MyBobs.com<\/a> says Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture is a high-growth, national omnichannel retailer of value home furnishings with more than 200 showrooms. The stores are primarily in the Northeast, Midwest and West.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Visalia_CA_t850.jpg\" "\\"A")
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A Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture store in Visalia, California. Bob\u2019s is shown on a site plan for the Argyle Village shopping center at 6001 Argyle Forest Blvd. in Jacksonville and could be the chain’s first store in Florida.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture<\/p>\n
The closest stores to Florida are more than 340 miles north in North Carolina. Those three opened in 2025 and were the company\u2019s expansion into the Southeast.<\/p>\n
The site says Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture was founded in 1991.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach local furniture store features our famous caf\u00e9 with complimentary coffee, cookies, and ice cream \u2013 because shopping for home furniture should be fun!\u201d<\/p>\n
The company says it has become the 7th-largest U.S. furniture chain according to the Furniture Today industry site.<\/p>\n
Going public<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture Inc. is pursuing an initial public offering of its stock to reduce debt after a $423 million dividend to owner Bain Capital, according to the Seeking Alpha investor website in a Jan. 13 posting.<\/p>\n
Finance.Yahoo.com says BOBS is newly listed on the New York Stock Exchange effective Feb. 4, 2026. Stock.Analysis.com says the estimated IPO is Feb. 5.<\/p>\n
Seeking Alpha said BOBS, as the stock is traded, \u201cdemonstrates profitable revenue grown, strong free cash flow, and moderate capex, supporting an aggressive expansion plan to add 500 stores by 2035.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capex is capital expenditures that companies use to buy and maintain properties, technology and equipment.<\/p>\n
Seeking Alpha said the company was well-positioned in the growing $252 billion-plus U.S. home furnishings market, but faces supply chain and tariff risks.<\/p>\n
The Reuters news service reported Jan. 26 that Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, was targeting a valuation of up to $2.48 billion in \u200cits U.S. IPO, \u201csetting the stage to test investor appetite for consumer-focused companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
It said Bob\u2019s is seeking up to $369.6 million by offering 19.45 million shares priced between $17 and $19 apiece.<\/p>\n
Bain is expected to retain control post-IPO, reports show.<\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bob_t850.jpg\" "\\"Bob")
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Bob Kaufman, the founder of Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture, and the puppet called \u201cLittle Bob\u201d that appears in ads for the chain.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture<\/p>\n
There was a Bob<\/p>\n
Bob Kaufman founded Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture and initially appeared in the commercials.<\/p>\n
Online research finds that Kaufman was replaced by a puppet version called \u201cLittle Bob.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaufman retired in 2014 when Bain Capital bought the company.<\/p>\n
Kimco Realty and Bob\u2019s<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture is shown on Kimco Realty\u2019s third-quarter 2025 investor presentation Oct. 30, 2025, in a list of 20 retail anchors of more than 10,000 square feet under the label \u201cStrong Shopping Center Fundamentals – Retailer Expansion Drives Growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
That indicates that Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture might pursue expansion sites in Kimco\u2019s properties.<\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/modbob_charcoal_lifestyle_t850.jpg\" "\\"Bob")
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Bob Kaufman, the founder of Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture, sold the company to private-equity Bain Capital, and now a puppet version called \u201cLittle Bob\u201d appears in ads for the furniture store.<\/p>\n
Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture<\/p>\n
In Jacksonville, Kimco Realty also owns Atlantic West, Kernan Village, Parkway Shops, River City Marketplace, Riverplace Shopping Center and The Markets at Town Center.<\/p>\n
Site brochures for those shopping centers do not show Bob\u2019s Discount Furniture as a tenant.<\/p>\n
Kimco Realty says it is a real estate investment trust \u201cand leading owner and operator of high-quality, open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use properties in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Sept. 30, 2025, it owned interests in 564 U.S. shopping centers and mixed-use developments comprising 100 million square feet of gross leasable space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It says its portfolio is \u201cstrategically concentrated in the first-ring suburbs of the top major metropolitan markets, including high-barrier-to-entry coastal markets and Sun Belt cities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Bobs_discount_furnture_2_t850.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
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