This Boomer-Era Appliance Retailer That Suddenly Closed Its Doors

Howard's Appliance, an appliance retail chain in Southern California that started 79 years ago during the baby boomer era, suddenly closed all its stores, shut down its website, and laid off all its employees on December 6, 2025.

The store closures took place five days before Howard's Appliance Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 10, 2025, listing $17.2 million in liabilities and up to $10 million in assets, The Orange County Register reported. Those liabilities include $273,500 in unpaid California taxes, per The Orange County Register. Howard's Appliances also racked up more than $6.74 million in liens, mainly from financial service companies and appliance vendors such as Northpoint Commercial Finance ($3.75 million), Haier US Appliance ($1.42 million), and Whirlpool Corporation ($1.17 million), according to a declaration filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's Central District of California Los Angeles Division.

David Goodrich, a bankruptcy attorney representing Howard's Appliances, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that plummeting consumer spending and President Donald Trump's tariffs' impact on appliances contributed to the decision to shut down its stores and lay off all its employees, adding: "This was not a decision made lightly, but one that became necessary given the current economic landscape."

Chapter 11 filings are often used as a means to reorganize debt and finances in a way that could set the stage for a company to come back from bankruptcy. Unfortunately, there won't be a Big Lots-type comeback-after-bankruptcy ending for Howard's Appliances. David Steinhafel, the manager of a limited liability company that is Howard's Appliances sole shareholder, explained in a court filing that the intent of the Chapter 11 was to "liquidate all assets, pay creditors from the liquidation of its assets, and dissolve a business that has been a staple in Southern California for nearly eight decades."

Founded in 1946 in San Gabriel, California, Howard's Appliance started as a radio repair shop before becoming one of the biggest independent appliance stores in Southern California, which also sold televisions and mattresses. By the time Steinhafel's S5 Equity acquired the company in April 2025, it had at least 17 stores in operation. All are now permanently closed. 

In his court filing, David Steinhafel stated that while Howard's was a leader in affordable appliances, electronics, and mattresses, the previous management expanded too quickly. And while his H Retail Holdings subsidiary launched a "dramatic turnaround effort," it wasn't enough to reverse mounting financial problems, new tariffs and declining consumer spending. A week prior to filing for bankruptcy on December 10, 2025, Howard's inventory and assets were moved to a warehouse in the City of Industry, California, where they will be sold to pay off creditors, Steinhafel added. 

Steinhafel also stated in the filing that the employees were paid their accumulated salaries. Still, employees told San Gabriel Valley Tribune they were informed of the closure via Zoom just a few days before all business operations stopped.

Multiple customers, meanwhile, have complained that they've been unable to pick up the appliances they've paid for. Newport Beach resident Greg Bingham told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that he can't get anyone to tell him about the washer and dryer he ordered eight weeks prior. Karin Shoup of La Habra Heights told the SGVT that she found out that the $16,000 refrigerator she acquired for her kitchen was locked in the company's warehouse. "You can imagine what kind of hell I'm in now," she said.