A week after Black Friday sales, the nearly 80-year-old Howard’s Appliance chain is shuttering all of its Southern California stores, offering only two day’s notice to employees and nothing to customers with orders in limbo.
The notice, signed by Isaiah Padilla, the logistics general manager for Howard’s, said the company was closing its business operations, effective Dec. 6, due to “circumstances beyond our control.”
Padilla could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Also see: Howard’s Appliance to file for bankruptcy protection
The company began in 1946 as a radio repair shop in San Gabriel and later evolved into one of Southern California’s leading independent appliance retailers, expanding into televisions and mattresses.
Howard’s was based in La Habra for years before consolidating operations in 2024 to a new headquarters in City of Industry. It was acquired in April by S5 Equity, a private equity firm based in Newport Beach, to help with the cash-starved company’s turnaround.
S5 Equity Managing Director Baudelio Bueno did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.
Social media reports indicated employees were notified on Thursday, Dec. 4 that they had been laid off.
Representatives at stores in Alhambra, Covina, La Habra and Tustin could not be reached, and the Howard’s website also was down. Howard’s operated at least 17 stores before it was acquired.
Customers were left with no answers regarding their appliance orders.
“My parent just ordered a new range from Howard’s and then saw this morning they are all closing? They haven’t received the range yet, and apparently all the stores are closing as of tomorrow. My mom called 4 different stores and no one is picking up,” wrote one Reddit member, with 41 people commenting on the post by late Friday afternoon.
In September, Paul and Donna Brewer of Laguna Niguel paid $6,152.07 for a Speed Queen washer and dryer, including pedestals and accessories, from their local Howard’s.
Delivery was promised by the end of October, but the appliances never came. They threatened to cancel the order if they didn’t arrive by Dec. 12, as promised.
“We have, as of two days ago, made payments of $1,500,” said Paul Brewer, who provided the Southern California News Group with a copy of his sales receipt. “We either want to receive our refund of $1,500 or the appliance, per our agreement.”
Brea couple Lily and Alan Marcum, both in their 70s, bought a Frigidaire refrigerator for $3,500 at the La Habra store but decided that they wanted to trade it back in for a GE model.
Lily Marcum said that she has a bad back and didn’t want to stoop over when pulling out the two bottom freezer drawers.
They paid $411.98 to trade out the Frigidaire model for a GE model, and have been promised delivery of the new one since September. “We charged the full amount,” said Lily Marcum of the purchase.
“It’s a real piece of work,” she said of the Frigidaire. “It’s not very good. We want a refund.”
At the time of the S5 acquisition earlier this year, Peter Boutros, the chief executive officer of Howard’s Appliance, said it was “poised for the future.”
“It’s not just about sustaining our legacy — this acquisition is about building upon it,” he said in a statement in April.
S5 Equity, an investment firm led by the Steinhafel family, made its first acquisition in 2022, when it partnered with Prelude Wine Holdings to buy Wiens Cellars in Temecula. In March 2025, it bought Minnesota-based Heartland America, a discount catalog and online retailer for consumers seeking to buy electronics, houseware and apparel.
The Steinhafel family has connections with Steinhafels Furniture in Wisconsin, as well as Gregg Steinhafel, who resigned as president and chief executive officer of Minnesota-based Target Corp. in 2014 following a data breach that exposed 40 million credit and debit card accounts.
S5 Equity is led by managing partner and founder David Steinhafel.
