HIGH POINT — New orders for residential furniture were up 22% in April compared to April 2023, marking 10 out of the last 11 months when orders have risen, according to the latest Furniture Insights report from Smith Leonard.

Shipments meanwhile, were up 2% from April 2023, a slight increase that indicates a bright spot in where business could be headed as they catch up with the increase in orders.

The monthly survey of residential manufacturers and distributors showed that orders rose to $2.2 billion, from $1.82 billion in April 2023. Some 75% of the survey participants said that orders rose in April compared to last year. The report went on to note that new orders were about flat compared to the $2.19 billion reported in March 2024.

April residential furniture shipments totaled $2.2 billion, up 2% from the $2.17 billion reported in April 2023, and up for about half the survey participants. By comparison, shipments were down 1% from the $2.24 billion reported in March 2024, the report said.

April backlogs totaled $2.7 billion, down 12% from $3 billion in April 2023, but up 2% from $2.64 billion from March.

Other highlights of the report are as follows:

+ Receivable levels were down 3% from April 2023, but about level with March, which the report said is materially in line with shipments for both periods.

+ Inventories were down 20% from April 2023 and about level with March, which it said is in line with prior periods and current operational levels.

+ The number of factory and warehouse workers was down 6% from April 2023 and down 2% from March.

+ Payroll expenses also were down 5% year-to-date through April from the same period in 2023, which the report said is consistent with the employee headcount.

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HIGH POINT — Upholstery manufacturer Man Wah USA is implementing a 3% increase on the FOB pricing of its products shipping starting July 8.

The increase is meant to help retailers control retail price points and prevent overpricing on products during a period of rising freight rates.

“We believe that this increase will help ensure that sales are not impacted, while also addressing the challenges posed by increased freight factors,” company director Gabriele Natale told dealers in a June 28 letter obtained by Home News Now.

Natale further explained that the increase aims to address current freight rates of up to $9,000 per container shipped from Asia to the West Coast and as high as $10,000 to the East Coast.

“The contracts are not being honored so we end up tending to go and buy outside the contracts,” Natale said. “It is very expensive.”

He added that the company is eating some of these costs to help keep the increase in the low single digits. It is similar to Ashley’s 3% increase on all products except domestic case goods and bedding, which takes effect July 15 on all new orders.

At Man Wah, a 3% increase on a $350 starting priced leather motion sofa with basic function would raise the cost by just over $10. On a $600 sofa with better leathers and expanded function, it would raise the cost by about $18.

“So instead of putting out a surcharge for people we are managing freight for, we put out a 3% price increase which is a very modest increase,” Natale said.

The container pricing situation has resulted because of issues ranging from ships being diverted around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid attacks in the Red Sea, to port congestion in Singapore, not to mention a flurry of shipments of consumer electronics and solar panels in May to avoid additional China tariffs.

But Natale noted that the current demand in the marketplace does not support the return of higher container rates, which industry officials say are three times or more what they were earlier this year.

“There is not enough demand to justify these prices,” Natale said. “There is plenty of capacity out there, and that should tell us that we will see freight rates leveling out soon. That is the general consensus. Now the shippers and steamship lines will try hard to pretend that is not the case, but eventually it is going to level off.”

Natale said the increase also runs counter to surcharges that the company implemented for about three years during the pandemic. This was largely in line with what other importers were doing during this period to address high freight rates, some of which exceeded $20,000 per container.

But some industry resources have said that surcharges — often shown at the bottom of an invoice — were unpopular with retailers who wanted to know the actual cost of landed product. Thus some industry resources say they are looking to avoid surcharges this time around.

“Us not putting out a surcharge is a defensive move because we need to protect the business that we have and possibly expand it,” Natale said, adding of the 3% increase, “This is a very small upcharge. We don’t want to change retail price points.”

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A division of Asian furniture manufacturer Green River Group has purchased full line furniture resource Hillsdale Furniture, a move that gives the company a new chance at success in the U.S. marketplace.

Company Senior Vice President John Elting announced to dealers on Monday that Mellow River, a division of the manufacturer has finalized the acquisition and that the company’s name is being changed to HH2 Home, a nod to its beginnings as Hillsdale House more than 30 years ago. The company also has named Angela Hsu as its new chief executive officer, a position held by Brian Hendricks for the past five and a half years.

Hsu is the daughter of Steve Hsu, a top executive at Green River Group and the son of founder Omori Hsu. Angela Hsu is also executive vice president of Green River Group according to her LinkedIn profile.

