The Toledo Blade reported on June 10 that factory-direct Banner Mattress & Furniture Co. in Toledo, Ohio, is going out of business. A liquidation sale at its three retail locations in greater Toledo begins tomorrow, June 20. A group of four Banner employees, including General Manager Bard Strand, have announced they will purchase the company’s manufacturing capabilities and maintain one Banner retail location in Perrysburg, Ohio.
Family-owned Banner got its start in 1929 as a mattress manufacturer. In the 1970s, the company changed hands and new owners the Karp family spearheaded a move into furniture retailing.
The new company, Banner Factory Direct LLC, plans to commence operations in the fall. A name for the retail store has not yet been chosen. The store will carry Banner mattresses, as well as furniture.
Banner is a “valid, viable” business that ought to continue, said Strand, a nine-year company veteran. He added that the Banner plant manufactured and shipped 8,000 beds in 2013.
