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Deal falls through to keep Levin Furniture stores open

Staff report

A deal struck to keep Levin Furniture stores open has fallen through, and officials on both sides are blaming each other for backing out of the agreement.

Pennlive.com reported this week Levin’s former owner and president, Robert Levin, who was to buy back the company, said in a release the furniture chain’s owner, Art Van Furniture LLC, decided to close all Levin’s stores, terminate employees and not proceed with the terms of the sale agreement.

But a spokeswoman with Warren, Mich.-based Art Van Furniture said it was Levin who backed out, stating in a release Levin’s advisers told the company March 19 he was no longer willing to proceed with the purchase and Art Van “stands willing to complete the transaction,” Pennlive.com reported.

Art Van Furniture bought Levin Furniture in 2017. It announced earlier this month it planned to close all of its more than 300 stores and begin liquidation sales after struggling with heavy debt.

Levin, however, stepped in to reacquire the company’s assets in Ohio and Pennsylvania, which includes stores in Niles, Boardman and Hermitage, Pa., plus Wolf Furniture through a court restructuring with Art Van Furniture.

The local stores were formerly Goldsteins Furniture stores.

A notice posted to Levin’s website states operations at all stores are suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It states Levin officials are working to finalize details surrounding customer questions involving customer service policies and other topics.

business@tribtoday.com

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