“This will bring us so much more opportunity as we will not only be able to continue the businesses in which we excel, but potentially enjoy efficiencies created by vertically integrating into their manufacturing network, which includes everything from lumber and kitchen cabinets to bathroom vanities and mid-priced and high-end case goods,” Elting said. “ The best news is that much of our core team will remain intact, and we will be able to return some of our valuable employees who are already off to seek new opportunities.”

The announcement ends weeks of speculation about the future of Hillsdale Furniture, which industry officials speculated had closed its doors in recent weeks. In late May, Hillsdale announced to local government officials in Vietnam that it was closing its Vietnam office, “due to the difficult business situation of the parent company, leading to the inability to maintain the management and operation of the representative office in Vietnam.”

In his July 1 letter to dealers, Elting added that members of the HH2 team recently were able to meet with Angela Hsu and her team, which includes Sandy Hu, the company’s new chief financial officer, as they were able to communicate a new vision for the company moving forward.

“We have a lot of work to do, but we are excited to move forward,” said Elting, who added that the company “recently experienced a firestorm of unfortunate circumstances that led to a choice — liquidate or look for an acquisition. Obviously we looked for an acquisition.”

Elting also said that with the transition to new ownership, its systems, retailer IDs, item numbers and product descriptions will remain in place.

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of a bookcase unit that was involved in a tip-over incident last summer that caused the death of a 4-year-old child.

Dania Furniture of Boise, Idaho, is recalling 940 of its Hayden bookcase units that the CPSC said are unstable if not anchored to the wall, posing a tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children. The company received a report of one tip-over incident in August 2023 that involved an unanchored bookcase unit that resulted in the death of the child.

The CPSC said that these bookcases, made in Italy, were sold exclusively at Dania Furniture stores nationwide and online at www.daniafurniture.com from November 2017 through February 2024 for about $370.

The recall involves the wooden Hayden bookcase, which has six storage cubbies and three sliding white doors. It is 35.5 inches wide, 16 inches deep and 73 inches tall. A label on the back of each unit contains the product name and SKU number LB2225/A.

The CPSC has advised consumers to immediately stop using the recalled bookcase if it is not anchored to the wall and place it in an area that children cannot access.

Consumers also have been advised to contact Dania Furniture for a free, in-home installation of a tip-over restraint kit. In cases where the units cannot be anchored to the wall, or if consumers prefer a refund, the CPSC said, Dania Furniture will provide a full refund of the purchase price and arrange for the pickup and disposal of the units. The company also is contacting all known purchasers directly.

For additional information, consumers can contact Dania Furniture toll-free at 844-722-6347 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, via email at ProductSafetyHotline@interline.com, or online at https://daniafurniture.com/pages/safety-recalls. Or they can visit https://daniafurniture.com/ and click on the “Safety Recalls” tab at the top of the page.

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The spot market is the global trade equivalent of seeking out a loan shark to tide you over until your next paycheck; it is merciless, expensive and simply not a sustainable financing strategy.

The Bloomberg report has A.P. Moller-Maersk warning that the world’s supply lines have and will continue to be more disrupted by congestion in the Red Sea than has been previously acknowledged. Out of the other side of its sizable mouth, the shipping giant raised its profit outlook. This is the difference between, on the one hand, container carriers and oil companies and, on the other, businesses that have to rely on persuasion to win the customer’s hard-earned disposable dollar. The message? “You need us, so suck it.”

The Danish company cited the now 6-month-old problem of Houthi “pirates” for the decline in container capacity, which in the world of shipping means ever-higher prices to secure a diminishing resource. Supply is reportedly down; prices are way, way up. Spot rates for full-size containers coming here from Asia are north of $6,000 for a 40-foot unit or its equivalent, according to the Drewry World Container Index. That’s three times the rate as recently as December. Editor’s Note: Industry sources have told Home News Now that they are paying as high as $10,000.

The Maersk announcement, which predicted “strong” demand for its containers for the foreseeable future, also cited what the company calls Red Sea “ripple effects” for the declines in capacity. These effects include bottlenecks at some of Asia’s biggest ports and major customers’ willingness to pay big up front to secure shipping capacity for the all-important holiday selling season. 

