Bob Spilman remembered
Led Bassett Furniture for decades
By Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, November 30, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. — Robert H. “Bob” Spilman, the retired chairman and CEO of Bassett Furniture Inds. and once one of the most powerful figures in the American furniture industry, died here Nov. 15. He was 82.
Spilman served in the military during World War II and again during the Korean conflict as an officer in the 82nd Airborne, then as an instructor at West Point.
After beginning his industry career at fabric source Cannon Mills, he joined Bassett in 1957 as sales manager for the company's table division. He was named president of the company in 1966 and CEO in 1979, and was elected chairman in 1982. He retired in May 1997.
In a statement, the company said, “All of us here at Bassett Furniture mourn the passing of our retired chairman and CEO, Robert H. Spilman Sr., and unite in honoring the exemplary life of a great American businessman.”
Spilman was elected to the American Furniture Hall of Fame in 2005 and received numerous other awards for his business, civic and humanitarian activities. In 1970, he was president of the Southern Furniture Manufacturers Assn., a predecessor to today's American Home Furnishings Alliance.
Those in the industry who knew Bob Spilman recalled him as competitive, passionate and outspoken, but with a softer side expressed in his sense of humor and his close ties to his customers.
Jerry Epperson, an industry analyst with Mann, Armistead & Epperson in Richmond, said Spilman led Bassett through a period of acquisitions and plant openings.
“Bob was perhaps the most powerful man in the furniture industry for going on two decades, and he ran what was at that time the world's largest furniture manufacturer,” said Epperson.
“He demanded respect and he controlled a room when he walked in,” Epperson recalled, although he also said Spilman had a good sense of humor. “He was just one of those one-of-a-kind fellows who you are blessed to have in your life.”
Epperson also said Spilman was one of the first industry executives to seriously consider importing furniture from Asia, but decided it was a bad idea. “He researched it more than most and fought it more than most.”
Clarence Smith, CEO of Atlanta-based retailer Havertys, said Spilman “was one of those larger-than-life characters who understood the power of the brand he had, and he knew how to make it work for him. No doubt he was tough, driven and powerful, but he also understood how important it was to be closely involved with his customers.”
Sherwood Robertson, who ran Bassett's upper-end National/Mount Airy division for nearly five years, said Spilman was the “quintessential furniture production man” whose greatest love was the factory.
“He was very bright,” said Robertson, now the principal in strategic management and marketing consulting firm Robertson & Associates in Pinehurst, N.C. “But he didn't go out of his way to endear himself to anybody.”
Spilman also had several hobbies. He was a competitive international sports fisherman and had a penchant for playing poker with a fellow Bassett executive. “They played every day at lunch,” said Robertson. “And they didn't play for matchsticks, either.”
Martin Ploy, executive vice president of furniture source AICO, was a retail executive years ago with the former R.B. Furniture and worked with Spilman.
“Bob and Smith Young (the late Lexington CEO) were very competitive guys that were very aggressive, very dominant in the development of the High Point Market,” Ploy said. He added that Spilman “really was outspoken, and sometimes a little shocking in what he said. He wasn't the kind of guy that chose his words carefully but you always knew what he meant.”
“He's a legend in our industry. He's a maverick,” said Irv Blumkin, chairman and CEO of retailer Nebraska Furniture Mart. “He was very passionate about what he did and he was a very honorable guy. We'll miss him.”
Bob Spilman is survived by his wife, Jane Bassett Spilman; three children, including current President and CEO Rob Spilman Jr.; and nine grandchildren.
The family requests that memorial contributions be made to Christ Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 4162, Martinsville, Va. 24115; St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 12291 River Road, Richmond, Va. 23238; All Saints Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 99, Linville, N.C. 28646, or the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12400, Richmond, Va. 23241.
Senior Retail Editor Clint Engel and Senior Editor Gary Evans contributed to this story.
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