Furniture Brands International Announces Implementation of Logistics and Supply
Chain Initiatives
ST. LOUIS, Mo., Jan. 7, 2015 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Furniture Brands International
(NYSE:FBN) today announced progress in several areas on the implementation of
its strategic initiative to develop a world class and industry-leading supply
chain and logistics operations and to develop stronger Asia-based operations.
Several promotions and re-assignments were announced as the company builds its
supply chain team:
* Jimmy Martin has been appointed Managing Director of all Furniture Brands
Asia-based operations. In this role, Mr. Martin will head all of the global
sourcing efforts for Furniture Brands. He will be stationed in Dongguan, China.
* Davy Whittington has been named Head of Distribution and Logistics. He will
manage all logistics programs, company owned fleet operations, and warehouse
distribution centers across all of the Brands, and he will lead all negotiations
with logistics service providers.
* Jeff Smith has been named Head of Product Development. He will coordinate all
product development resources across all of the Brands to ensure that product
lead times are reduced and that the company optimizes the performance of all
domestic and offshore assets.
* Brian Martin has been named Head of Sourcing Operations. He will be working
with each of the Brands to improve product quality and delivery performance
while reducing total delivered costs.
* Tara Newman will coordinate import logistics functions, reporting to Davy
Whittington. In this role, she will have responsibility for the management of
container shipments to domestic and international customers.
Furniture Brands also announced the establishment of Furniture Brands (Hangzhou)
Co., Ltd., with an office in southern China that will be the headquarters of the
company’s Asian operations. Once fully-staffed, the company expects to have 120
employees in that office, coordinating all aspects of the company’s Asia-based
sourcing activities. Jimmy Martin will manage the office on a day-to-day basis.
Lastly, the company announced implementation initiatives to achieve operational
excellence in supply chain and logistics, including: the consolidation of its
distribution center operations to drive efficiency and effectiveness in all
supply chain operations, both domestically and offshore; the consolidation of
all efforts around customs compliance; and the rollout of consolidated
container-direct deliveries to larger retailers.
Mike McBreen, Vice President of Logistics and Supply Chain for Furniture Brands
said, “We have built our supply chain team with seasoned furniture industry
professionals from within our own brands, all working together efficiently and
effectively. This organization and the steps we have taken in warehouse
consolidation and supply chain improvements will help us simplify and streamline
our product development processes and globally coordinate all manufacturing
operations and distribution logistics.”
Mr. McBreen continued, “Establishing our operating entity, Furniture Brands
(Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., will strengthen our presence on the ground in Asia and
will enable us to provide significant business benefits to our brands and
customers, including: improved delivery, reduced product development lead times,
better inventory management and consolidated container direct shipments.”
About Furniture Brands
Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) is a vertically integrated operating
company that is one of the nation’s leading designers, manufacturers, and
retailers of home furnishings. With annual sales in excess of $2 billion, it
markets through a wide range of retail channels, from mass merchant stores to
single-brand and independent dealers to specialized interior designers.
Furniture Brands serves its customers through some of the best known and most
respected brands in the furniture industry, including Broyhill, Lane,
Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Pearson, Hickory Chair, Laneventure, and
Maitland-Smith.
The Furniture Brands International logo is available at
www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2757
Matters discussed in this release and in our public disclosures, whether written
or oral, relating to future events or our future performance, including any
discussion, express or implied, of our anticipated growth, operating results,
future earnings per share, plans and objectives, contain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are often
identified by the words “believe”, “positioned”, “estimate”, “project”,
“target”, “continue”, “intend”, “expect”, “future”, “anticipates”, and similar
expressions that are not statements of historical fact. These statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results and timing of
certain events could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not
limited to, those set forth under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
elsewhere in this release, and in our other public filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Such factors include, but are not limited to: changes
in economic conditions; loss of market share due to competition; failure to
forecast demand or anticipate or respond to changes in consumer tastes and
fashion trends; failure to achieve projected mix of product sales; business
failures of large customers; distribution and cost savings programs;
manufacturing realignments; increased reliance on offshore (import) sourcing of
various products; fluctuations in the cost, availability and quality of raw
materials; product liability uncertainty; environmental regulations; future
acquisitions; impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets; anti-takeover
provisions which could result in a decreased valuation of our common stock; loss
of funding sources; and our ability to open and operate new retail stores
successfully. It is routine for internal projections and expectations to change
as the year or each quarter in the year progresses, and therefore it should be
clearly understood that all forward-looking statements and the internal
projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations included in this
report or other periodic reports are made only as of the date made and may
change. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in
the future, we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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CONTACT: Furniture Brands International, Inc.
Lynn Chipperfield
314-863-1100