What the announcement doesn’t mention are the ripple effects of the ripple effects. Another news item, this one from the South China Morning Post, warns that shipping costs even from the interior of the country also are on the rise because of traffic jams on the Yangtze River, Asia’s longest waterway and the functional equivalent to the Mississippi River. The cause of the choke points also is a decline in capacity, increasing wait times and delays. The ripple effects of the ripple effects, therefore, are the difficulties getting raw materials and even fuel into the country in order for goods to flow back out of the country. These delays inevitably affect the international trade routes, as well. 

Vietnam v. China

Meanwhile, over in Vietnam, there is more than deep concern. You can go ahead and call it alarm. 

Higher shipping costs and increasing delays trigger contract penalties and threaten already thin margins, putting billions of dollars at risk, according to Vietnamese state media. And at least from the view of Vietnamese logistics experts, this is a situation that shows no signs of improving any time soon. 

For these experts, add to the Red Sea disruptions the escalating tensions between the United States and China and the recent round of tariffs on Chinese goods levied by the Biden administration. The run-up to these tariffs that take effect in August has spurred U.S. importers and Chinese exporters alike to expedite shipments before that deadline. This puts many if not most Vietnamese exporters at a competitive disadvantage. 

Chinese companies can pay up to $1,000 to secure a shipping slot, whereas Vietnamese companies can only offer perhaps $600, according to the Vietnam Ship Agents, Brokers and Maritime Services Providers Association. Add to this the fluidity of pricing from the container carriers. Typically, rates are good for 15 days to a month; in today’s environment, they can change daily. And sea freight rates for Vietnamese producers to ship to the U.S. have reportedly doubled this year already.

Danish danger

As inflation at least loosens its grip, the container carriers seemingly couldn’t care less. They are proving yet again that they will seek maximum profits even as their customers buckle and break under yet another sustained period of uncertainty with respect to supply chains. The revised profit outlook from Maersk is the second this month. 

The Red Sea-caused re-routes are “expected to contribute to a stronger financial performance in the second half of 2024,” according to Maersk’s self-serving statement. Stronger for the carriers. Not mentioned? The weaker financial performance presumably for nearly all of its customers.

For those scoring at home, Maersk revised its profit outlook to $7 billion to $9 billion this year over the previous estimate of $4 billion to $6 billion, or a nearly 30% to 50% markup. Are you kidding me? Of course, Maersk shares rose nearly 4% on the news of the revised forecast.

The Copenhagen-based company also stated that congestion will continue to cause disruptions in ports in Asia and the Middle East, which sets the company up nicely for yet another revised outlook and yet higher quoted rates in the near future. Maybe tomorrow.

La La Land

A quick check on some of the bigger ports finds congestion at all of them, including Singapore, Ningbo, Shanghai and Qingdao. The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the country, remains above the pre-pandemic peak, according to Bloomberg.

Returning to Drewry’s data, the cost of a 40-footer to L.A. from Shanghai saw six straight weeks of price increases, including a nearly 1% hike two weeks ago to bump the container cost to $6,025. That’s a tick better than Shanghai-to-Rotterdam, which increased 2.4% to $6,200, the highest that route has been since September 2022 coming out of the pandemic.

The routes hardest hit? Shanghai to Genoa, Italy, now at $6,900, or 3% higher than the first of the month and also the highest since September 2022, according to Drewry. 

As reporting by HNN’s Tom Russell uncovered earlier this month, yet another disrupter is the lower average vessel speed, which has dipped to an average of 17 nautical miles per hour from a high of 24 knots, a drop of nearly a third, according to Statista. 

The ships keep getting bigger and, therefore, heavier, turning an idiom into description: the slow boats from China. 

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Founded in 2014, Theptex (Thailand) Co., Ltd. specializes in high-quality, 100 percent natural latex sheets products, including mattresses of custom shapes, furniture and more. By using the GOLS certified organically grown latex from Thailand’s natural rubber trees, Theptex is able to produce products that have one of the highest percentages of natural latex in the mattress industry, boosting consumers’ health, one sleep at a time.

With close to 100 employees, Theptex is able to supply products to a wide range of countries, including Thailand, China, India, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, Australia, USA, and Europe. Their innovative approach to health-forward mattresses sets them apart from their competitors, using varied approaches to not only aid in peaceful sleep, but to help with various health conditions as well, including orthopedic issues and pressure ulcers.

Their use of pinholes in their mattresses aid in cooling and heating properties naturally, producing a more restful and healthy sleep experience.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Theptex (Thailand) Co., Ltd. to our international network in an effort to expand our brand’s reach and to experience what the Thailand markets have to offer,” said Nick Bates, president of Spring Air International. “We look forward to many years of watching the company advance in this market while simultaneously advancing our international efforts.”

