About American Freight Appliances & Furniture
Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.
American Freight began in Lima, Ohio, in 1994, when Steve Belford opened a discount furniture and mattress store built around a straightforward American ritual: finding a deal, loading it up, and getting it home today. The chain grew from that single-store start into a multistate warehouse-style retailer of furniture, mattresses and, eventually, home appliances.
By the 2010s, American Freight was based in Delaware, Ohio and specialized in value-priced merchandise sourced through closeouts, dealer cancellations, liquidations and similar retail treasure hunts. In 2014, an affiliate of private-equity firm The Jordan Company acquired the business, while Belford continued in leadership.
Franchise Group acquired American Freight on February 14, 2020. That year, its Sears Outlet stores were renamed and combined with American Freight, creating the broader American Freight furniture, mattress and appliance format. The result was a one-stop stop for sofas, beds, refrigerators and the occasional dinged-up bargain with plenty of character.
In November 2024, parent company Franchise Group entered Chapter 11 proceedings and announced that American Freight would wind down, beginning store-closing sales on November 5. The legacy chain’s stores closed by the end of 2024; a separate owner later acquired the brand and reopened operations as a new business.
Our American Freight Appliances & Furniture collection celebrates the Ohio discount-chain ghost that made warehouse retail feel like a weekend expedition: part furniture run, part appliance rescue mission, all carried home with a deal.