Art Van Stores Going Out of Business

Warren-based Art Van Furniture announced Thursday that it’s going out of business. The company will begin liquidation sales on March 6. Archie “Art” Van Elslander founded the company in 1959, with one store in metro Detroit. It grew to a total of 176 stores in nine states, under the names Art Van Furniture, Art Van PureSleep and Scott Shuptrine Interiors.

The  company was sold to a private equity firm in 2017. Elslander died in 2018 at the age of 87.

Art Van spokeswoman Diane Charles said the “company’s brands and operating performance have been hit hard by a challenging retail environment.”