Ashley Furniture Adding Outdoor Furniture

July 7, 2016  by in Business Strategy, Industry, Outdoor Furniture, Product   

The company has hired industry veteran Andy Sokol as Vice President of merchandising for outdoor furniture to lead the Outdoor by Ashley team and its launch into the category at the upcoming Las Vegas Summer Market that begins July 31.

“After exploring the opportunity in this category for the past few years, we feel the timing is right for us now,” said Todd Wanek, CEO. “Outdoor furniture is a rapidly growing category, and the outdoor room is a room we want to fill with both fashion and value.”

Outdoor by Ashley will include dining sets, seating, fire pit chat sets and umbrellas reflecting a variety of styles and constructed of quality materials and high performance outdoor fabrics. Sourced from a select group of proven vendors who have partnered with Sokol in the past, Ashley is focused on bringing on-trend styles and value while limiting risk for retailers who have been interested in carrying outdoor furniture for some time.

The manufacturer and Top 100 retailer plans to feature in its Las Vegas showroom 15 room settings that demonstrate Ashley’s ability to identify and deliver style and price points that are popular with consumers, according to Sokol.

Prior to joining Ashley, Sokol was Vice President of sales for Agio, USA. His career has spanned 33 years in senior management at both retail and manufacturing, and he has held key positions at Fortunoff and Macy’s, where he initiated the launch of the outdoor furniture division.

Sokol will report to Al Matthews, Senior Vice President for Ashley.