Jennifer reorganizes with Chinese owners

Woodbury-based sofa-bed maker Jennifer Convertibles Inc. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and will continue to operate the furniture chain, though on a smaller scale and with new leadership.

Ninety percent of the company's stock is now owned by the Chinese upholstery maker that was its top creditor, Jiaxing City-based Haining Mengnu Group Co. Ltd. The stock value of all pre-bankruptcy shareholders is wiped out.

The chain now consists of 64 Jennifer Convertibles and eight Jennifer Leather stores, and six Ashley Furniture HomeStore locations, the company said this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

That's down from the chain's peak of nearly 200 stores before the U.S. economy - and the housing market - soured in recent years. It filed for bankruptcy last July.

The company's new chief executive is Gebing Zou, and its president is Rami Abada. Its directors are Herb Hester Jr., James Jiang and Yaoxiang Yue.

"This is an important day for Jennifer Convertibles," Abada said after the company filed its SEC documents. "We are emerging as what we believe to be a stronger organization that will better satisfy its customers, suppliers and employees."

Abada said that during the bankruptcy process the company "worked diligently to maximize recovery for our creditors, while maintaining our focus on our core business of delivering quality home furnishings to our customers."

Under its previous management it was headed by Harley J. Greenfield and shut 69 stores last year.