Fishman to run Big Lots
Rhodes taps Dugan as president, CEO
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, July 4, 2005
Atlanta — Rhodes Furniture President and CEO Steve Fishman is leaving the bankrupt chain to become the top executive at closeout retailer Big Lots.
Rhodes named its veteran chief financial officer, Joel Dugan, to replace him as CEO and president. Dugan said Rhodes' first order of business is to complete the filing of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan this week.
"Right now, the plan is just for Rhodes to come out as an independent company with its existing stores," Dugan said. He wouldn't disclose sales projections.
Rhodes operates 64 midpriced stores in 11 Southern and Midwestern states. It expects to have 65 in October after reopening its Charlotte Harbor, Fla., store, damaged in a hurricane last year.
Fishman joined Rhodes last July as president and CEO, replacing Bill Kimbrell. Fishman had been on the Rhodes board for five years and operated a consulting and investment company. He has worked with a number of retailers, including mass merchant Pamida Corp., where he was credited with turning around the chain before negotiating its sale to competitor ShopKo.
Rhodes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, then closed 27 of its 92 stores and five distribution centers, exiting Ohio and other markets.
Fishman, who will remain on Rhodes' board, said in statements, "The majority of my work at Rhodes is complete," and the retailer, "is well positioned to emerge from Chapter 11, having successfully implemented a substantial portion of its reorganization strategy."
He will become chairman, president and CEO of Big Lots on July 6. Dugan will take the helm at Rhodes on July 5. Rhodes said it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 by early fall.
Dugan started with Rhodes in 1985 as vice president of accounting and rose to senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1988. He became executive vice president and CFO in 1999, when Kimbrell led a management acquisition of Rhodes from Heilig-Meyers in a deal backed by Citicorp Venture Capital.
Dugan remains a stakeholder.
Mona Stuckwish, vice president of corporate financial services for Berkline/BenchCraft and chairwoman of the unsecured creditors committee in the Rhodes bankruptcy case, said she has worked with Dugan for years — as have many in the industry.
"I've found him to have the utmost integrity, so I'm very comfortable with that change," she said.
Rhodes ranks No. 19 on Furniture/Today's latest Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores list with 2004 furniture, bedding and accessories sales estimated at $439 million. That was down 17.8% from $534 million in 2003, when it ranked No. 13.
Big Lots, based in Columbus, Ohio, has made a push into furniture in recent years that included the opening of freestanding promotional furniture stores and expanded furniture departments in its regular stores.
At the end of January 2005, it operated 43 furniture stores with annual volume of $44 million, down 24.1% from the previous year's $58 million.
But it sees its greatest furniture potential in its 1,500 full-line stores in 46 states. More than 1,000 stores have full furniture departments and another 295 carry a limited assortment of ready-to-assemble furniture, futons and lamps. Big Lots had furniture, bedding and accessories sales of about $546 million last year, according to Furniture/Today's estimate, putting it among the Top 25 U.S. furniture retailers.
At Big Lots, Fishman is replacing Michael J. Potter, who said in January he would step down as CEO and a board member.
Senior Editor Tony Bengel contributed to this story.