“With our company’s roots deeply seeded in Thailand’s culture and natural product, Theptex aims to provide a healthy, restful sleep to all consumers, regardless of which mattress they choose. Producing innovative and high-quality products are at the utmost importance to us, and through researching Spring Air’s mattresses, it is clear that their goals align with ours; we were impressed by their efforts on this front,” said Saurabh Gupta, a company director. “As we embark on this journey together, we are committed to achieving our mutual business objectives while creating long-lasting value for our consumers and stakeholders.”

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HIGH POINT — Universal Furniture has hired industry veteran Rick Lovegrove as vice president of upholstery, a new position devoted to the enhancement and growth of the company’s domestic and import upholstery business.

Lovegrove comes to the company from Four Hands, where he has worked for the past decade, most recently as president of upholstery and before that as vice president, product services group and upholstery.

Before that he worked at upholstery manufacturer G. Romano for more than 18 years, both as vice president of design and creative director and brand manager.

In his new position, he reports to Universal President Sean O’Connor, who started the upholstery business for the company around 2015 and who has since handled the development/merchandising responsibilities alongside Shannon Lookabill, vice president of product development. In addition to its import upholstery line produced in Vietnam, the company expanded into domestic upholstery when it acquired Southern Upholstery in 2019. The company said the acquisition allowed Universal to develop its domestic upholstery operations in 2020.

The company said that Lovegrove will collaborate closely with O’Connor and Lookabill to “drive strategic initiatives and innovation within Universal Furniture’s designs. Together, they aim to capitalize on emerging trends, enhance product offerings and reinforce Universal Furniture’s position as a whole home leader in the furniture marketplace.”

Universal said that Lovegrove’s leadership role at Four Hands expanded the category into the “largest product segment at the company. With a career distinguished by domestic and imported furniture expertise, Lovegrove brings a unique skill set to Universal Furniture, poised to drive innovation and growth within the upholstery segment.”

“The upholstery business at Universal has been a focal point in our growth strategy, aimed at expanding design appeal and growing sales,” O’Connor said. “The rapid expansion of this division necessitated the creation of this role, and Rick’s extensive industry experience positions him perfectly to lead and further accelerate our momentum.”

“Rick’s proven track record in scaling businesses within the furniture sector aligns with our vision for Universal Furniture’s future,” O’Connor added. “His leadership will be instrumental as we continue to innovate and meet the evolving demands of our customers.”

Lovegrove said he looks forward to this next step in his industry career.

“I am truly excited to join the Universal team,” he said. “The growth of the brand over the last couple of years has been exciting to witness, and I can’t wait to build and scale the next generation of the upholstery business.” 

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SEFFNER, Fla. — Another dresser sold exclusively at Rooms To Go has been recalled because it does not comply with the performance requirements of the STURDY (Stop Tip-Overs of Risky Dressers on Youth) Act according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.

On Thursday, the CPSC announced a recall involving 400 Cedona Natural View six-drawer dressers. Although there have been no injuries or incidents reported, the CPSC said that the units are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, thus posing “serious tip-over and entrapment hazards” that can kill or injure children.

This is the second recall in the past two months for a dresser sold exclusively at Rooms To Go that allegedly does not meet the performance requirements of STURDY.

The recall involves the Cedona Natural View six-drawer dresser with model number 33117082, which is printed in black ink on a label at the back of the unit. The dresser is 68 inches long by 18 inches wide and 36 inches tall and weighs about 238 pounds.

The CPSC said the unit was made in India and sold at Rooms To Go stores nationwide and at www.roomstogo.com from November 2023 through February for about $1,000.  

Consumers have been advised to stop using the recalled dresser immediately and go to their local Rooms To Go for a replacement. The retailer, which also is contacting all known purchasers directly, will schedule a free delivery of the replacement dresser and remove the recalled dresser from their home, the CPSC said.  

For more information, consumers can contact Rooms To Go toll-free at 855-688-0919 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Or they can email productcare@roomstogo.com or go online at www.cedonadresserrecall.com.

Home News Now has reached out to Rooms To Go and is awaiting a response to this recall and the one involving its Mill Valley Jr. six-drawer dresser announced on May 2.

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HIGH POINT — Rising container rates that are occurring in a still slow business environment are causing furniture industry resources to take measures including raising prices and implementing freight surcharges. Others meanwhile are cutting expenses in order to cover costs.

