Hail to our industry’s ‘new’ Mr. Excitement
Jerry Epperson -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2006
The furniture industry hasn’t had many showmen over the years. Many moons ago, big-name entertainers like Ray Charles would perform at High Point markets, and the Burris showroom used to have the occasional Playmate of the Month. But, on the whole, we’re not known for our entertaining markets or people.
Until now.
William Hsieh and his high-profile management team at Lifestyle Enterprise — Greg Noe, James Riddle, John Wampler and Howard Slavin — have shaken up the industry and literally burst into our consciousness like few others ever have. And like many entertainers who suddenly appear on the cover of 15 magazines after a hot movie or song, they have earned their recent fame with decades of hard work.Greg, James, John and Howard are well known in our industry. Between them, they’ve worked for at least a dozen manufacturers, plus a retailer or two. They know what it takes to be successful, but we doubt they really knew what to expect when they signed on with Hsieh and his Lifestyle company.William is a combination of James Brown, Donald Trump and Jackie Chan, in my opinion. He can be the hardest-working man in the business, one who knows the value of self-promotion and yet keeps a sense of self-effacing humor. You only have to see him in different outfits in some of his ads to appreciate his ability to make the reader smile, yet in front of his impossible-to-miss Forbidden City showroom in High Point sits his bright red Bentley. He wants you to know that he’s successful, and wants you to be successful too.I first met Hsieh over 20 years ago in my travels around Asia with the legendary Larry Moh. Larry trusted, appreciated and enjoyed William Hsieh, and Larry wasn’t an easy man to please. He set high standards and expected them in others. Back then, William’s company’s mission statement was “Quality is job #1,” and he wanted Taiwan to make world-quality furniture.Last week’s Forbidden City Furniture Show in High Point, which Hsieh initiated, was a success beyond anyone’s expectations. We ran into retailers who were not invited and did not get free plane tickets and hotel rooms — and were still glad they attended. The other showrooms we visited were glad to have opened. You could say it was just a mini-market of big boys who could do multiple container-direct business, but it was an impressive list of attendees, a real Who’s Who.Congratulations, William, on a great idea, and thanks for bringing some excitement and smiles to the furniture industry. We needed it.
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Hail to our industry's 'new' Mr. Excitement
Feb 5, 2006
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