NHFA, IHFRA honor 4
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 7, 2002
HIGH POINT — Bernie Rubin of Bernie & Phyl's, Norton, Mass., and Don Fedde of Fedde Fine Home Furnishings, Pasadena, Calif., will be honored as the National Home Furnishings Assn.'s 2002 Retailers of the Year at a market gala here.
At the same event, the International Home Furnishings Representatives Assn. will present its Harold P. Braun Distinguished Service Award to Bob Bruns, sales and marketing director of the Michigan territory for Berkline, and will give its Pillar of the Industry Award to Don Belgrad, president and chief executive officer of Schnadig Corp.
All four will be saluted at the eighth annual Furniture Industry Awards Gala on Thursday, April 18, the official opening day of the International Home Furnishings Market. The invitation-only event will be in the International Home Furnishings Center ballroom.
NHFA selects its Retailers of the Year based on three criteria: service to the industry, service to their communities and creative leadership of their companies.
Rubin will be honored in the category of retailers with annual sales of more than $10 million. He and his wife, Phyl, are owners of Bernie & Phyl's, a six-store chain based in Norton, Mass., with five locations in the Boston area and another in New Hampshire.
In the 19 years since it was founded, Bernie and Phyl's has grown from a single 3,000-square-foot furniture store in Quincy, Mass., to a chain producing annual sales of $67.7 million.
The Rubins share their good fortune by staying active in charitable causes in their communities. For example, in May 2001, they company completely furnished six Boston Habitat for Humanity houses.
"This is an area we take very seriously," said Bernie Rubin. "As a successful business, we believe it is our obligation to give back to those that are less fortunate than we are."
Fedde, the judges' selection in the under-$10 million category, is the second generation at his company, following his father, Arnold Fedde, as head of the 65-year-old company.
Arnold Fedde, undaunted by the Great Depression, opened a 3,000-square-foot store in 1937 on Colorado Street on the same block where the main store stands today.
Fedde Fine Home Furnishings now operates two stores in Pasadena.
Don Fedde took over in 1963. His son, Mark, began overseeing the merchandising in 1989 and now the two work as a team managing the stores, which average 24,000 square feet, and the company's 25 employees.
Among community activities, Don served as president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. in 1990. Both Don and Mark continue as staunch supporters of the Tournament of Roses parade and bowl game.
"People know us all over as a strong family business. Fedde's is in its third generation now, and we're getting third-generation customers shopping here as well," said Don Fedde.
Rubin and Fedde will receive their Retailer of the Year awards, Tiffany crystal obelisks, from the NHFA's president, Howard Haimsohn, and its chairman, Dave Cavitt.
| Rubin |
|
| Bruns |
| Belgrad |
| Don Fedde, left, NHFA's Retailer of the Year for stores under $10 million, and his son, Mark Fedde, at Fedde's Fine Home Furnishings in Pasadena, Calif. |
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