by Scot Kanaly named VP, sales, Domestic Upholstery; William Doherty named director, business development, Domestic Upholstery and Rande LaBrecque named national sales manager, Bobo Intriguing Objects
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — As part of its strategy to further bolster the company’s legacy brands, Hooker Furnishings has added three more key sales leadership positions.
As previously reported by Home News Now, Scot Kanaly was named as vice president, sales for Domestic Upholstery.
Most recently, another industry veteran, William Doherty joins as director of business development for Domestic Upholstery, and Rande LaBrecque has been named national sales manager for Bobo Intriguing Objects.
Last week, Home News Now published an exclusive interview with Caroline Hipple, who recently joined Hooker as chief creative officer. In that interview, Hipple commented on how she would be spearheading the company’s continued evolution towards creating a cohesive, whole-home focus.
She underscored that strategy when she noted, “As we move toward a broader, more integrated vision, we’re expanding and investing in our sales leadership team to further strengthen our talented sales force. Matt Cowan continues in his critical role as Executive Vice President of Sales for Hooker Furnishings’ Legacy Brands, now bolstered by category sales experts who will arm internal teams as well as industry partners with deep category knowledge and additional growth capacity.
“By ramping up creativity, education and resources, we’re not only enhancing our own capabilities – our retail and interior design partners will directly benefit from this new structure,” she continued. “As manufacturers, our job is to be a toolkit for our industry partners. Adding these category-specific sales leaders to our team adds yet another tool to that kit, allowing us to fully flesh out resources for case goods, accents, lighting, and upholstery. With so many talented people working together, we’ll be better equipped to support the individuality of each product category, while showcasing how cohesively they all work together,” Hipple confirmed.
Offering specifics about each of the most recent hires, Hipple noted that as vice president, sales for Domestic Upholstery, Scot Kanaly will oversee customizable domestic upholstery sales for the M, HF Custom and Bradington-Young brands, as well as provide specialized upholstery expertise to the Hooker Furnishings’ sales team. In this role he will report to Matt Cowan, executive vice president, sales for Hooker Legacy Brands.
Kanaly comes to Hooker Furnishings from Norwalk Furniture, where he excelled in sales leadership positions for 12 years, Previously, he was the owner of Kanaly Management for five years and spent eight years as regional manager of national accounts for Bassett Furniture.
William Doherty, meanwhile, comes to Hooker from Palliser Furniture Upholstery Ltd., where he served as a senior vice president, product design and visual merchandising, and as director, merchandising and stationary upholstery. Previously, he held a variety of upholstery product design and management positions at Crate & Barrel for more than 14 years.
As director, business development for Domestic Upholstery, Doherty will oversee the company’s lifestyle-focused domestic upholstery category, initially focusing on opportunities with M and Shenandoah, reporting to Caroline Hipple. Doherty will be a versatile team player and a shared resource for the company’s upholstery teams, as he expands into its broader customer base and OEM opportunities.
With more than 30 years’ experience in retail sales, merchandising, store planning and design, Rande LaBreque most recently managed the Bobo Intriguing Objects store in Atlanta. Previously, he spent 20 years as a regional director with Macy’s. From there, he opened the White Owl Market, a retail shop carrying updated, redesigned and repurposed furniture, home décor and more.
As national sales manager for BOBO Intriguing Objects, LaBreque will report to Matt Cowan. LaBreque will be responsible for expanding the Bobo customer base, ensuring a strong presence in interior design and the national retail market. He will lead a team of specialized sales professionals, collaborating across the company to achieve sales targets and enhance the brand image of Bobo Intriguing Objects.
