Heritage Home Group Changes the Paradigm of Sales Representation with Bold Realignment

August 5, 2016  by in Business Strategy, Industry   

The results had far-reaching implications; potentially transforming all aspects of the company, from the product brought to market, to the resources and support provided to retail partners.

The company came to the realization that the way their sales teams are currently aligned is inconsistent with how their customers and consumers perceive and shop their brands; and does not allow them to fully leverage the experience, knowledge and skills of their sales team members.

As a result, Heritage Home Group has announced a dramatic realignment to their entire sales team; one that will enable them to provide world class support to their retail and design customers across the country. This new alignment recognizes and compliments the unique needs of their partners based not simply on their geographic location, but more importantly, on their channel of business.

The first significant change will be the move of the 110 year-old Thomasville brand, which will join Hickory Chair, Pearson, Henredon, Drexel Heritage and Maitland-Smith as part of the Luxury Brand team. The recent launch of the Anthony Baratta furniture collection demonstrates Thomasville’s focus on providing fresh design for its segment of the marketplace. Thomasville has been known for licensed collections such as Bogart, Baratta and Hemingway and will soon announce a new licensee whose product will be available for retail in the spring of 2017.

Kevin Bowman will lead the sales efforts of the team as Vice President of Sales - Luxury Brands. Under Kevin’s direction, three specialized teams have been created to support these distinctive brands and the brands loyal customers. One team of account managers will support Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon and Maitland-Smith retailers only; a second team will have the same retail responsibilities for Hickory Chair and Pearson brands; the third will be dedicated exclusively to the design and architectural trade for the entire luxury brand portfolio. The synergy gained by aligning these brands will simplify and specify the representation for the company and the dealer.

David Workman, Vice President of Sales - Core Brands, will continue to lead the organization for Broyhill and Lane; which are aligned with a unified sales team to serve the retail channel.

“We recognize the synergy to be gained by having a dedicated sales force that will focus on Broyhill and Lane exclusively,” states Mark Stephens, Senior Vice President of Sales. He continues, “Lane and Broyhill are iconic brands that have provided generations of families livable, comfortable furniture. This realignment will allow our representatives to better leverage and enhance their expertise and will allow them to provide a greater level of support to our dealers.”

In addition to the creation of the three Luxury Brands sales teams and the Core Brands sales team, Lane Venture, the company’s outdoor furniture brand, will be represented by an experienced, specialized outdoor sales team lead by Stephanie Pereira, Vice President of Sales - Outdoor.

Mark Stephens, Senior Vice President of Sales for Heritage Home Group and Kevin Bowman, Vice President of Sales – Luxury Brands have collaborated with members of the HHG Luxury sales team to create an innovative new sales organization.

In addition to the sales account manager realignment, the Luxury Brands team will also include two new sales management team members. These two positions are; Director of Sales -  Retail and Director of Sales – Interior Design. Greg Remley has been promoted to the Director of Sales – Retail position. The Director of Sales – Interior Design will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Since Heritage Home Group was formed in 2013, we have worked tirelessly to better understand the specific needs of our customers,” states Pierre de Villeméjane, President and CEO of Heritage Home Group. He continues, “The furniture industry is changing quickly and we believe that the current model of geography based sales representation will not be the most effective way to support our different customers in the long run. It is essential that we change this paradigm through innovation and creativity and set up a sustainable dedicated and flexible support system to meet and anticipate our customer’s ever changing needs. As a part of this realignment of our entire sales force, we have also created a compelling compensation package for our account managers that will reward performance and align our compensation plan to the growth phase that our organization has now entered.”