5 Named to Home Furnishings Hall of Fame

June 12, 2015  by in Industry, Special Events   

The five inductees will be honored Oct. 18 during the High Point Market.  

Joining the current 98 Hall of Fame members are Aminy I. Audi, CEO and chairman of L. & J.G. Stickley; Michael Massood, chairman of MGM Transport Corp; Laurence “Larry” Za Yu Moh, the founder of Universal Furniture; Barry Tatelman, former co-president and co-CEO of Jordan’s Furniture Inc.; and Eliot Tatelman, president and CEO of Jordan’s Furniture Inc.

“The selection committee has spent dozens of hours searching the industry across all industry segments and thoroughly vetting many industry leaders to determine who the newest inductees should be,” said Michael Amini, president of the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation. “The process includes a point-based evaluation of each person under consideration for the four foundations of induction: enduring excellence, superior accomplishments, innovation and creativity, and philanthropic generosity. These results were tabulated by CPA Ken Fulp with our accounting firm Sharrard McGee & Company.

“Also new is the announcement process. For the first time, we are announcing the inductees prior to the banquet which will be unlike any other,” he said. “Starting with the move to Grandover Resort & Conference Center to the format of the banquet itself as an industry celebration, the evening will be highly inspirational and entertaining, reflecting the renewed energy of the Hall of Fame, our industry’s premier organization of leaders.

Inductees were chosen by a select, seven-member Selection Committee based on their contributions to the growth and development of the furniture industry in America. The Selection Committee consisted of three Hall of Fame Board members and four representatives from various segments of the home furnishings industry.

The five inductees and their achievements are:

Aminy I. Audi, CEO and chairman of L. & J.G. Stickley, and her late husband, Alfred, purchased a struggling company with only 25 employees in 1974 and turned it into a thriving enterprise by sparking a resurgence of interest in quality Arts & Crafts designs. Today, Stickley employs more than 1,500 with three manufacturing plants, 14 company-owned stores and a strong network of retail dealers.  Mrs. Audi has helped to direct seven state-of-the-art, plant expansions in Manlius, N.Y., which run 20 hours a day.  She has been instrumental in the purchase of Nichols & Stone, John Widdicomb, Heirloom Upholstery, Cibola Leather and Madison Square while also directing the planning, staffing and merchandising of each company-owned store in Stickley’s retail division.  An active mentor, philanthropist and industry champion, she has been honored by WIthIt, the International Furnishings and Design Association, the Small Business Administration and the American Red Cross while serving on boards including the American Home Furnishings Alliance and as a trustee of the State University of New York.

Michael Massood Sr. launched MGM Transport Corp. in 1952 with his brother George as a distributor of furniture in the New York City area. Building on a reputation for honesty, fairness and reliability, Massood grew MGM from a single truck operation into one of the Northeast’s premier railcar distributors with more than 700 employees and $60 million in annual revenue. In 1975, Massood opened a small warehouse operation in High Point, N.C. A pivotal move for both MGM and the furniture industry, the North Carolina operation changed the model for delivery of product and enabled MGM to offer timely and affordable deliveries throughout the East Coast. Working together with his brother, Massood spearheaded a number of other innovative concepts, including a consolidation system; assembly and repair facilities; barcode technology; web-based tracking of shipments; and a quick-ship program to expedite deliveries. Throughout his long career, Massood has been actively involved in the furniture and trucking industries’ major trade associations, as well as a loyal contributor to the City of Hope and Catholic charities and hospitals.

Laurence “Larry” Za Yu Moh (b1926, d2002), the founder of Universal Furniture, is credited as being the first producer to leverage the advantage of low-cost labor for manufacturing furniture on a mass scale in Asia for import to the United States as well as the first to make furniture designed to appeal to American tastes. In 1959, he launched Hong Kong Teakwood, growing the company into a full-line furniture and flooring conglomerate under the Universal banner. In the 1980s, he pioneered the use of rubberwood for furniture. The sustainable wood species enabled Universal to elevate Asian furniture exports from niche to mainstream. Moh had a keen sense for the political and economic environments of the countries in which he operated, opening new plants as cost structures changed. When he sold the Universal group to Masco in 1989, the company was one of the world’s largest producers of wood furniture. In 2000, Moh launched Fine Furniture & Design, expanding the reach of Asian-sourced furniture imports into a higher price range. In 2001, Moh established the $3 million Celia Moh Scholarship fund.

Brothers Eliot and Barry Tatelman took the helm of Jordan’s Furniture as co-CEOs and co-presidents in the early 1970s, when it was a single location founded by their grandfather with only five employees. From the start, the Tatelman brothers set out to make Jordan’s a fun place to shop and work. They expanded their business by focusing on a combination of friendly service, no-nonsense merchandising and in-store amusements. With each new store, Eliot and Barry incorporated an element of “shoppertainment,” creating a series of “must see” attractions to engage consumers, such as the $2.5 million Motion Odyssey Movie ride. Running a steady stream of quirky TV ads, the brothers became pop culture icons throughout New England, growing annual sales to $250 million in 1999, when Berkshire Hathaway acquired the business. The brothers celebrated by rewarding every “J Team” member with 50 cents for every hour that they had worked for the company and also flew the entire team to Bermuda for a beach party. Active contributors to the community, the Tatelmans support a long list of area nonprofits.

There are many new opportunities for sponsorships.  Sponsors to date for this year’s banquet are:

• Presenting Sponsor: Ashley Furniture Industries

• Banquet Underwriter: Lacquer Craft

• Platinum level sponsors are headlined by AICO/Amini Innovations; International Market Centers La-Z-Boy Inc.; and Nourison Industries.

• Gold sponsors are: FurnitureDealer.Net; Sunny Lu & Associates; Zenith Global Logistics; and Zuo Modern Inc. 

• Silver sponsors are: L. & J.G. Stickley; Steinreich Communications; and Wolf Furniture/AFC.