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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A customer of an upscale appliance store that abruptly closed last month is now seeking legal intervention from San Diego and Orange County prosecutors.
Marshall Krupp, an Orange County-based attorney, filed a complaint with District Attorney Summer Stephan and District Attorney Todd Spitzer on Monday to request a fraud investigation into the shuttering of all six Pirch stores in Southern California on March 20.
Pirch, Inc. suggested the closure was due to a major operational change or restructuring. Since then, however, customers with pending orders say they have been left hanging, unable to get in touch with customer service to see whether they will be able to get a refund.
In his complaint, Krupp said he among the franchise’s customers who has struggled to get an answer about what would happen to the appliances he purchased prior to its closure.
He lost upwards of $46,373 for kitchen appliances purchased between August 2022 to January 2023. According to the complaint, Krupp had deferred delivery of these items to early 2025 due to a fire at his home that required major reconstruction.
“There are tens of thousands of customers in Southern California who have been left standing (with) claims against Pirch, Inc. of amounting to tens of millions of dollars,” Krupp wrote. “There are also vendors and landlords who have amounts due them in the millions of dollars.”
“I believe a formal investigation will uncover further civil and criminal finding and will assist the County of Orange and County of San Diego constituents that have been victimized by the actions and inactions of Pirch, Inc. and L Catterton,” he continued.
Pirch was founded in 2009 as a retailer specializing in high-end appliances and other home essentials. L Catterton, a global private equity firm, bought it out several years later in 2013. It had six locations across Southern California, including two in San Diego County.
The store announced the closure of its showrooms on its website, describing it as a “pause of business to give management the opportunity to complete a go-forward plan.” L Catterton has since moved Pirch from a section on its website about current investments to “historical investments.”
FOX 5/KUSI reached out to Pirch, Inc. for a comment and received the following statement in a form email: “We have not yet announced a reopening date for showrooms, warehouses, or offices. Once information is available you will be contacted.”
FOX 5/KUSI also reached out L Catterton and is awaiting response.
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