Haimsohn, Fendrich to receive Gold Pass awards in San Francisco
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 26, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO — Howard Haimsohn of Lawrance Contemporary Home Furnishings in San Diego and Jack Fendrich of Brenner's Furniture in Eugene, Ore., will be the Gold Pass honorees at the San Francisco Winter Market.
They'll be saluted in a ceremony at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, at the San Francisco Concourse. The market runs from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31.
Haimsohn's grandfather, Herman Haimsohn, founded what is now Lawrance Contemporary in 1937. Howard joined the business in 1976.
In 1983, Howard and his father, Ed, founded the Contemporary Design Group, a group of contemporary furniture retailers sharing advertising, buying clout and operational ideas. Today, the group is working on launching a private brand, and has 22 members around the country.
In 2001, Lawrance Contemporary was named Western Retailer of the Year by the Western Home Furnishings Assn.
Haimsohn was WHFA president in 1991 and as was president of the National Home Furnishings Assn. in 2002 and chairman in 2003.
Haimsohn believes he hasn't missed a San Francisco market in 25 years and praised the event as a "strong contemporary market."
Brenner's Furniture has been a downtown Eugene fixture since 1938. Jack Fendrich, the third generation of his family to run the store, started working at the store while in college and eventually took over management.
Five years ago, Jack's brother, David, joined the company. The store had its two biggest sales years in 2002 and 2003 despite the weak national and local economy.
"We have made a lot of technological, marketing and operational changes in the last few years, including moving our warehousing on-site, which has greatly improved our efficiency," said Brenner. "We also changed our merchandising from a warehouse-type environment with rows of furniture to one that uses stylish design vignettes."
Brenner has attended San Francisco markets for 17 years. He is involved with both WHFA and Pacific Furniture Dealers.
