Elk Home to Close Doors & Liquidate Inventory

In what has been the worst-kept secret circulating in the halls at Lightovation, Elk Home has finally sent a notice to customers that it has “transitioned to a full liquidation sales process.”

Founded in 1983 by Adolph Ebenstein as a lighting fixture company specializing in European designs, Elk (the E stood for Ebenstein) was originally a family-owned operation — many in the industry will remember Adolph’s daughter, Diane, joining her father on the executive team and taking the helm when he retired.

Elk was one of the first companies in the decorative residential lighting industry to sell to private equity, and Mark Fludgate (who came on board in 1993 when Adolph and Diane were leading the company) remained president until the end.

For decades afterward, private equity grew the company under the guidance of Fludgate and Bradford Smith, who joined as CEO in 2004, and former senior vice president Lee Nemeth, who joined the company in 2004 until his retirement in 2021. (Nemeth recently helped establish a new company, Arabela Lighting, which debuted at last week’s Lightovation.)  

Elk branched out from its core lighting fixture mix to include case goods, wall art, and occasional furniture as it acquired smaller, albeit struggling, companies over the years. It eventually became a one-stop-shop for retailers to purchase nearly every category available in home décor.

Rumors began to swirl during the April High Point Market, when the company’s long-time showroom was locked. Then came news that Elk would not be opening its Dallas showroom for reasons as varied as not having enough new products to a calculated economic decision to curb spending at what it perceived to be a softer market for attendance.  

Slowly, information filtered down the retail channel that backorders and pending shipments were being cancelled.

Lighting News Now reached out to executives at Elk as recently as this week and received no response.

The following is excerpted from a letter sent today to customers from Todd Webb, CEO:  

“We would like to announce a strategic partnership with GA Group to facilitate the comprehensive liquidation of Elk Home’s entire inventory. This initiative presents a unique opportunity for our valued customers to acquire our products at significantly reduced, below-market prices before beginning planned inventory auctions.

“Effective immediately, we have transitioned to a full liquidation sales process.  Our sales representatives have been provided with specific discount structures and pricing details, which they will apply at their discretion to ensure a seamless and efficient purchasing experience.

“For a limited time, this exclusive opportunity allows current customers priority access to our inventory before it is offered to alternative markets and prior to a total inventory auction coordinated by GA Group.

“Inventory is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“No restocks, returns, or credits will be available. All products are located at our Rabun Gap, Georgia Distribution Center, and sold ‘as is, where is.’

“All orders require prepayment prior to shipping. Please note that freight costs must be factored into the reduced purchase price, as complimentary free freight programs are no longer available.

“To secure your discounts and for further details, please contact your dedicated Elk Home sales representative promptly.   If you have any further questions or need assistance, please reach out to the GA representative Patrick Shacklett at pshacklett@GAconsult.net.

“Thank you for your continued partnership. We encourage you to act quickly to take advantage of this limited opportunity.”

At Lightovation last week, the conversation centered on “What went wrong?” During the first Trump administration, Elk began transitioning its production away from China and toward other countries such as Vietnam and India — so the recent tariffs do not seem to be the sole catalyst to Elk’s demise. Was it too much expansion, too fast? Others point to the more scattershot manner of seemingly random acquisitions that continued even as markets grew soft.  

Elk’s liquidation is an end of an era in lighting, and can be viewed as a cautionary tale in hindsight. Lighting industry members will remember a similar occurrence happening in August 2023 with Kenroy abruptly closing its business with nary a warning to customers or employees. Let’s hope this is an anomaly and not a harbinger of what’s ahead for lighting.

Home News Now Editor-in-Chief Tom Russell contributed to this report.

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