Debbie Katz planned her trip up to Virginia from Florida to coincide with French Country Living’s Bastille Day Sale. When she arrived at the Great Falls store early in the morning on July 23, she and another shopper stood around the entrance to the store perplexed and confused. That was a common occurrence last week as people arrived for the sale, only to find the doors closed and signs tacked to the cornflower blue shutter doors that read “Closed until Further Notice.”
Blair White with Landmark Realty manages the building where French Country Living is located. He’s been fielding inquiries from frustrated customers since the popular home furnishings store shuttered its doors. On July 27 he finally learned the fate of French Country Living. “They filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A bankruptcy trustee has been named. There is no indication about what will happen to the inventory in the store but as you know, in Chapter 7 everyone is pretty much SOL until the courts decide,” said White.
Rumors and speculation have been whirling about what happened to the popular store. French Country Living's Internet and catalog sales have also been suspended.
“I was at the sale a few days before. I bought a table. The sales clerks gave no indication they knew what was going to happen. I went by a few days later, and a locksmith was there changing all of the locks,” said Michael Kearney.
Substantial inventory is clearly visible through the store's windows. French Country Living specializes in Provencal French furnishings and interiors.
French Country Living’s Bastille Day Sale was scheduled to run from July 9-25. “I just got a sale notice in the mail. It was in the papers. What is this?” said Laurel Jenkins in the vacant parking lot of the store. “I saw tons of cars here the other day. You could barely move on this street, and they just close without notice. Great,” said Jenkins before driving away.
“People have been stopping in here every day asking if we know what happened. We’ve got no idea,” said Barbara Zimnoch, owner of the Golden Pineapple at the Great Falls Village Center.
“Someone told me they thought Restoration Hardware had bought it, but this doesn’t seem like the kind of thing they would do. Everybody has an idea about what might have happened, but no one knows for sure,” said Zimnoch.
The previous owner of French Country Living, Sally McConnell, did not return calls for comment. McConnell was recently named the director of marketing for Williamsburg Products. According to that company’s Web site, McConnell “served for 16 years as director and vice president of French Country Living, a home furnishings store in Great Falls, Va., which she and her husband, Bringier, founded and grew into a $25 million retail and catalog brand.”
Calls to French Country Living were not answered. Literally, the phone just rings. It’s the same for their customer service line and for the toll-free order number on the catalog.
“What about people who ordered something and haven’t gotten it yet? Where are people supposed to find answers now?” said Katz.
“At this point, we don’t expect French Country Living to be reopening, based on the situation we’ve seen over here,” said White.
“It’s really anybody’s guess what’s going to happen until a formal announcement is made. They’ve told us they are closing and that they are appointing someone to deal with it,” said White.
Contrary to rumors, said White, French Country Living was not bought up by a chain store. “They are their own company. They have a board,” said White. “It’s a difficult situation because the previous management of French Country Living is no longer managing the situation,” said White.
The locks to French Country Living, White confirms, have been changed. The management company and the landlord of the building are awaiting news about will happen next. According to White, French Country living’s lease has another seven years on it.
“They will post a notice on the door once a decision has been made about what they are going to do. That should help people. I wish I had more answers. I’ve got people walking in here every day wanting to know what’s going on,” said White.