Some Highland House items to survive
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, November 10, 2003
Thomasville, N.C. — Some of the best-selling frames and fabrics of Highland House are expected to be preserved after the upholstery maker is phased out of the Furniture Brands International stable of companies. But not the well-known collection of upholstery and case goods licensed by the fabled British department store chain, Harrods.
Citing lackluster results, Furniture Brands said it planned to close Highland House by the end of next month.
Tom Tilley, president of Highland House's parent company, Thomasville Furniture Inds., said TFI was "certainly going to examine the rates of sale of all the items in the Highland House line and we certainly want to preserve those items that are best sellers. But at this point, it's a little premature to say exactly what will be retained and what will be no longer."
But he said the Harrods Fine Furniture Collection, introduced in 2000 as a 50-plus piece collection of upholstery and case goods and the cornerstone of the department store's home collection, isn't under consideration.
"It really was not all that significant," Tilley said.
"What is going to happen is that the (Highland House) factory in Hickory will continue to operate, but produce Thomasville product. We will probably retain some of the best-selling frame and fabric styles in the Thomasville line," he said. Tilley said Thomasville had a record market in October and needs the Hickory factory for upholstery production.
Orders will be taken for Highland House product through the end of the year.
Although some key Highland House executives resigned before the October market, the shutdown came as a surprise because Thomasville was interviewing for the positions, and also had recently renewed its lease on the High Point showroom occupied by Highland House.
Tilley said that "nothing has been resolved" yet on what to do with the showroom, in a high-profile, freestanding building at 100 East Green Drive.
"Highland House has been a well-known brand name in our industry for many years," said Mickey Holliman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Furniture Brands. "The reality is, however, that this division of our company has not generated the financial returns our shareholders expect and deserve.
"This change will not have any significant impact on Furniture Brands revenues," he said. "Certain costs and asset writedowns attributable to this action were included in the year-end earnings guidance provided at the time of our most recent earnings release."
