Furniture First Honors Vendors

May 19, 2013  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 20, 2013

Furniture First Buying Group honored three of its vendor partners with Vendor of the Year Awards during its recent symposium in New Orleans.

Awards were presented in three categories - bedroom, mattresses, and motion. Winners were calculated through survey responses from Furniture First members. The survey included a popular vote and member evaluations of the vendors' performance in three areas including service, quality and sales. Only vendors with active programs with Furniture First in 2012 qualified for the awards.

Ron Page, Furniture First senior director of merchandising, presented the bedroom award to Ron Childress, sales manager with Liberty Furniture.

Andrew Kauffman, Furniture First director of mattresses, presented the mattress award to Marty Melcher, group vice president of  Serta. 

Tony Moretti, Furniture First vice president of merchandising, presented the motion award to Bob Phillips, strategic accounts director of Southern Motion.

Both Serta and Southern Motion participated in Furniture First's Symposium as sponsors of the event, joining more than 100 retailers and more than 40 vendors.

The board of directors authorized the creation of the awards at its 2013 long-range planning meeting.

"We wanted to recognize the quality relationships between our members and suppliers and acknowledge that it's our partnership that leads to our mutual success," said Bill Hartman, president of Furniture First. "We look forward to honoring more of our partners in the years ahead." 

Furniture First suppliers represent a variety of rebate programs for member retailers, including more than 85 vendors in the upholstery, leather, case goods and accessories categories, 18 top of bed and mattress vendors, and 37 marketing and business services suppliers.