Walk into the Golden East Crossing Mall these days and you'll notice a massive, echoing gap where a retail giant used to sit. It’s weird. For years, Conn's Rocky Mount NC was the place you went when your old top-load washer finally kicked the bucket or when you absolutely needed a 75-inch TV for the big game but didn't have the cash sitting in your checking account. They were famous for that "yes" when everyone else said "no." But now? The lights are off. The signage is gone.
Honestly, the story of what happened to this specific location isn't just about one store in North Carolina. It’s a messy, billion-dollar collapse that left thousands of customers in the lurch. If you’ve driven by the 1100 block of North Wesleyan Boulevard recently, you’ve seen the empty shell. It’s a ghost town.
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The Sudden Death of Conn’s HomePlus in Rocky Mount
People were shocked. One day the store was running "Blowout Sales," and the next, the news broke that Conn’s Inc. had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas. This wasn't just a restructuring move. It was the beginning of a total liquidation. By late 2024, the Rocky Mount location—along with hundreds of others across the South—began the grim process of selling off everything down to the floor tiles.
Why did it happen? Basically, the company bit off more than it could chew. In late 2023, Conn’s bought W.S. Badcock (another furniture giant). It seemed like a power move at the time, but it turned into a financial anchor. They were already struggling with falling sales because, let’s be real, nobody was buying $3,000 sectional sofas when egg prices were hitting record highs. Inflation killed the "discretionary" spend.
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The Credit Trap That Snapped
The core of the Conn’s business model was financing. They targeted "credit-challenged" folks. If your FICO score was in the gutter, Conn’s would still give you a line of credit. But as interest rates climbed, the cost of servicing that debt exploded. For the fiscal year ending in early 2024, their interest expenses skyrocketed to nearly $83 million.
Customers in Rocky Mount started feeling the heat, too. If you look at Better Business Bureau filings from that era, the stories are heartbreaking. People were paying on furniture that arrived broken, and then the store closed before the technician could show up. One customer mentioned they were paying daily interest that made it impossible to actually lower their balance. It was a vicious cycle that finally caught up with the corporate office.
What This Means for Local Shoppers Now
So, what do you do if you have a warranty? Short answer: It’s probably gone. When a company liquidates like this, the third-party warranty providers often stop honoring claims, or the "in-house" protection plans evaporate.
If you’re still paying off a balance to Conn’s Rocky Mount NC, don’t assume the debt vanished with the storefront. Those loan portfolios are usually sold off to debt collectors or third-party financial institutions. You still owe that money. If you stop paying, your credit score—which probably isn't great if you were shopping at Conn’s to begin with—will take a massive hit.
Where is everyone shopping instead?
With the big blue sign gone from the mall area, the local landscape has shifted.
- Rent-A-Center: Located on Fairview Road, they’ve picked up a lot of the "no-credit" traffic.
- Aaron's: Still a go-to for rent-to-own appliances in the area.
- Local Thrift and Liquidators: Many Rocky Mount residents are heading to smaller independent furniture shops near downtown to avoid the high-interest traps of the big chains.
The Bigger Picture for Rocky Mount Retail
The loss of Conn’s is a symptom of a larger problem. The Golden East Crossing area has seen its fair share of turnover. When a 134-year-old company like Conn's goes belly up, it leaves a "retail desert" for specific types of goods. You can still get a fridge at Lowe's or Home Depot, sure. But those places don't always offer the same aggressive financing that kept the Conn’s doors open for so long.
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It’s a tough pill to swallow for the local economy. Jobs were lost, and a convenient hub for home upgrades disappeared. Most people didn't see the end coming until the "Going Out of Business" banners were already being zip-tied to the railings.
Actionable Steps if You Were a Customer
If you are currently dealing with the fallout of the Conn's Rocky Mount NC closure, you need to be proactive.
- Check your statements. Find out exactly who owns your debt right now. It might not be Conn’s anymore.
- Download your records. If you have an online account, get your payment history and original contract NOW. Once the servers go dark, those documents are gone.
- Third-party warranties. Look at your paperwork to see if your warranty was through a company like Assurant or SquareTrade. If it was, you might still be covered even though the store is closed. If it was a "Conn's Protection Plan," you're likely out of luck.
- Shop Local. For your next purchase, look into local Rocky Mount furniture dealers who offer "layaway" rather than high-interest credit. It's slower, but it won't ruin your financial life if the store closes.
The era of the "big box" easy-credit furniture store is changing fast. Rocky Mount is just one of many cities learning that when a retail giant falls, it's the customers on the ground who usually get bruised the most.