Harden Furniture, Scarsellas Launch Cambridge Mills

August 8, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on August 9, 2010

Harden Furniture has teamed with John and Michael Scarsella to launch the Cambridge Mills furniture brand.

Harden will produce the Cambridge Mills line in its McConnellsville, N.Y., plant. The brand will focus on solid wood bedroom and target the middle to upper-middle price point segments of the market. All products will be 100 percent U.S.-made. Cambridge Mills will introduce three solid cherry bedroom collections in October with additional introductions planned for the winter market in Las Vegas.

€œThe launch of Cambridge Mills will offer retailers an opportunity to merchandise some outstanding and proven designs that include brand qualities that consumers seek," said Harden Furniture CEO Greg Harden. "Made in America, sustainable manufacturing and dependable quality are proven winners that promise to establish Cambridge Mills as a category leader. In addition, recent market research conducted by Strategic Decisions confirms that the products will be enthusiastically supported by the consumer."

The Scarsellas will lead the sales, marketing, and product development for the new company with Harden providing manufacturing, customer service, and delivery. John Scarsella is a long time industry leader. In 1983, following 15 years as the owner of a multi-store retail operation in Ohio, he began his career in the solid wood manufacturing segment of the industry. He spent seven years with Jamestown Sterling as vice president of sales before leading all sales, marketing, and product design for Durham Furniture from 1994 through 2005. During his tenure with Durham, the company grew from C$6 million to more than C$80 million in sales.

Michael Scarsella began his career as a marketing and sales representative for Henredon. He later served as Director of Marketing and Product Development for Durham Furniture and oversaw the company's successful launch of the Mount Vernon license. Most recently, Michael was president of domestic solid wood furniture resource Virginia Sterling, which succumbed to the credit crisis and ceased operations earlier this year despite significant strategic growth.

"We couldn't be more thrilled to be working with Greg Harden and his team at Harden Furniture," said John Scarsella. "Their reputation in our industry is unmatched and will serve as the foundation for Cambridge Mills."

"Albeit at a lower price point, we saw Virginia Sterling emerge as a formidable competitor in solid wood bedroom," Harden noted. "Their collections were performing at retail, their revenue track was impressive despite the deepening recession, but as we are all aware lending institutions were unwilling to finance anyone in our industry, regardless of their potential. We are excited to partner with John and Michael and build upon what they began at Virginia Sterling. The Cambridge Mills partnership will not only provide dealers with great looking, high value product but allow us to maximize our extensive manufacturing capabilities and benefit from efficiencies that are not independently available."