Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Samson Holding Acquires Southern Furniture, Upholstery Producer to Expand Universal Brand
October 2,
2019 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
Samson Holding has announced its acquisition of Southern Furniture, a 96-year-old custom upholstery manufacturer based in Conover, N.C., to support its Universal Furniture brand.
The acquisition reflects Samson’s global investments in vertical manufacturing to support its supply chain and diversified customer base around the world. Southern Furniture will be operated by, and eventually assimilated into, the Universal brand.
“Launched only three years ago, Universal’s current married cover-to-frame upholstery program, produced in our Asia facility, has become a significant percentage of our overall business, and continues to be the fastest growing segment of our business,” said Jeff Scheffer, president and CEO of Universal Furniture. “The acquisition of Southern Furniture affords us the ability to accept special orders, further enhancing our whole home value proposition,” added Scheffer.
“Southern Furniture represents a good strategic fit for Universal. Both companies share an alignment in product line, price point and quality,” said Samuel Kuo, chairman, Samson Holding.
“We feel confident that Universal is extremely well positioned to continue serving our existing customers and our employees,” said Jerome Bolick, former CEO of Southern Furniture. “They are in good hands.”