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MassInsider t1_isfys08 wrote

This has a bunch about why the CEO says he's done, their finances post-covid, etc. He's 83, and his kids all pursued other things is part of it. He was positioning to sell it, but seems like he didn't find a buyer.

https://thisweekinworcester.com/rotmans-going-out-business-sale-friday/

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No-Potential-1777 t1_isjfuwp wrote

Articles like this are good for context. It's funny to see people on Reddit (and in real life) laughing at this guy for going out of business because they didn't like a salesperson or a couch was expensive thinking he can't pay his bills and they've mismanaged themselves into oblivion. Meanwhile in the article he just nonchalantly throws out "yeah we're doing $30 million a year and I don't feel like doing this really because I've got other stuff going on that's less stressful." And for people that didn't notice the renovation, it's because it was to their warehouse to increase in stock furniture supply

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operator_1337 OP t1_ispslol wrote

Their ads said it was their showroom, they were on ever street corner in eastern MA. Just Google Rotmans remodel 2021, all the articles say showroom. Not to mention their building is falling apart, not sure why that was neglected in the "remodel". And they're a publicly traded company now, have been since 2019. No way those board members are just going to let a "30mil a year" company just dissolve because a retiree got tired of running the business. They'll either turn into a e-commerce company or rebrand. Or in true Rotmans fashion, suddenly not be closing anymore.

Just to note I've never been inside or bought anything from them. However I have lived almost directly next to it for the better part of 6 years and have seen the shooty sales tactics they use first hand.

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No-Potential-1777 t1_ispvw8j wrote

"Vystar, a publicly traded company, acquired a majority interest in the company in 2019. Steven Rotman is CEO of Vystar. He previously said that Rotmans ended 2021 at around $30 million in sales, two to three million less than prior to the pandemic. ". From the article that was posted. He's not a retiree, he's the majority shareholder of vystar, which owns rotmans. You are exactly what my first comment was referring to, somebody that looks at the parking lot once a week and thinks they know what's going on over there. Vystar s financials are public and you can see the 30 million on their annual financial statement. It's a holding company he created to sell air purifiers, latex mattresses, condoms and to operate rotmans. This article also pretty clearly says they turned showroom into warehouse with the renovation to have more things in stock at the time of purchase to ship faster

For the record, I think rotmans sucks, but they've been stacking cash for the better part of 100 years. If they are closing, it's probably because they feel like it.

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operator_1337 OP t1_isqwdwc wrote

Retiree was a joke because he should be retired not running a company.

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