Ashley Furniture, for example, has alerted customers that it is raising prices by about 3% on all products except domestic case goods and domestic bedding which will increase by about 1%. The increases take effect on all new orders on July 15. It will reprice all open orders July 29.

The company said the change is related to disruption in the marketplace including factors such as 1) a surge in demand driven by a shortage of capacity 2) the fact that major ports such as Singapore are experiencing severe backlogs because of congestion 3) the impact of disruptions in the Suez Canal 4) average vessel speed being at its lowest recorded levels.

“The disruptions in the marketplace have had a notable impact on shipping capacities and have contributed to significant cost increases across various areas,” wrote John Mask, senior vice president of strategic sales and marketing. “Ocean freight, labor costs, vendor finished goods, vendor components and raw materials prices have all been impacted. In response to these challenges, we have engaged with our container suppliers and have secured the necessary container volume to continue moving our freight. Securing these containers has come at a higher cost than we anticipated during our product costing process. To effectively navigate these rising costs and maintain the quality and reliability of our services, we find it necessary to review our pricing structure. … We remain committed to offering you the best value in the industry. When container freight costs stabilize, we will reassess our pricing.”

Yet for now, it has been extremely difficult for Ashley and others facing similar pricing decisions, whether it be an increase or a freight surcharge. Todd Wanek, president and chief executive officer, described this period as a perfect storm of issues ranging from Singapore port congestion to the Red Sea turmoil and peak season timing.

“All those things are kind of hitting at the same time,” he told Home News Now.

“There is really no choice,” Wanek added of the price increase. “The fact of the matter is the spot market has gone up so much. We are a contract-based company, but we are just not getting enough ships. There is not enough capacity out there so you end up on the spot market trying to buy freight, and that’s what we are doing.”

Despite the massive capacity constraint, he said, it’s important to do what’s needed to get furniture to the marketplace.

“Our responsibility and everybody’s responsibility is to keep supply chain moving,” he said. “If somebody wants to buy a piece of furniture, it’s our job to make sure that piece of furniture is available quickly to satisfy the customers.”

“So this is a temporary price increase,” he added. ” We hope this eases. We hope that within six months the capacity problem is gone and the price increase is gone as well or at least part of it.”

The increases in freight are impacting importers throughout the industry, effectively raising container prices as much as several times what they were earlier this year. This means that rates will be several thousand dollars higher, resulting in an increased cost of Asian-sourced products ranging from bedrooms and dining rooms to stationary and motion upholstery. One source said this has brought container rates to as high as $10,000, compared to a few thousand earlier this year.

Flexsteel is implementing a freight surcharge on all imported soft goods and case goods purchased from its warehouse. The charge applied to all new orders placed after 2 p.m. June 19.

“Ocean carriers are systematically cancelling sailings and are not providing consistent bookings at our contracted rates,” said Brian DesBiens, vice president of retail sales at Flexsteel in a June 10 letter to dealers. “This is driving us to the open market to ensure we keep inventory flowing to support our business.”

Yet rates don’t seem to be coming down even as those bookings are rescheduled. For example, Flexsteel told Home News Now that in mid-June, it received an increase that was $800-$1,000 higher than what its surcharge covers. On July 1, it is expected to increase another $500 to $1,000.

“Every two weeks we have an analysis,” said David Crimmins, vice president of sales and product management, adding that the company held off on increases earlier in the year only to see them level off then rise again — and potentially keep rising. “We don’t think we are at the peak yet. We don’t have any actions planned now, but if they keep climbing, we will have to raise it.”

Kuka Home told dealers it is adding a temporary freight surcharge of $2,500 on all landed shipments to the U.S., Canada and Mexico from its China and Vietnam facilities. It will be effective on shipments invoiced starting June 21.

Company President Matt Harrison said in a June 18 letter to dealers that the surcharges were introduced “earlier than usual due to various factors, including diversions in the Red Sea and trade imbalances necessitating the repositioning of empty containers worldwide. Additionally, major retailers are shipping their fall inventories earlier to avoid potential delays, further exacerbating the issue. The resulting lack of capacity and equipment has even compelled us to rent temporary warehouse facilities at exorbitant rates to store finished goods awaiting shipping documents.”

“It’s an unavoidable situation, whether it’s a landed customer or FOB customer. They are paying more for freight, if they want to get their furniture shipped,” Harrison told Home News Now. “I can tell you for a fact that major, major retailers are paying significantly more than they were in the past because they understand what they have been through in the past during Covid, and they need their furniture. They need their containers. So they are securing inventory at a much higher rate than you would dream they would pay right now, because we are grabbing capacity on our freight lines that we have contracted with.”

