Massoud to Expand Designer Business with Gerber Sales Group

December 4, 2013  by in Designer Weekly   

Specializing in sales representation for lines related to residential interior design business, The Gerber Sales Group team will cover Maine to Virginia for Massoud.

"We have reached a point in our growth where we offer more business and creative opportunities than ever for interior designers," said Chuck Massoud, CEO of Massoud. "So we wanted to find a sales partner with well-established designer relationships and a solid understanding of their specialized needs and business challenges. After meeting with company principals Larry and Jesse Gerber, I knew we'd found the ideal team to help take our design business to the next level."

The Gerber Sales Group has a sales force of more than 30 representatives who call on the residential  interior design market from Maine to Virginia, including members of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), specialty boutique stores, architects and specifiers. The agency represents a number of mid to high-end designer quality lines on the road and in trade showrooms in a variety of categories ranging from furniture, bedding and  fabric, to wallcovering, rugs and more.

"Massoud may be the industry's best kept secret when it comes to designer-friendly offerings," Gerber said. "In discussing Massoud's growth plans and opportunities with Chuck Massoud, we felt that Massoud offered the perfect complement to other lines we represent and that there is a tremendous, untapped designer market that would find strong appeal in its impressive custom capabilities, quality fabrics, leathers and frame styles. Massoud's 'Custom Choices' program, in particular, gives designers the opportunity to custom-tailor upholstery designs for any project—offering the flexibility to select everything from fabrics, leather and seat depth, to arm, back and base styles." 

In business since 1963, Massoud built a reputation in its early years as a quality line serving furniture dealers with a selection of primarily traditional, grand scale designs. Never losing sight of the company's traditional offerings and established customer base, the company embarked on new directions in recent years.

Massoud brought industry veteran Ronna Griest to the company in 2011 to oversee the creative direction of the line, as well as sales, marketing and merchandising strategies. 

In addition, the company's investments in state-of-the-art, fully automated factory systems have streamlined and accelerated production and delivery, while significantly reducing overhead costs.

The management team—Chuck Massoud and Griest—have used the savings to seek out and invest in better fabrics, leathers, new frame styles and custom capabilities to offer a wide and diverse selection at very competitive price points that appeal to a national audience.

"The fact that all Massoud designs are made in the USA—in the company's Dallas plant—is a tremendous plus and strong selling point to our designer clientele," Gerber said. "Domestic production, together with the fact that Massoud stocks at least 90 percent of its fabric offerings, ensures that designers can expect reasonable delivery times on special projects, easy access and design flexibility."