Howard’s Appliance, a nearly 80-year-old retail chain in Southern California that closed its doors Saturday, Dec. 6, is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in Los Angeles on Tuesday, blaming tariffs and declining consumer spending for its collapse.
“Despite our best efforts to overcome tariffs, declines in consumer spending, and other macroeconomic challenges — we have made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy and close our doors,” David Goodrich with the law firm Golden Goodrich in Costa Mesa told the Southern California News Group on Monday. “This was not a decision made lightly, but one that became necessary given the current economic landscape.”
President Donald Trump has made his battle over tariffs with foreign nations a major administration policy to raise revenue for the country and revitalize the economy and create jobs domestically.
Goodrich said the company plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. In Chapter 11, the company continues to operate under the supervision of a court-appointed trustee with the goal of emerging from bankruptcy as a viable business.
The company’s attorney declined to say what kind of debt Howard’s is carrying or whether there is a possibility the chain might emerge from bankruptcy protection at a later date.
Dozens of consumers have reached out to SCNG to find out how they can recover thousands of dollars paid to Howard’s to buy appliances that have yet to be delivered.
Goodrich said there will be partial refunds available for consumers who made payments on undelivered products, as well as possibly picking up some appliances that were in stock and not delivered. The procedures for recovery will be outlined in the bankruptcy filing, he said.
Howard’s was based in La Habra before consolidating operations in December 2024 to a new headquarters in City of Industry. It was acquired in April by S5 Equity, a private equity firm based in Newport Beach, to help with the cash-starved company’s turnaround.
A week after Black Friday sales, the chain suddenly closed all of its Southern California stores, offering only two days’ notice to employees on Dec. 4, and nothing to customers with orders in limbo. Roughly 100 employees were notified of their pending layoffs during a Zoom video conference call on Thursday afternoon. During the call they were told that business operations would cease Saturday, Dec. 6.
Goodrich said in a statement that Howard’s expresses its “deepest gratitude” to its team of “employees who have worked tirelessly” with the community’s support. “We are currently working through the legal process to ensure a distinct and orderly closure,” he said.
The company began in 1946 as a radio repair shop in San Gabriel and later evolved into one of Southern California’s leading independent appliance retailers, expanding into televisions and mattresses.
Howard’s, whose website went down beginning Friday, operated at least 17 stores before it was acquired. That store count was down to eight as of last week. Those stores are in Tustin, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Laguna Hills, Long Beach (Marina Pacifica neighborhood along Pacific Coast Highway), Alhambra, Covina and Riverside.
Several customers in recent days have been frantically trying to either get their appliances — delivered or picked up at a store — or get reimbursed for payments made as long ago as October.
“We ordered and paid for a washer and dryer eight weeks ago,” said Greg Bingham, sales manager with the Tim Smith Real Estate Group in Newport Beach. “We called on the status, but the phone was never answered. We went to the store to see, but they had closed.”
La Habra Heights resident Karin Shoup bought a $16,000, 48-inch Signature Kitchen Suite French-door refrigerator for her remodeled kitchen.
“I’m insane. Why would I do that? I got a hair-brained idea to redo our kitchen and buy a fancy refrigerator after I convinced my husband,” Shoup said. “You can imagine what kind of hell I’m in now.”
On Monday, Shoup said that a salesman with Howard’s attempted to get the appliance rescheduled for delivery after thinking it would be trucked to her home on Saturday. It never showed up. By noon Monday, she received word from that same salesman that the appliance was locked up at the company’s City of Industry warehouse.
“He dashed all my hopes,” said Shoup, who plans to work through her credit card company to dispute the charge. “You got to laugh.”
S5 Equity, an investment firm led by the Steinhafel family, made its first acquisition in 2022, when it partnered with Prelude Wine Holdings to buy Wiens Cellars in Temecula. In March 2025, it bought Minnesota-based Heartland America, a discount catalog and online retailer for consumers seeking to buy electronics, houseware and apparel.
The Steinhafel family has connections with Steinhafels Furniture in Wisconsin, as well as Gregg Steinhafel, who resigned as president and chief executive officer of Minnesota-based Target Corp. in 2014 following a data breach that exposed 40 million credit and debit card accounts.
S5 Equity is led by managing partner and founder David Steinhafel.
