The Container Store is seeking bankruptcy protection

Container store has filed for bankruptcy as a warehouse and organizational goods retailer with roots dating back to the 1970s, struggling with mounting losses and a lack of cash flow.

The Texas company has faced increasing competition from retailers such as Goal and Walmart at the same time that demand for its goods is under pressure in a tough housing market, where soaring prices and high mortgage rates have hampered sales.

Under Chapter 11 protection, The Container Store will continue to operate while it restructures.

The company said Sunday it had filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas. The filing came two weeks after trading in the company’s stock was suspended by the New York Stock Exchange. Container Store Group Inc. failed to maintain an average market capitalization of at least $15 million in accordance with NYSE rules.

Last month, The Container Store said it was in advanced discussions with lenders to provide additional capital as it aimed to reverse declining earnings and sales, according to a regulatory filing.

The company has struggled to raise cash, and last month a deal with Bed Bath & Beyond owner Overstock and Zulily that would have brought a $40 million cash infusion fell apart. The Container Store said in a statutory archiving that it did not believe it could match the funding requirements of the partnership with Beyond Inc.

The Container Store was founded in 1978 by Garrett Boone, Kip Tindell and investor John Mullen, who opened the doors to The Container Store’s first location in Dallas, according to the company. Neither man, Boone with a master’s degree in history and Tindell, an English major, expected a career in retail. Yet both were driven by the idea of ​​creating a store dedicated solely to storage.

The chain had its skeptics when Boon and Tindell opened their first 1,600-square-foot location. Still, the chain expanded to more than 100 stores ranging from 12,000 to 20,000 square feet, according to the company.

In 1999, The Container Store bought one of its suppliers, Elfa International. In 2021, it acquired Chicago’s Closet Works and launched its premium wood-based line Preston shortly thereafter.

In its most recent quarter, the company reported losses of $16 million and comparable store sales, a good barometer of a retailer’s health, fell 12.5%.