Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
Former Costco VP Mike Pollard Joins Abbyson Living
May 13,
2013 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on May 14, 2013
Former Costco Wholesale Vice President Mike Pollard has joined the board of home furnishings vendor Abbyson Living.
Pollard, who retired from Costco Wholesale this year 2013 after a 27-year career, brings new comprehensive business practices that will directly impact the growth of the Abbyson Living organization and further mature the value of the brand.
"Some of the goals I'd like to see Abbyson accomplish in the future relate to customer service and the expansion of their drop-ship model," Pollard said. "They are taking ownership of this drop-ship model, bringing it in-house, and I want to be a part of that. I think it's a very smart thing to do, to take ownership of the relationship with your customer from the beginning to end."
Pollard started with Price Club/Costco Wholesale in 1985 and held various management positions in warehouse operations, international, IT and e-commerce. He played a significant role starting the Costco businesses in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Responsibilities included building construction, and training of initialing in-country operations staff.
He also played a key role starting and operating the Costco e-commerce businesses, Costco.com and Costco.ca, from start up through $2 billion in annual sales.
As Abbyson Living plans to launch its new Outdoor Patio furniture collections this summer, Pollards involvement will be critical in this transitional stage of Abbysons evolution into a cross category leader.
I expect Abbyson Living will continue to grow very rapidly," Pollard said. "We'll get into new businesses, new categories of furniture. The lawn and garden and outdoor patio living will be a significant part of the business in the near term.