Bob’s Discount Furniture Inc., which is marketing its stores in the “Oh My Bob!” TV advertising and mailed flyers, is apparently entering the Jacksonville market.
It could be a result of the company’s launch of an initial public offering this week that is expected to support a nationwide expansion.
Bob’s Discount Furniture sells home and home office furniture, mattresses, rugs home décor and design assistance.
The Manchester, Connecticut-based company has stores in 26 states, but not Florida.
Where in Jacksonville
Bob’s Discount Furniture is shown on a site plan for Argyle Village shopping center at 6001 Argyle Forest Blvd. at southwest Interstate 295 and Blanding Boulevard.
The store is shown in a 48,945-square-foot space, Suite 6, next to T.J. Maxx. The space previously was a Joann Fabric and Crafts.
Jericho, New York-based Kimco Realty is the landlord.
While Bob’s is shown as a tenant, the landlord and Bob’s decline to comment about the retailer’s plans for Jacksonville.
“At this time, we are unable to provide a comment on leasing activity. Please feel free to reach back out to us again in the future and we will provide an update as available and applicable,” said Spencer Phelps, Kimco Realty director of leasing for Florida, in an email Jan. 27.
A Jan. 27 statement from Bob’s said much the same:
“At this time, we are unable to provide a response to your inquiry but please feel free to reach back out to us again in the future and we will provide an update as available and applicable.”
Free cookies and ice cream
MyBobs.com says Bob’s 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.
The closest stores to Florida are more than 340 miles north in North Carolina. Those three opened in 2025 and were the company’s expansion into the Southeast.
The site says Bob’s Discount Furniture was founded in 1991.
“Each local furniture store features our famous café with complimentary coffee, cookies, and ice cream – because shopping for home furniture should be fun!”
The company says it has become the 7th-largest U.S. furniture chain according to the Furniture Today industry site.
Going public
Bob’s 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.
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.
Seeking Alpha said BOBS, as the stock is traded, “demonstrates profitable revenue grown, strong free cash flow, and moderate capex, supporting an aggressive expansion plan to add 500 stores by 2035.”
Capex is capital expenditures that companies use to buy and maintain properties, technology and equipment.
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.
The Reuters news service reported Jan. 26 that Bob’s Discount Furniture, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, was targeting a valuation of up to $2.48 billion in its U.S. IPO, “setting the stage to test investor appetite for consumer-focused companies.”
It said Bob’s is seeking up to $369.6 million by offering 19.45 million shares priced between $17 and $19 apiece.
Bain is expected to retain control post-IPO, reports show.
There was a Bob
Bob Kaufman founded Bob’s Discount Furniture and initially appeared in the commercials.
Online research finds that Kaufman was replaced by a puppet version called “Little Bob.”
Kaufman retired in 2014 when Bain Capital bought the company.
Kimco Realty and Bob’s
Bob’s Discount Furniture is shown on Kimco Realty’s 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 “Strong Shopping Center Fundamentals - Retailer Expansion Drives Growth.”
That indicates that Bob’s Discount Furniture might pursue expansion sites in Kimco’s properties.
In Jacksonville, Kimco Realty also owns Atlantic West, Kernan Village, Parkway Shops, River City Marketplace, Riverplace Shopping Center and The Markets at Town Center.
Site brochures for those shopping centers do not show Bob’s Discount Furniture as a tenant.
Kimco Realty says it is a real estate investment trust “and leading owner and operator of high-quality, open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use properties in the United States.”
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.
It says its portfolio is “strategically concentrated in the first-ring suburbs of the top major metropolitan markets, including high-barrier-to-entry coastal markets and Sun Belt cities.”