcing that Fusion has emerged from bankruptcy optimistically proclaims that Buddy’s, Pet Supplies Plus and “their respective management teams will be able to fully dedicate their efforts to supporting their franchisees, vendors and customers.” What “support” in this case looks like remains to be seen. Also still up in the air are the terms for Buddy’s stores from their vendors, who not surprisingly tightened those terms following the November bankruptcy.
A Notice of Confirmation was filed by Kirkland & Ellis on Friday, one that sets deadlines for requests for payments of administrative expenses and professional fees at, respectively, July 7 and July 21. This notice, in the form of a motion, was approved by the court Monday.
Fusion’s corporate office is located at 2371 Liberty Way, Virginia Beach, which as best as I can tell is also the office location of Liberty Tax. Specifically, the plan names the parent company as Fusion Intermediate LLC and the borrower as Fusion Buyer LLC.
Fusion emerges with Buddy’s Home Furnishings and Pet Supplies Plus. Gone are Badcock Home Furnishings, sold to Conn’s just before bankruptcy late last year, American Freight and The Vitamin Shoppe. This makes Fusion board member Tim Johnson a popular guy. A veteran of Aaron’s, Johnson is the only board member with experience in the furniture industry.
B. Riley delinquency
Also in the update column is news that on June 4 B. Riley Financial received an additional delinquency notification letter from Nasdaq, but that Nasdaq has granted an exception to enable BRF to regain compliance. The new deadline for all delinquent filings is Sept. 29.
“The Company regrets the continued delays in its Annual and Quarterly filings, which have been impacted by a confluence of significant events and transactions completed in 2024,” BRF said in a press release, referring to, among other things, the FRG bankruptcy. “The Company is working diligently to file the Annual and Quarterly Reports as promptly as practical, and expects to return to a normal filing cadence by Fall 2025.”
