Delgatti rejoins Broyhill
To oversee upholstery, occasional product
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, June 20, 2005
Lenoir, N.C. — Broyhill Furniture has rehired Mike Delgatti, who left the company two years ago, to a newly created position of executive vice president-upholstery and occasional merchandising.
Delgatti had left Broyhill, a Furniture Brands International company, to head Clayton Marcus, one of six upholstery companies owned by La-Z-Boy. He reported to Rodney England, La-Z-Boy senior vice president of non-branded upholstery, who will oversee Clayton Marcus operations until a successor to Delgatti is found.
At Broyhill, Delgatti will be responsible for the merchandising of all Broyhill upholstery and occasional products. He reports to Broyhill President Harvey Dondero, who joined the company in April after stepping down as CEO of Universal.
Before joining Clayton Marcus, Delgatti spent 18 years at Broyhill in a number of posts, most recently as executive vice president of marketing and senior vice president of upholstery. He joined the furniture industry in 1976.
Sales for Broyhill's upholstery division have been declining, and Delgatti was brought in to give it a "kick forward," Dondero said. "He's going to energize it. The expectation is for him to take it way beyond where anybody expects it to be."
Dondero added, "For years, Mike was instrumental in building the reputation of Broyhill as an unsurpassed resource for medium-priced upholstery. He has an exceptional understanding of the marketplace and knows the needs of our Broyhill dealers and the Broyhill consumer. His reputation within the furniture industry is both as a consummate upholstery merchandiser and a respected business partner. Mike Delgatti will be an outstanding addition to the Broyhill team."
In other moves, Broyhill has named Jeffrey B. Katz senior vice president-sales and marketing and Jeffrey K. Stone senior vice president-case goods merchandising. Both report to Dondero.
Katz will manage the field sales organization and gallery-dedicated distribution. Reporting to him will be Don Essenberg, vice president-sales, and David Jetton, vice president-galleries. Katz joined Broyhill in 2001 and previously was vice president-sales and marketing.
Stone will head merchandising for bedroom and dining room. He joined Broyhill in 2004 as vice president-case goods merchandising.
"Jeff Katz and Jeff Stone have made significant contributions during their time at Broyhill, and we are very fortunate to have management of their caliber leading the company," said Dondero.
He added, "These assignments will give single-minded focus to important aspects of our business — merchandising for living rooms, great rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms, along with the sales interaction and efforts with our retail partners. In today's competitive environment, it is imperative we have senior executives with concentrated focus on each of these critical areas."
