Diversified manufacturer and industry supplier Leggett & Platt Inc. announced March 25 it is closing its Fashion Bed Group operations. L&P said FBG would continue to service customers for several weeks until inventories were depleted.
The closure affects L&P facilities at three sites — Atlanta; Bedford Park, Illinois; and Whittier, California. FBG was a wholesaler of upholstered and ornamental beds, residential bed frames, and bedding textiles.
The closure affects the employment of 117 administrative, management, sales and warehouse employees.
In L&P’s year-end and fourth-quarter 2018 results news release, issued Feb. 4, Karl Glassman, president and chief executive officer, said: “As we have previously discussed, the Fashion Bed and Home Furniture businesses have underperformed expectations in recent quarters, primarily from weaker demand and higher raw material costs. An in-depth analysis of these businesses was conducted, and we have initiated restructuring activity. We are exiting low-margin business, reducing operating costs and eliminating excess capacity.”
L&P’s Consumer Products group continues to produce, sell and distribute adjustable bases to the bedding industry from multiple factories and warehouses. Its operations are not affected by the closure.
Carthage, Missouri-based L&P has 15 business units, 23,000 employee-partners and 145 manufacturing facilities in 18 countries.
