A family-owned Southeast Michigan home furniture retailer is stepping into West Michigan for the first time in its 113-year history and filling a gap in the market left by Value City Furniture’s bankruptcy.
Warren-based Gardner White Furniture Co. plans to invest more than $5 million to open stores in Kentwood, Portage and Lansing later this year. The growth into West Michigan and into the Traverse City market comes as part of a broader expansion for Gardner White, which today announced plans to open nine new retail locations this year.
All of the Gardner White stores will take the place of closing Value City Furniture locations, which filed for bankruptcy in November. Value City initially planned to close eight of its 16 Michigan stores but shuttered all remaining locations in January…