The business started about 50 years ago with a 2,000-square-foot store in Philadelphia, which initially offered four sofas, three bedroom sets along with a few recliners and dinettes. It eventually grew to seven stores across eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including a location in Whitehall Township that opened in late summer 2012.
But now, all Mealey’s Furniture stores are closing, the retailer announced on its Facebook page and website, advertising price cuts on all furniture and mattresses. The sales have started at the retailer’s location in Whitehall Square shopping center off MacArthur Road, though the store does not yet have a closing date, a store representative said Tuesday.
It also remains unclear what exactly Mealey’s parent company, Regency Furniture of Maryland, has planned for the seven locations. Regency, which has seven stores in Maryland and one in Virginia, acquired Mealey’s in 2016 from a private equity firm.
In an interview with trade publication Furniture Today, Regency President Mark Stuart said the company was “restructuring and streamlining the business to make it a more efficient operation.” As it grows the Regency brand, Stuart said the company hasn’t yet determined how many Mealey’s stores will reopen under the Regency banner, Furniture Today reported. The Mealey’s liquidation is expected to run through mid-December, the publication reported.
Regency could not be reached for further comment.
Brixmor Property Group, a New York real estate investment trust that owns Whitehall Square shopping center, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
According to the shopping center’s site plan, the 54,491-square-foot Mealey’s store is the largest tenant at Whitehall Square, followed closely by the nearly 52,000-square-foot Redner’s Warehouse Market.
The center also is home to a Gabe’s fashion retail store, which opened in September 2017 in a 49,360-square-foot space that formerly housed Sports Authority.
The 315,192-square-foot shopping center lists four vacancies in its brochure, totaling about 21,000 square feet.
Morning Call reporter Jon Harris can be reached at 610-820-6779 or at jon.harris@mcall.com.
