Furniture Today,
Will be North American VP of sales for upholstery specialist

TORONTO — Industry veteran Paul Polding has rejoined full-line upholstery specialist Distinctive Designs Furniture as vice president of sales for North America.

For the past 15 years, Polding has been based in Mexico, taking on consulting, sourcing, marketing and product development assignments. He worked with North American clients seeking global outsourcing opportunities and with offshore manufacturers seeking to penetrate the North American market. He has worked in 12 countries including Mexico, China, the Philippines, Argentina and Germany.

Polding held a senior sales management job at Distinctive Designs in the early 1990s. In his new post, he is based at the company’s Toronto office.

“Paul’s vast experience during 30 years in the furniture industry, combined with his international experience over the past 15 years, equip him to make an immediate contribution as Distinctive Designs moves to the next level of global business,” said Alan Kornblum, president and CEO.

Kornblum added that the company is committed to expanding its special order leather business in the Kroehler 1893 division, its value-priced fabric offerings in the Distinctive Designs division and its new import joint venture in China, called Innova Designs.