Luxury furniture brand founded by British aristocrat closing stores across US and filing for bankruptcy

Luxury furniture brand Oka, which was founded by a British aristocrat, is closing its stores in the US and filing for bankruptcy.

The high-end furniture retailer said it is closing its branches in Dallas, Houston and Westport in Connecticut with immediate effect.

Workers at the Westport store were reportedly told last week that they no longer had jobs and were not given any prior warning, according to the Westport Journal.

The company was founded by Viscountess Annabel Astor, a member of the British nobility and mother of Samantha Cameron, who is married to former prime minister David Cameron.

Astor founded the brand in 1999 along with her sister-in-law designer Sue Jones and Lucinda Waterhouse, a skilled horticulturist, but sold the company to Italian firm Invest Industrial in 2018 for around $51m.

The 75-year-old remained on the board until May this year, when she resigned after reportedly clashing with the company’s new owners over their rapid expansion in the US.

Lord William Astor and Lady Annabel Astor. She sold the company in 2018 and left the board earlier this year (Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)

After trading successfully in the UK for 20 years, the company began expanding into the US in 2019, opening three stores.

But the US arm of the company has now been forced to close after it began racking up costs when it bought US furniture/interiors brand Wisteria in 2019.

In 2021, the company took out an $11.5m loan to help stem spiraling losses.

Meanwhile, owners reportedly turned down Astor’s proposal to lead a management buyout with family money. The price of the offer was not disclosed.

Following her resignation from the board, Astor said she was “sad” to leave the company but had an idea for a new business.

Amid Oka’s financial woes, the company will now wind up operations in the US, and file for bankruptcy while it undergoes a restructuring in the UK, a spokesperson for the luxury brand said.

“After extensive evaluation, it was determined that filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy was the most viable option due to the ongoing challenges to establish the business in the U.S. region. This decision was made at this stage to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations and to manage financial obligations responsibly. [Oka’s focus is] on continuing to invest in growing its core market in the U.K.,” the company said in an email.

The luxury brand is also expected to file for a Company Voluntary Agreement, a variant of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which could see Oka close one of its 13 UK stores and lay off up to 38 staff.

“Under the CVA, the Company is proposing a restructure of its key operational costs, including its distribution centre, and one of its head offices, affecting 33 employees. One store closure is currently planned within the proposals for the CVA, affecting 5 employees,” a spokesperson for the company said.

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