When furniture bug bites, there's no escape
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in chief -- Furniture Today, March 23, 2003
I can't prove it, because it won't show up in any medical test, but I am here to tell you the furniture business has a way of getting under your skin and into your blood. Consider all the good folks who change companies but remain affiliated with some aspect of the business.
A good example is industry veteran Butch McCracken, who recently left his post as president of motion chair resource Relax-R Corp. Prior to joining Relax-R, Butch was a rep's rep in New England.
In 1994, McCracken joined forces with Relax-R, which was looking to broaden its domestic penetration. Butch facilitated tests in six key markets and, as a result of those tests, says that Relax-R realized it had a great chair on its hands. "However, the tests showed that we needed different covers," he recalled.
The company opted to lose the floral covers in favor of leather and, in an even more daring move, target the motion furniture to a male consumer. The rest, as they say, is history.
Recently, in what McCracken stresses was an amiable move, the Canadian parent of Relax-R acquired all the assets of the company. Having sold his stake, McCracken agreed to work with the company he helped build on a consulting basis.
"Change is good and my desire was to see Relax-R's growth potential materialize from the purchase of the company by MYCA Inc.," he said.
Butch could have closed the book on what was an exciting and successful run. But he couldn't really do that. He had been in the business too long. He'd been bitten by the furniture bug and had furniture in his blood.
"I've been in the business since 1972 and it would simply be too hard to picture myself doing something that did not involve furniture," McCracken said.
Butch, along with his wife, Patty, and son, Tony, have relaunched Mac Associates. "It's like going full circle, in that Mac Associates was the original company that took on the Relax-R line back in 1991," McCracken said.
This go-round, the company, based in their hometown of St. Albans, Vt., is offering a full plate of services, ranging from product sourcing and branding to distribution and purchasing.
"When you look at how distribution is changing, it's clear that retailers need help sourcing, both from domestic and foreign sources, " McCracken said.
The company's objective is to match the right retailer with the right factory.
"We've already connected with a good group of suppliers who have some very unique niche items," he said. "We intend to bring those suppliers together with the retailers who can do a good job selling those products."
Butch is happy about what he and the team accomplished at Relax-R. He also is happy about his new venture. And he's happy with his decision to stay in a business he loves.
With all the gloom and doom and bad news out there lately, it's good — very good — to hear a story that has a happy ending.
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