X

Embattled Furniture.com endures latest splinter

A computer glitch causes the online furniture retailer--recently rocked by financial setbacks and internal strife--to shut down its Web site for several hours.

Greg Sandoval Former Staff writer
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
See full bio
Greg Sandoval
A computer glitch caused Furniture.com, a company recently rocked by financial setbacks and internal strife, to shut down its Web site for several hours today, the company confirmed.

special report: Apart at the seams The home furnishings site went down around 12:30 p.m. PT but returned by 3:20 p.m. Company spokesman Don Goncalves said via email that Furniture.com was "working to resolve the issue."

The company posted a message on the site that said, "We are currently performing maintenance on our Web site to assure your continued access to the best selection of furniture on the Web."

The site outage is only the latest problem to burden Furniture.com. The Framingham, Mass.-based company barely avoided shuttering operations in June after almost running out of money.

Since laying off 41 percent of its staff in June, Furniture.com has seen an exodus of high-level executives and of a group of top engineers.

The company has been see related story: Furniture.com exodus trying to mount a comeback since receiving $27 million from investors including venture capital firm CMGI, which, along with other investors, saved Furniture.com from going bankrupt. Furniture.com has worked to fulfill a mountain of overdue orders and has streamlined its distribution network.

This summer has proven to be a difficult time for some home furnishing Web sites. Today, Living.com announced that it has ceased operations and is laying off 275 workers.