New president, owners make changes

McLEAN, Va. — Six months with a new president, downsized to a core business and backed by deep pockets, Rowe Furniture seems headed for a new life after bankruptcy.

The company, long one of the industry’s top upholstery makers, is on stronger financial footing provided by new owner Sun Capital Partners, a private investment company. Rowe said it is making consistent, on-time deliveries.


And its management and sales staff say they’re in constant communication with the company’s customers to make sure store owners, upholstery buyers and even salespeople on the floor believe Rowe’s performance is the real thing.

“I can tell you that in the last couple of months we’ve hit over 150 retail locations, and we’re not finished yet,” said the company’s new president, Stefanie Lucas, who moved up from a senior executive position to succeed Gerald Birnbach after a Sun Capital affiliate acquired the company in January. “We’re ensuring that we’re out there and talking to people.”

So far, the 60-year-old company has a lot to talk about.

Lucas said the company has “right-sized our ship,” liquidating its Storehouse retail chain and closing a plant in Missouri, consolidating it in Virginia. “We started by saying we needed to right-size our business, and a big part of that was to consolidate our manufacturing into one facility (Rowe now has about 800 employees, down from a peak of 1,500). We had a very smooth transition and we’re really proud of that.

“Following that, with the purchase by Sun, our objective was solid performance and stability, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on,” she said. “We’ve been able to achieve that in a relatively short period of time by building back our speed, achieving our promised delivery dates, being in a better in-stock fabric position than we’ve been in a long time and really opening a line of communication with our partners.”

Rowe also says it has fixed its troubled Enterprise Resource Planning computerized manufacturing system. The system, designed to improve production efficiencies, instead was turning out inaccurate reports, rendering parts “invisible,” and botching such tasks as bunching large batches of fabric for efficient cutting.

It’s “running smoothly” and “is not an issue now,” Lucas said.

Since Rowe is no longer public, she wouldn’t divulge sales figures or get into the specifics of how much space Rowe has lost on retail floors. It was a “considerable” amount, she said, but the company is getting it back.

“You might ask, ‘Why are those people looking at us and giving us another shot?’ It’s because the things we offer have real value to the customer and still stand strong, if not stronger,” she said.

“Then I think that being backed by a company like Sun Capital shows the solidity of our company right now,” Lucas added.

Sun Capital Partners, an international investment firm based in Boca Raton, Fla., bought Rowe Cos. out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy for $30 million, most of it in cash, after the manufacturer had nearly collapsed under the weight of growing competition, especially from China, the rising cost of raw materials, and the shaky computer conversion.

Rowe has gotten its backlog under control and is delivering product in 30 days or less, according to Lucas. And it’s exploiting its strength as a domestic manufacturer with 500 Rowe fabrics and another 200 in its Robin Bruce division.

“The importance of choice and special order to women who are buying furniture has done nothing but continue to grow,” Lucas said. “Retailers have to find a good partner that will offer them great style and special order, so that is still a big focus for us.”

Matt Hubbard, manager of Amish Furniture, an independent retailer in Denver, said the store has been a Rowe customer for two years and plans to add a Rowe gallery, which will take it from eight Rowe and Robin Bruce groups to 18.

“They’re a domestic manufacturer and have a lot of flexibility as far as different fabrics. They’re very, very good for what were interested in,” said Hubbard.

“Their shipping time has improved dramatically,” he added. “When they say they’re implementing changes, it’s not lip service. We’re seeing a lot of improvement. For the quality, the price, the style and the flexibility, they’re pretty much what we’re looking for.”

Albuquerque, N.M.-based American Home dropped seven or eight Rowe groups but decided to take another look at the company after the Sun rescue.

“It just got a little difficult to get goods,” said Deb Paczynski, vice president, furniture. “So just for the floor space and activity needs, we lopped them off one by one. We kept the one that could somewhat flow.”

The Rowe groups American Home is adding back began arriving a few weeks ago. “Our first order for our stores came in very well — right on time with no issues,” according to Paczynski.

“Rowe’s always been a really good partner for us because we do a lot of special-order business,” she added. “I think they have … a company with youthful energy, unlike a lot of the traditional upholstery industry. They’re a good resource for the casual contemporary, younger-type frames and fabrics, and that’s what we’re focused on now.”

 Rowe says it will continue targeting women who are older Gen Xers and younger baby boomers, who tend to be a little trendy but not too far out. The company has added new fabrics and frames, and is using its Robin Bruce line to offer edgier design.

While deep in bankruptcy proceedings, the company helped star designer Jonathan Adler find another manufacturer to build his upholstered products, and Adler took over his own sourcing for case goods. The move was by mutual agreement, with a spokesman at Rowe saying the Adler line had done very well and was just too good not to continue.

Now, Rowe is championing “guest” designers from outside the industry with new perspectives, to introduce two collections and then bow out. Silvano Banfi, Frank Zambrelli and Banfi Zambrelli, who have designed for fashion-forward companies Judith Leiber, Calvin Klein and Coach, were the first designers for this effort, with their second collection due out at the next High Point market. Lucas said another noted designer is scheduled for the April market in High Point.

Lucas said she didn’t step into the role of president to reinvent Rowe, because it was already doing a lot of things successfully. Instead, the company is keeping its core and building for the future.

“It’s always a challenge when you’ve gone through a difficult period in the company,” she said. “When people join our organization now, I tell them they’re joining at the best possible time because we’ve been through the worst of it and they’re at the curve upward.

 “That’s the most exciting time because we’re building the business back. We’re saying it’s all upward from here.”