Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
June 5,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on June 2006
Nido Qubein, president of High Point University, businessman and motivational speaker, has been nominated to the La-Z-Boy board of directors.
Qubein’s nomination will be voted on at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in August, and if elected, he will serve a three-year term.
In addition to his position at High Point University, Qubein, 57, serves on the board of BB&T Corp. and is the chairman of several companies, including Great Harvest Bread Co.; Business Life, a publishing company; McNeil Lehman, a public relations and advertising agency; and Creative Services, an international management consulting company. He also sits on the board of the YMCA of the U.S.A.
“We are honored Nido has accepted the board’s nomination,” said Kurt Darrow, La-Z-Boy president and chief executive office. “He is an extraordinarily accomplished individual who has achieved great success in business and now in the academic world. A strategic thinker with a unique point of view, he has made monumental changes to High Point University and will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to our company.”
Qubein is the recipient of a number of honors and awards, including the Horatio Alger Award; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; and Citizen of the Year and Philanthropist of the Year from the city of High Point. He is also chairman of the High Point Community Foundation and is chairman emeritus of the National Speakers Association Foundation.
June 4,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on June 2006
Donald Lasater has offered his resignation as a member of the board of directors of Furniture Brands International, effective May 27.
Lasater, retired chairman of the board and chief executiver officer of Mercantile Bancorportation, has been a FBI director and its predecessor INTERCO since 1970. During his tenure, he has served the board in a variety of capacities, including extended service as chairman of the executive compensation and stock option committee, and more recently as chairman of the governance and nominating committee.
“Don indicated to me a desire to retire from the board several months ago, but he agreed to stay on until we were further along in our current search for new directors,” said Mickey Holliman, chairman and chief executive officer of Furniture Brands. “That search is now nearing conclusion, and Don has determined to move forward with his plans.”
In a letter to Holliman, Lasater said, “I shall greatly miss working with you and our fellow directors, but, as you know, there is a time to stay and a time to go; after 36 years this is my time to go.”
June 4,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 2006
Flexsteel Inds. has amended a credit agreement with its lead bank, extending its $20 million long-term credit facility and an $8 million available for letters of credit to Oct. 21, 2010.
Both agreements were scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
No other changes to the terms of the agreements, including interest rates, were made.
Flexsteel also renewed under the same terms, until June 29, its $20 million line of credit note for working capital that was set to expire June 29.
June 4,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on June 2006
Bob Stec has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Lexington Home Brands, positions he held for six years, to spend more time with his family, the company announced Friday.
After a short transition, Asher Lepkin will serve as interim CEO of Lexington, and will continue to focus on the brand strategy Stec implemented when he took over at Lexington. Lepkin is a management consultant with a range of experience including several multi-national consumer, industrial, and technology brand companies.
Stec’s decision, one that was months in the making, took most of the industry by surprise. The ongoing health problems of one of his daughters led him to resign, he said Monday.
“The last six months, I’ve been splitting time between home and work, and I realized I wasn’t being fair to my family or the workplace,” he said. “When it comes to those priorities, you know which one you’re going to choose. This is one of those announcements where there’s nothing to read between the lines.”
Under Stec’s leadership, Lexington converted from a primarily domestic-based manufacturer to a marketer of globally sourced goods. He also ramped up the company’s brand focus with particular success in Nautica and Tommy Bahama.
Stec also trimmed the company’s sprawling dealer base, and created merchandising and advertising standards to better present LHB’s flagship brands at retail.
Stec will continue to hold an investment position in the company, which is owned by an affiliate of the private investment firm Sun Capital Partners. Sun Capital financed the a Stec-led management buyout of the company in 2002 through its affiliate, Lexington Holding.
“I would like to thank Sun Capital and the management team and employees of Lexington for their support and dedicated effort in re-invigorating one of the most powerful brands in furniture,” Stec said in the press release announcing his departure. “I look forward to my involvement as an active investor and am pleased that Lexington will continue to develop the strategic operating plan and brand strategy that we have outlined. It is now time to move on to the next phase of my life and focus on family matters.”
June 1,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2006
Pat Norton, chairman of La-Z-Boy Inc. and a legend in the furniture industry, has announced he will retire in August.
The company’s board of directors will name a successor at its August board meeting, and has appointed Norton chairman emeritus, a non-voting member of the board, upon his retirement. Norton said this morning he will continue as an adviser to the board and the company’s management.
Norton, 84, joined the company in 1981 and was named chairman in 1997. He is credited with transforming the company by building its brand, broadening its product offering and distribution system and establishing the company’s Furniture Galleries store system. He also played an integral role in the company’s acquisition of Ladd in January 2000, a move that put the company into the case goods business.
Norton began his career in the furniture department of a St. Louis-based department store, and before joining La-Z-Boy as senior vice president of sales and marketing, worked for Ethan Allen for 20 years where he was vice president of sales and marketing and a member of the board of directors.
“My career in this business, particularly since joining Ethan Allen, has been a storybook,” Norton said. “I got the chance to work with some wonderful guys, including Nat Ancell (founder of Ethan Allen). Going through the development of the store system at Ethan Allen and then here was amazing. It’s been a great ride, and it has allowed me to do some things outside the industry that make a real difference.”
In memory of his late wife, in 2003 Norton established the LaVerne B. Norton Scholarship at Monroe County Community College with one of the largest gifts in the history of the school. The scholarship is awarded annually to students showing academic promise and financial need. This year, the scholarship is covering the tuition costs of nine students at the school.
Norton received an honorary Doctorate from High Point University in High Point, where, in 2000, the school named its Furniture Studies Hall Norton Hall. Additionally, in 1992, members of the La-Z-Boy extended family, including sales representatives and dealers, established, in his honor, the Patrick H. Norton Scholarship Fund at the university.
In addition to his successes in business, Norton has received a number of awards and recognitions throughout his career. In 1995, he was inducted in to the American Furniture Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Furniture Manufacturers Association. Other honors include the National Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, as well as the Spirit of Life Award from the City of Hope.
“Pat Norton is legendary in the furniture industry and we are fortunate to have had his wisdom, direction and leadership for 25 years,” said Kurt Darrow, president and chief executive officer. “Over the course of his tenure, he propelled the company to its level today and effected significant change to position us for a solid future in a dynamic environment. He will be greatly missed by the board and all our employees and I, personally, have found it a distinct privilege to have worked with and learned from him. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”