Circle Furniture, the New England retailer that has nine stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, is closing all of its locations. The popular furniture store, which has been in business for 70 years, announced on its website that the stores are closed until further notice.
What did Circle Furniture say about closing its stores?
According to The Boston Globe, the company notified its employees about the closures in an email on Dec. 19. The employees also received a separate email a few days later to notify them that they are being laid off.
“With a heavy heart, circumstance [sic] have gone against the business and we can no longer afford to continue operations, therefore all employees are being let go including your position effective Dec. 23,” the email stated, per The Boston Globe.
The company also told employees that their health benefits will remain in effect until the end of the month.
What are employees saying about Circle Furniture’s decision to close?
Employees who spoke with the Globe said they are already looking for new jobs after being laid off from Circle Furniture. Jonathan Boyle, an employee who worked at the company for 40 years, said he continued climbing up the ranks and landed a role as company president two years ago. The closure, however, has left him shocked.
“They were having some financial difficulties they were trying to resolve and work around, but that’s all I know,” Boyle told the Globe. “It’s not a great situation.”
Boyle said the accounting team managed the company’s finances, and he didn’t have any input in the decision to close.
Circle Furniture first opened in Cambridge, Mass, in the 1950s. The Tubman family, however, recently sold the company to Robert and Paula Richard. While the new owners added new stores in new locations, some employees who spoke to the Globe said that the decision caused the business to go further into debt.
Peggy Burns, one of the previous co-owners of the company, said she’s sad to see the business close.
“It’s our legacy, and we’re so ashamed of it,” Burns told the Globe. “This was devastating. I’ve reached out to people I know and we’re trying to help in any way we can … Who wants to tell people you don’t have a job a week before Christmas?”