Deep Dive:

  • Home goods retailer At Home filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, with CFO Jeremy Aguilar stating in first-day filings that volatility in the current tariff environment accelerated the urgency for the company to seek a "comprehensive solution."
  • Before deciding to file for bankruptcy, the Dallas, Texas-based home furnishings supplier had already faced multiple challenges, including liquidity strain from the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, persistent headwinds across the retail industry, upcoming debt maturities, and a "going concern" warning in its audit opinion. Aguilar said in Monday's filing that the company's "liquidity constraints were exacerbated and accelerated by the introduction of new tariff policies in 2025."
  • Aguilar noted that uncertainty from the Trump administration's erratic tariff policies "further increased the financial pressures facing the company." He wrote that the company "is highly dependent on foreign suppliers and has been and continues to be significantly impacted by these tariff policies."

Deep Insight:

In fiscal 2025, approximately 90% of the company's products came from overseas sourcing, with 55% of purchases sourced directly from overseas product partners in countries such as China, Vietnam, and India. Aguilar said that although the company has accumulated experience navigating tariff changes over the past few years, "the dynamic shifts in current tariff policies have introduced new uncertainty and volatility during the early stages of the new senior management team's implementation of its refined business strategy."

Aguilar became CFO in December 2024, after new CEO Brad Weston—a Petco and Party City alum who took the top management role in June of that year—began recruiting new senior executives and "realigning At Home's strategic and operational focus," Aguilar said in Monday's filing.

Before joining At Home, Aguilar most recently served as finance chief at residential solar company Trinity Solar and previously held the role of EVP and CFO at Bob's Discount Furniture, according to his LinkedIn profile. His background also includes two years as finance chief at Sports Authority, ending in July 2016, after that company filed for bankruptcy in March of that year, as CFO Dive's sister publication Retail Dive reported at the time.

"With new management in place, the company recognized its urgent need to improve liquidity" and to renegotiate a prepetition asset-based loan credit agreement before its maturity date of July 23, 2026, Aguilar said of the appointments.

However, "while the company worked to address its liquidity issues and during the early stages of the management team's transformation strategy, tariffs began to adversely impact the retail industry," Aguilar wrote.

The bankruptcy news comes during a brief lull in the tariff standoff between the Trump administration and several of its trading partners, a pause that boosted consumer confidence earlier this month for the first time in six months, CFO Dive previously reported. However, that pause followed a series of rapid tariff policy changes after the administration's "Liberation Day" strategy on April 2, which led to tariffs of 145% on Chinese imports by May.

The dizzying swings in tariffs—which the Trump administration has since rolled back from 145% on Chinese goods—appear to have been a key factor in At Home's decision to file for bankruptcy, after the company had struggled with liquidity constraints and looming debt maturities since the COVID-19 pandemic's impact. Despite raising $200 million in new capital in May 2023, "unprecedented global impacts continue to hinder the execution of the company's existing business plan," Aguilar wrote Monday.

The company is one of several to have initiated bankruptcy proceedings amid persistent industry headwinds in recent years. Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as crafts retailer Joann and The Container Store, have all filed for bankruptcy protection in recent years. The Container Store exited bankruptcy in January, cutting nearly $88 million in debt during its restructuring, CFO Dive's sister publication Retail Dive previously reported.

Through its Chapter 11 filing, At Home will also seek to reduce debt; the home goods company has reached a restructuring support agreement with lenders holding 95% of its debt, according to a Monday press release. The RSA seeks to eliminate "virtually all" of the company's nearly $2 billion in total debt and includes a $200 million capital injection aimed at supporting At Home through its restructuring, according to the release.

At Home declined to comment beyond its filings and the press release.