Furniture Hall of Fame Names '12 Nominees

June 21, 2012 by in UnCategorized

By Home Furnishings Business in on June 22, 2012

The American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation has announced six 2012 Industry Fellows and candidates for election into the American Furniture Hall of Fame.

The six nominees who will be made Industry Fellows at the Oct. 14 banquet are: Howard G. Haas, Jena Hall, Clement M. Lange Jr., Kevin M. O'Connor, Melvyn L. Wolff and Thomas E. Wright. The voting period begins July 9 and ends August 3.

"This year's slate of nominees is a very impressive group representing a wide cross section of the industry and individuals who have made ground-breaking contributions to their companies and the industry," said Randy Ford, president of the Foundation. "These six individuals have each demonstrated great leadership, innovation and generosity throughout their long careers. They are true industry giants whose achievements have earned the respect of their colleagues and competitors alike."

Under the new selection system, the inductees will be determined by the combination of a vote of the Foundation membership and a points-based rating system of each nominee by the Foundation's Industry Fellow Selection Committee. New members will be announced and officially inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame at the annual banquet celebration on Oct. 14 at the High Point Furniture Market.

The candidates were selected from open nominations and the Industry Fellows Selection Committee based on their contributions to the growth and development of the furniture industry in America with a focus on four standards: enduring excellence, superior accomplishments, innovation and creativity, and philanthropic generosity.

The nominees and their achievements are as follows:

* Howard G. Haas, president and CEO of Sealy for 19 years, increased revenues from $32 million to $550 million without the acquisition of a competitor or supplier. He integrated a group of 34 independent licensees into a unified entity, achieving new efficiencies and consistency across factories in production and service. A leader and mentor to many in the bedding industry, three of his young executives now lead Simmons, Sealy and Serta. Under his leadership, in-store displays showcased Posturepedic bedding, sleep shops made their debut, and Sealy became the first bedding company to run national television advertising. A retired adjunct professor of Strategic Management at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Haas co-authored the best-selling book, "The Leader Within."

* Jena Hall has created successful licensing programs, including Jena Hall's Inspirations from the Old Country, which included thousands of SKUs covering 22 product categories. A five-time Pinnacle Award winner, she is passionate about bringing features and functions formerly reserved for the interior design trade to the mainstream market. Hall has developed licensed and private-label products for leading furniture producers and retailers, including Nichols & Stone, Johnston Casuals, DMI-Wynwood, Vanguard Furniture, JC Penney, Robb & Stucky, Macy's, Domain, aspenhome, Bassett, Broyhill, Ethan Allen and Pennsylvania House. The founding president of WithIt, the furniture industry women's leadership and development network, she is a tireless advocate of City of Hope and the Anti-Defamation League.

* Clement M. Lange Jr. grew Best Chairs from a modest, five-person operation repairing furniture and truck seats into Best Home Furnishings, a leading manufacturer of residential upholstery with five state-of-the-art plants producing more than 4,000 chairs, recliners and sofas each day in southern Indiana. To make his company more competitive, Lange was an early adopter of technology and implemented "lean" manufacturing practices long before the term was invented. Under his leadership, the "custom-order/fast-delivery" business model thrived, an approach adopted by many other domestic upholstery producers as a way to successfully compete against imports. Now celebrating 50 years, the company remains focused on producing high quality, strong value and delivery faster than the competition.

* Kevin M. O'Connor worked his way up from sales representative to president of two leading furniture companies before launching Legacy Classic Furniture in 1999. Partnering with Samuel Kuo of Samson Holdings, he developed a business model that enables customers to mix a wide variety of products on a direct-container basis with door-to-door service from China. This plan, now common throughout the industry, makes it possible for independent retailers to affordably source smaller quantities of imported products. Today, O'Connor is president and CEO of Samson Marketing, which includes Legacy and Universal Furniture. With a long track record of service to the furniture industry and community organizations, he has served in leading roles for the High Point Market Authority, the High Point Pre-Market, American Home Furnishings Alliance, the American Furniture Hall of Fame and the City of Hope.

* Melvyn L. Wolff took Houston-based Star Furniture from a small, low-end, credit-oriented store to one of the country's most successful retail furniture operations. With his sister, Shirley Toomim, he repositioned the company founded by his father to serve a more affluent customer. Wolff established Star as a destination for affordable style and superior service, creating impressive displays that sell a lifestyle rather than a commodity and are backed by superior service in their "Different by Design" strategy. Now celebrating its 100th anniversary, the business expanded to 10 locations and was sold to the Berkshire Hathaway investment group in 1997. An active contributor, his involvement includes the National Home Furnishings Association, American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation, Home Furnishings Independents Association, and service on 14 community and educational boards.