However, Harrison also noted that the surcharge the company has imposed is less than the charges the company is incurring. In the letter, he said that the company has been absorbing the additional charges for the past few weeks, but that “the latest increase has made it unsustainable for us to continue for our landed customers.”

“We are sharing that and that’s even at a loss,” Harrison said, noting that everyone got an increase on their contracts which expired in May, followed by a peak season surcharge June 1, with another one slated for July 1.

“It’s an unavoidable situation for everyone buying out of Asia,” Harrison said. “Furniture is a higher cube percentage than shipping clothing or something else where it affects us more for the cost of goods. It’s the reality.”

In the letter, he added that the company is “actively monitoring the situation and doing everything possible to mitigate this burden. As soon as conditions improve, we will adjust or remove the surcharge. Your business is greatly valued, and we appreciate your understanding during these challenging times.”

Other furniture companies interviewed this week also said they likely will raise prices or issue container surcharges sooner than later based on current and future container rates should they continue to rise.  

Others still are taking steps to cut costs. Malouf, for example, announced a restructuring that took place last week that resulted in an unspecified reduction in force at its Cache Valley, Utah, headquarters. The company said this was related to external forces, including competition from online resources selling apparel and other fashion and home-related products including furniture.

“Through the years, we’ve prided ourselves on our nimbleness, innovation and early arrival in the bedding industry,” said CEO Sam Malouf. “However, the company must begin shifting focus from certain categories due to circumstances largely outside of our control. As a reflection of these category shifts, our senior leadership team made the difficult decision to reduce the workforce at corporate headquarters.”

“The playing field is no longer level or fair with the rise of platforms like Temu and Shein, which are decimating American companies,” he added. “We needed to make changes to thrive in today’s market. By increasing clarity and focus, we expect to improve market share and drive long-term success.”

Also, Hooker Furnishings recently announced in its latest earnings report that it plans to cut costs by about 10% in order to regain profitability.

And Hillsdale Furniture announced to the Vietnam government in late May that it was closing its Vietnam office effective June 1.

“Due to the difficult business situation of the parent company, leading to the inability to maintain the management and operation of the representative office in Vietnam, we have decided to terminate the operations of the representative office in Vietnam and are carrying out other procedures for dissolution/termination of operations according to Vietnamese law,” the company told government officials in late May.

The state of the company’s U.S. operations is unknown at this stage. Sources have said that the company also has closed its U.S. offices, but Home News Now has not been able to verify this as company officials have not responded to repeated calls or emails.

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LOGAN, Utah — As part of a restructuring announced this week, Malouf Home has named Mark Thatcher president and Jesse Gibbs as head of business development and rep management.

Thatcher fills a role previously held by Eric Holmstead, who has been president since 2022. Before this he was national sales manager since 2019.

Holmstead will now serve as head of merchandising and global sourcing, addressing challenges on the sourcing side of the business, while also helping manage the development of new products.

“I’ve been working exclusively with our retail partners for the last 10 years, and my strong relationships and understanding of how to succeed in this space will influence the new products we’ll bring to market,” Holmstead said. “We’re already seeing the overwhelmingly positive response to our new mattresses. There are more big opportunities out there for our retail partners and for us, and I’ve already started working on them.”

Thatcher has been with the company as vice president, sales for the past two and a half years and before that was director, business development at case goods manufacturer Maven.

Before this he was director, online marketing and online marketing manager at Icon Health and Fitness for  more than 16 years.

As part of the restructuring, the company sales team has launched a new structure that classifies accounts by size, instead of by region.

“We needed to rethink the types of support we were offering our partners, so we can help maximize their business and offer them the right resources,” Thatcher said. “This new sales structure will create better partnerships with a higher impact for our retailers’ bottom

line.”

Jesse Gibbs has been with the company for just over eight years, previously serving as vice president, national sales, district sales manager and territory sales manager. Before joining Malouf, he was in product development and management roles at HRI Research for more than seven years.

In his new role, the company said that Gibbs is “working to provide more tools and resources for outside sales representatives, so they best serve the needs of retail partners, in addition to strategizing for tradeshows.”

CEO Sam Malouf said, “I believe we’re going to look back on this as a key moment for the company. We are returning to our entrepreneurial core, leveraging market shifts and focusing on our retail partners and customers. There’s a bright future ahead.”

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