Pat Norton

August 31, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on September 2006 Last month, Pat Norton retired as chairman of La-Z-Boy, but as chairman emeritus of one of the industry’s most recognized brands, the 84-year-old veteran plans on staying active in the business even in retirement.

Norton had been chairman of La-Z-Boy since 1997, where he oversaw one of the largest suppliers and retail networks in the business.

Before his tenure with La-Z-Boy, Norton worked at another of the industry’s most recognized brands, Ethan Allen, for 20 years, where he played a key role in the then-revolutionary concept of a manufacturer developing a dedicated retail channel.

At La-Z-Boy, Norton played a big part again in taking another recognized brand into retail with a gallery program and dedicated store network; as well as expanding the company’s product categories, a move that he has mixed emotions about these days.

Norton was named to the American Furniture Hall of Fame in 1995, and has a building at High Point University housing the school’s furniture program named after him, as well as a scholarship there. His tenure and dedication to the furniture industry qualify him as a legend in the business.

Norton took a few minutes to talk with Home Furnishings Business about his most satisfying achievements, some things he might have done differently, and his thoughts on how the furniture industry can capture consumers’ interest moving ahead.



As you look back over your career, is there a particular period or event you can identify that gave you the greatest satisfaction?

There are really two things I’m most satisfied with, but they are essentially one and the same. Those are the development of the store system at Ethan Allen and the development of proprietary stores at La-Z-Boy.

Ethan Allen may have been a little easier to do because of the breadth of the product line we had there. Also at the time the idea of single brand store was a totally new concept for furniture.

At La-Z-Boy we had a very strong brand recognition but not as broad a line as we’d had at Ethan Allen at the time we were starting the stores, but we’re up to more than 300 now.

Those two developments have been very satisfying, and again, I look at the Ethan Allen and La-Z-Boy store development in pretty much the same way—it’s really one and the same when you think about it.



What has been the greatest challenge you’ve faced in your career as a senior executive, and how did you handle it?

One of the greatest challenges we all have in the furniture industry is getting great people, getting them motivated and keeping them on target. That’s always been the thing that makes for success.

It goes beyond the people you hire personally—in an organization like La-Z-Boy it goes to the level of the store owners, teaming up with the right people.

The toughest part of the business has always been the people equation. It’s always been the critical issue in any business, You look for people who want to learn, who want to be part of a bigger picture.

You must have integrity, and you must have loyalty. You need ambitious people, but not selfish people—people who want to be part of something larger than themselves.



What are some critical issues you see lying ahead for furniture retailers, and what advice would you have for dealing with them?

That’s a hard one, but it seems to me that as retailers, we have to stop worshiping price as an answer to all our problems. That’s ended up confusing the consumer, and just doesn’t get them excited.

Retailers need to differentiate themselves and stop trying to be everything to everybody. What is it that you do well? What sort of goods will you sell at which prices? You just can’t do it all, have every price and quality level.

It’s a question of who you’re going to be. You have to work to be the best you can be and to satisfy your customer, whether you’re carrying Henredon or La-Z-Boy.

That whole issue has been compounded by the way we source our merchandise today—if you’re competing on price now, that’s just a hard way to do business.

We all need to understand that people don’t come (to a La-Z-Boy store) looking for a Henredon bedroom, and they don’t go to a Henredon store looking for a La-Z-Boy recliner.



Let’s flip that question. What does La-Z-Boy have to do, in your opinion, to maintain and build its leading role as a furniture supplier?

I’m going to talk generally about the industry here. The answer is essentially the same as what I said about retail.

Don’t represent yourself as being something you’re not. We’ve lost, in my opinion, the confidence of the consuming public through our fascination with price. We sell what is essentially a blind product—if you go to the store to buy a stereo or a television, there are a lot of specifications you can research beforehand. You can determine the exact functions and performance features before you even go into the store.

We don’t really have that with most of the merchandise we bring to the market, so much of it seems about price, and price doesn’t make value.

You might pay a lower price for a piece of furniture, but is it really a value?

It’s a very big problem even on the supply side, because that’s the way we seem to be approaching the consumer today.

La-Z-Boy is in better shape than many, because most people understand where we’re coming from, and we have very strong brand recognition and reputation.



With the benefit of many years of hindsight, are there any things you would have done differently or any decisions you would have changed?

I’d say I regret any role I played in the La-Z-Boy acquisition of LADD. It was a mistake.

We shouldn’t have acquired any case goods companies at that time, because the case goods business was moving to China. The idea was to broaden our offerings but the timing was wrong.

A year-and-a-half, two years later, there’s no way we would have made that decision to acquire these case goods companies.



What are your plans for retirement? Any plans to keep to keep a toe in the furniture-industry water behind the scenes?

I certainly plan to have a role at La-Z-Boy as chairman emeritus of the board, and any way I can help this business I will. I still have an office here.

I also am involved with Culp and High Point University. I plan on keeping busy, and anything I can do, any advice I can provide, I’ll be here.

What will I do for fun? This is fun—I wouldn’t be here at 84 years old if it hadn’t been fun. HFB