Thomas E. Wright is the co-founder and former chairman of Wright of Thomasville, a leading supplier of labels, in-store display graphics, and point-of-sale products to the mattress, upholstery, case goods, floor covering and rug industries. With his brother, the late Bill Wright, he grew their printing company from a small, single location serving one customer in 1961, to a global operation with seven facilities. Their technology to print a black-and-white photograph and later a four-color process image on a satin mattress label enabled customers to clearly develop brand names while building lifestyle stories. A visionary leader of the National Association of Bedding Manufacturers (now the International Sleep Products Association), he was a co-founder of the Better Sleep Council and an early proponent of the positive impact of a good night's sleep on health. He taught classes at Guilford College and is active in his church and with community organizations.

Mor Furniture for Less Opens 2 SoCal Stores

June 21, 2012 by in UnCategorized

By Home Furnishings Business in on June 22, 2012

Mor Furniture for Less has expanded into a new market with two new furniture stores in the Greater Palm Springs Area of the Coachella Valley.

Following the April 2012 grand opening of the San Diego-based More Furniture for Less's 24th store in Lynnwood, Wash., Mor Furniture for Less launched a Rancho Mirage showroom in May, just in time for the Memorial Day shopping weekend. The company's 26th showroom, located six miles away in Cathedral City, opened this week.

The Rancho Mirage furniture store, at 72115 Highway 111, offers the most exclusive collections of the current Mor Furniture for Less product lineup in adult and kids furniture.

The Cathedral City furniture store located at 67555 East Palm Canyon Drive, serves as a showroom for the company's main product lineup, including a Kids and Teens section and Clearance Center, and also as well as a giant home delivery and customer pickup warehouse, serving a large area of Southern California.

Mor Furniture for Less, established in 1977, is a family-owned and operated furniture company with 26 stores in seven states.

Lee Inds. Investing $5M in Factory Renovation

June 21, 2012 by in UnCategorized

By Aggregated Content in Upholstery on June 22, 2012 from http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/22/3330302/lee-industries-to-renovate-old.html

Furniture manufacturer Lee Industries is investing more than $5 million into renovating an old manufacturing facility in downtown Conover which will allow the Newton-based company to expand its operations and hire an additional 75 people.

The company, which makes environmentally friendly furniture in three manufacturing plants in Newton, is renovating the former Conover Chair facility, which closed in the late 1990s.

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Morris Furniture Opens Complex in Florence, Ky.

June 21, 2012 by in UnCategorized

By Home Furnishings Business in on June 22, 2012

Morris Furniture Co. has opened its newest Morris Home Center in Florence, Ky., and will celebrate with a grand opening event Tuesday evening.

The new 100,000-square-foot Morris center includes five stores under one roof. Combined, the five stores represent Northern Kentucky's largest single home furnishings showroom.

"The new Morris Home Furnishings, Ashley Furniture HomeStore, The Better Sleep Shop, The Morris Big TV Store and the Morris Back Room give consumers one-stop shopping convenience," Larry Klaben, president and CEO of Morris Furniture Co. said. "Shoppers are able to see the area's largest selection of upholstery, leather sofas, dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, mattresses and HDTVs all in one place. Visitors can enter any one of the four exterior entrances and visit four stores and the Morris Back Room through mall-like inter-store connectivity for a truly unique shopping experience."

The complex opening has added 60 new jobs to the company's employment. An estimated $5 million has been invested in remodeling, fixtures and showroom inventory.

"We are excited to bring our Morris Home Furnishings, Ashley Furniture HomeStore, Better Sleep Shop, Morris Big TV Store, and Morris Back Room stores to Northern Kentucky," Klaben said. "We opened our first Morris Home Center in Cincinnati in late 2010, and the response has been fantastic. This location allows us bring the same one-stop shopping concept to Northern Kentucky."

Morris Furniture Co., Inc. started in Dayton in 1947 and currently operates 17 home furnishings showrooms throughout Dayton, Ohio, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, and Northern Kentucky. The company opened a Morris Home Center in Springdale in November 2010. This five-store complex was built next to the company's existing Ashley Furniture HomeStore. The company also operates a 45,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Crescent Springs, Ky.

Morris Home Furnishings was selected as the National Home Furnishings Retailer of the Year in 2008 by the NHFA.

"Our Morris Home Furnishings showroom features home furnishings for today's lifestyles," said George Hartley, COO. "Our showrooms are designed to give consumers the easiest way to shop for their furniture needs. This showroom is organized into lifestyle environments to match the shopper's needs. Instead of manufacturer galleries that divide a showroom and duplicate styles for consumers, this concept displays furniture collections together by style. Shoppers looking for casual furniture will find all our casual furniture offerings for each room in their home displayed together."