Norwalk pleased with reception
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 16, 2009
LAS VEGAS — LAS VEGAS — Owners of upholstery producer Norwalk Custom Furniture cited good attendance and positive order writing at the company's first market here last week.
Norwalk Custom Furniture is the revived version of Norwalk Furniture, which closed last year after its lender cut its credit line. Local investors in Norwalk, Ohio, purchased Norwalk's assets and started the new company.
“We opened several new accounts, several international accounts, and are even sending a couple of containers to the Dominican Republic,” said Dan White, the company's president and one of the investors.
“It wasn't all about sales,” he said. “It was a chance to get our story out — which we had a fine opportunity to do. The icing on the cake is that sales have been good.”
The company introduced product, including some in its licensed line with HGTV celebrity designer Candice Olson. White said Norwalk has “kept the best of what the old company had, and we're building on that.”
“We're a different company with a different approach,” he said. “We're extremely retail focused. We started with a blank sheet of paper and we're inviting all our customers to write on it.”
Since they acquired the company's assets, White and his colleagues have had an uphill battle to convince former customers that the manufacturer has returned to stability.
But the effort appears to be working, he said. Norwalk “posted a modest profit with a strong balance sheet” since reopening and is achieving a 35-day delivery schedule for custom furnishings, said White.
In addition, the company has committed to a five-year lease in the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point and will show on the 10th floor of the IHFC Design Center.
The Olson line, popular with consumers, is under contract to 2010 and is a key drawing card, said White.
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Norwalk Custom Furniture back at Las Vegas Market
Feb 10, 2009
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