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The Furniture First board of directors kicked off 2022 with the addition of a new member, Sanders Furnishings. The newest member operates two stores in New York, one location in Brooklyn and one in Monroe. Sanders sets itself apart in the market by focusing on specific brands of quality furniture and accessories, and with deep knowledge of the products they carry.
“It’s exciting to see the membership grow in new areas,” said Andrew Kauffman, CEO of Furniture First. “Our membership committee looks at several factors when considering a new member application. They look at population size, market segmentation, physical distance and travel time. It’s important that we keep a balance in our membership. As a general rule, our members get along with each other. They will pick up the phone, call one another for opinions and advice. We work hard to maintain that congeniality and that is a great strength of our membership.”
The Furniture First membership recently approved a slate of nominees to join the board of directors when the current terms expire this spring. Bob Fiore, Fiore Furniture in Altoona, PA, and Kyle Deets, Deets Furniture in Norfolk, NE will be filling slots currently held by Larry Mark, FWDG in Beaufort, SC and Todd Lehman, INTERIORS HOME in Lancaster, PA. Mark began his board tenure in 2015, serving two 2-year terms and one 3-year term. Lehman joined the board in 2017, serving one 2-year and one 3-year term. Lehman ‘s 3-year term was in the post of secretary on the board’s executive committee.
The new board members will assume their posts at the General Membership Meeting which will be held in conjunction with the group’s symposium May 23 – 25, 2022 at Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate. The 2022 symposium will be the first since before the pandemic, which was held in San Diego in 2019.
“We know both members and vendors are eager to be together in-person this May,” said Darby Hawkins, Furniture First’s on-staff event planner. “Our sponsorship slots sold out in near record time last November – in just 80 minutes. We know our vendor partners value the time with our members at the symposium, but we have to keep attendance to just those that sign up as sponsors in order to comply with safety regulations and maintain a positive vendor-to-member ratio.”
About Furniture First
Furniture First is a cooperative national home furnishings and mattress buying group serving full line independent retailers with sales over $2 million. Collectively, the group sells $3 billion at retail with their approved merchandise programs in the 533 member storefronts. Furniture First occupies showrooms in Las Vegas (B530) and High Point (IHFC G-770) where they display products from several of the group’s approved vendors. For more information on Furniture First Membership, visit www.FurnitureFirst.com, www.FurnitureFirst.coop or call 800-411-3477.
Furniture Industry News and in depth magazine articles for the furniture retail, furniture manufacturers, and furniture distributors.
Read other articles by Nicholas Ledoux
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