Doug Kays, JGSullivan Acquire HomeFurnishings.com

April 7, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on April 8, 2010

A partnership between Doug Kays, past chairman of the National Home Furnishings Association, and Internet marketing and software development firm JGSullivan Interactive Inc. has acquired the HomeFurnishings.com consumer Web portal from the NHFA.

The new entity, HomeFurnishings.com LLC, now will open the portal to all furniture manufacturers, suppliers assocations and buying groups in addition to NHFA members. Launched in October 2009 as a Web marketing initiative for retailer members of the NHFA to connect with consumers, the portal continues to grow as it now includes more than 3,000 retailer microsites and over 50,000 consumer site visits per month.  

Kays, who helped spearhead the program, is now the CEO of HomeFurnishings.com LLC. JGSullivan Interactive developed the portal's platform.

"Demand from other industry groups to participate helped drive the decision by the parties to form a new company outside of NHFA and take this portal to the next level," said Kays. The NHFA remains an integral industry partner in the promotion of the retailer and supplier to consumer web portal, although membership in the NHFA will no longer be a requirement of participation on the site.

"We are currently designing programs for buying groups, vertical retail companies, manufacturers and suppliers within the industry so they and their related retailers may connect online with the consumers who are using HomeFurnishings.com as their pre-buy shopping resource," Kays said.

The expanded program also will extend to provide a brand-aligned solution for manufacturers' dealer locators. For manufacturers that don't have a dealer locator, HomeFurnishings.com can become that resource. For brands that have retailers without brand-aligned Web pages, HomeFurnishings.com will fill that gap and help the brand take the consumer to a page with the dealer's location and contact information as well as brand messaging and promotions. 

Doug Kays, and attorney and former retailer, has worked as an executive in the home furnishings industry for the past 30 years. In addition to his work with the NHFA and in furniture retail real estate, Kays has also served as general in-house counsel and as vice president of operations for former West Coast retailer McMahan's Furniture; and as vice president of operations for the Western United States for Heilig-Myers.

JGSullivan Interactive has been in business for more than 55 years, as a marketing and software development firm specializing in Internet programs, site development, and print-on-demand applications for Fortune 1000 clients. Its Dealer E-Channel (DEC) software platform has managed over 30,000 independent dealer sites in various industries, connecting them to manufacturers, distributors, associations, buying groups and consumers.