By Sue Schultz
Staff Writer
HIGH POINT — After leading one of the region’s most notable furniture makers for almost a decade, Bob Stec, president and chief executive officer of Lexington Home Brands, announced Friday that he plans to step down.

Stec joined Lexington Home Brands in 1999 and became its president and chief executive officer later that year.

The Davidson County furniture maker, more than 100 years old, is best known for its licensed collections, such as Bob Timberlake, Tommy Bahama and Liz Claiborne. Stec helped launch many of these lines.

“I look forward to my involvement as an active investor…” Stec said in a statement released Friday. “It is now time to move on to the next phase of my life and focus on family matters.”

Before entering the home-furnishings industry, Stec worked in the textile apparel industry with companies such as VF Corp.

Under Stec’s leadership, the company joined a coalition of American furniture makers in August 2003 to fight the illegal dumping of wood bedroom furniture by Chinese factories on the U.S. market. But just one month after it’s decision to join, the company pulled out of the coalition.

Like many in the home-furnishings industry, Lexington Home Brands struggled with the demand for lower-priced imports. Since 2000, the company has laid off more than 1,800 workers and closed several of its plants in Davidson County.

Once a top Davidson County employer, the company has closed all but a few remaining plants in North Carolina. Earlier this year, the company moved its headquarters from its namesake town of Lexington to its showroom in Thomasville.

Asher Lepkin will take over as the company’s interim chief executive officer.