HFA Announces Howell Furniture as 2019 ROTY, Large Retailer Category

January 3, 2020  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Howell Furniture, with stores in Beaumont and Nederland, Texas, and Lake Charles, La.,  was founded in 1959 by W. Thurman Witt. Its current owners include his grandchildren, Shawn Hanley and Wade Witt, and long-time president, Tom Schwaab.

The celebration and award presentation will be Monday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Beaumont Texas location. Mark Schumacher, HFA EVP, will present Brackenridge Furniture Co. with their Retailer of the year award. The local community is encouraged to attend the event and congratulate their hometown retailer.

“We could not be prouder of Howell Furniture,” said Sharron Bradley, CEO of the Home Furnishings Association. “Although it has a long history in Beaumont, it perhaps has never been more important to its hometown than in recent years when it provided desperately needed assistance to families who lost their homes and belongings to Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019. The owners and staff are truly wonderful neighbors to their customers and fellow residents of the Gulf Coast region.”

The home furnishings industry nominated HFA members based on their exceptional examples of philanthropy, technology, customer experience, mentoring, sustainability, and store design/merchandising. A panel of judges comprised of members of HFA’s Board of Directors, HFA members; Past ROTY Winners; manufacturers; service providers/suppliers; and members of the industry media voted on the nominations.