by NEW YORK — On Tuesday Feb. 7, investment banking and financial services firm Cowen & Company held a call with several furniture industry executives at the upper middle to upper end of the business to discuss their thoughts on the state of the industry.
The call included Emilio Sadez, owner of Naples, Florida-based International Design Source; Brad Cates, president and chief executive officer of wood furniture and upholstery resource Sarreid Ltd.; Daniel Lubner, founder of Clive Daniel Home, also in Naples; and Caroline Hipple, president of upholstery manufacturer Norwalk Furniture. Also participating was Tom Russell, editor-in-chief of Home News Now. Max Rakhlenko, an equity research analyst with Cowen, moderated the discussion.
As listeners will hear on the recording, which Cowen made available to Home News Now, the execs both on the retail and supply side of the business discussed the outlook for the year, addressing both the challenges and opportunities ahead at the upper end. A key takeaway was that despite some underlying concerns about the economy in general, demand remains strong in their niche of the business. They also discussed why this was the case and how their business compares today — and also during the pandemic — to buying patterns and trends during the 2008/09 recession. Russell, who had just come back from the winter Las Vegas Market, also discussed what he saw there in terms of attendance and buying trends from retailers attending the event.
To hear the full discussion, click here.
