Conn's HomePlus declared bankruptcy and is closing over 70 locations

Conn's HomePlus, a 134-year-old retailer of electronics and furnishings with most of its sites in the South, has declared bankruptcy and is liquidating almost half of its 170 locations.

The Texas-based business, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, has been having trouble with declining sales as consumer discretionary spending has generally decreased. According to the report, Conn's has liabilities and assets totaling at least $1 billion apiece.

With 18 stores set to close soon, Florida is the most affected state, followed by Texas with nine. Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, and Virginia are among the other states where retail establishments are closing.

Conn "continues to have ongoing discussions with potential buyers to sell all or parts of the business and preserve jobs" during the Chapter 11 process, according to a spokesman for the company.

A few weeks ago, the company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, and its shares had dropped more than 90% for the year.

Last year, Conn's purchased W.S. Badcock, a home goods retailer that operates in the southeast US under the moniker "Badcock Home Furniture & More," bringing the company's total retail base to more than 500 stores across the two brands. However, 35 Badcock stores are also closing.

In 1937, Conn's initiated appliance sales in Texas. In addition to having 553 corporate and dealer retail locations spread over 15 states, 22 distribution and service facilities, and six corporate offices, the company claimed to have employed roughly 3,800 individuals at the time of its bankruptcy filing. Florida was the birthplace of Badcock in 1904. Prior to the Conn's acquisition, the business operated 310 independently owned dealer outlets in addition to 64 corporate locations.