Stanley Furniture Reorganizes Sales, Marketing, Product Management

June 6, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on June 7, 2010

Case goods vendor Stanley Furniture Company, Stanleytown, Va., (NASDAQ: STLY) has made several key personnel changes designed to strengthen the organization's sales, marketing and product development efforts.

Ward O'Quinn has been named product manager for the company's nursery and youth product line, Young America, reporting to President and CEO Glenn Prillaman. OʼQuinn joined Stanley Furniture in 1996 as a sales representative for the company's Southern California territory. In 2001, he transferred to Northern California as one of Stanley Furniture's most knowledgeable and well-respected sales representatives.

Relocating to North Carolina, O'Quinn now oversees the product development process, product line profitability, quality specifications and service to customers for Young America.

"Ward brings a comprehensive perspective to what is now a totally reinvented Young America," Prillaman said. "His day-to-day experience in the field will be invaluable as we forge a powerful relationship between the Young America brand, our Signature Shop retailers and today's consumer."

In May, Neil MacKenzie joined Stanley director of marketing, also reporting to Prillaman. For the past six years, he has served as the key account manager for The Burris Agency Inc., leading all aspects of client service including strategy development and implementation. He also has experience
managing several well-known brands outside the furniture industry.

For the last two years, MacKenzie has been the day-to-day client contact for Stanley Furniture and Young America. In this role, he has managed marketing initiatives such as Web site development, the introduction of the company's licensed furniture collection, Coastal Living, and the launch of the new Young America juvenile and youth furniture brand. In his new role, MacKenzie is responsible for setting the strategic direction of marketing initiatives, managing all marketing services at the execution level and assisting product and sales managers in overseeing changes in the marketplace.

"The director of marketing position is one that will afford us the ability to structure, initiate and execute the companyʼs marketing goals in an ever-changing marketplace," said Prillaman. "Neil's unique third-party perspective combined with first-hand experience of the Stanley Furniture and Young America brands make him the best candidate for this multi-faceted position."

Stanley also announced that Kevin Bowman has assumed the role of senior vice president of sales & customer service, reporting to Prillaman. Bowman's broadened responsibilities include managing the companyʼs independent sales force and overseeing customer service and all sales-related functions. Bowman joined Stanley Furniture in 2006 as the vice president of sales after an 18-year career in retail, most recently at Thomasville Furniture Industries.

"During a time of great uncertainty for anyone in our industry in sales, Kevin has been our only sales manager for several years now," said Prillaman. "Our company has been planning its operational transformation for some time. This effort has hindered our ability to travel and be in front of our customers face-to-face as we would like and as we traditionally have at Stanley. Kevin is aware of this and excited to build a more customer-centric sales service team in his expanded role."

Finally, independent sales representatives Matt O'Hearn and Ted Mischkot now serve as field sales consultants for the eastern and western U.S. territories, respectively. Both report to Bowman.

O'Hearn began representing Stanley Furnitureʼs New England territory in April 2006. The following year, he was the recipient of the companyʼs Championʼs Award, which honors the top performing representative and his/her territory. In March 2003 Mischkot took over as Stanley Furniture's Northwest territory. Prior to that his experience included a sales management role within the company. He has also received a number of awards recognizing his exemplary work as a sales representative.

In addition to serving as sales representatives in their respective territories, O'Hearn and Mischkot will provide strategic and tactical sales advice to Stanley Furniture Company and its representatives in the field. Each offers field leadership and support to the sales representatives and retailers in their regions, works directly with the company's retail partners on product development and customer service initiatives and assists in the development and analysis of strategic growth initiatives.  

"I am confident that the talent, experience, and leadership both of these gentlemen possess will prove to be a tremendous asset to our sales force and to our retail partners across the country," said Kevin Bowman.