J. Clyde Hooker Jr.: A life in furniture

By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, January 4, 2010

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — When J. Clyde Hooker Jr. became president of Hooker Furniture in 1960, he knew the road ahead wouldn't be easy. The country was stuck in a severe recession and furniture, as always, was susceptible to slowdowns in consumer spending.

Fortunately, he had a friend and advocate in his father, J. Clyde Hooker Sr., who founded the manufacturer in 1924. Clyde Sr. remained chairman and CEO when he turned the presidency over to his son. As young Clyde would learn, his father didn't sugarcoat the tough issues.

“He said, 'I'm telling you I think next year is going to be a terrible year, and you can put (becoming president) off if you want to, but I think it would be good if you started in tough times rather than good times.' And he was right. It was tough,” Clyde Jr. said.

Hooker, who turned 89 Dec. 20, shared these and other memories in an interview with Furniture/Today. He reflected on his long career, including the opportunities and challenges the manufacturer experienced as it entered an age of global sourcing.

J. Clyde Hooker Jr. was four years old when he blew the whistle that marked the opening of Hooker's Martinsville factory in January 1925.

Years later, as a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and an Army veteran who served during World War II, he joined the company in April 1946. He started in the factory to learn the manufacturing process, then worked in the Martinsville headquarters as an assistant sales manager.

Around 1956, he was promoted to sales manager. When he became president in 1960, Bill Slaydon took the sales post.

Hooker recalled the importance of his father's presence during his transition to president.

“I remember we were struggling along and he said, 'If you want my opinion I'll give it to you anytime you ask. You may not want to hear what I have to tell you, but I'll be honest with you.'”

After two slow years during which the company stayed at about $2 million in annual sales, he took his father up on his offer. “I said, 'We are just not making progress.' We were profitable but we were just not growing.”

Clyde Sr.'s response: “Get something you will be important for.… Be known for some product.”

That advice propelled the company to look beyond bedroom to other categories such as entertainment walls, occasional tables and home office — products for which Hooker remains a leading source.

Clyde Sr. only lived a few more years. Upon his passing in 1966, Clyde Jr. remained president and added the CEO title from 1969 to 1986. Over the years, he worked with his uncle, Frank Hooker Sr., and cousin, Frank Hooker Jr., who also held key leadership roles with the company until their deaths.

In 1988, Clyde Jr. became chairman and CEO. He held that position until late 2000, when he turned the leadership role over to his nephew, Paul Toms, the current president, chairman and CEO.

Over Clyde Hooker Jr.'s 40 years of leadership, the company experienced major growth, reaching $251 million in annual sales by 2000 and consistently placing among the ranks of Furniture/Today's Top 25 manufacturers.

A team approach

While Hooker was heavily involved in running the business, he also said he relied on his skilled employees to come up with ideas on how to help move the company forward. He also encouraged teamwork.

Hooker attributed the company's growth to several factors — not the least of which was Bill Slaydon's suggestion to get dealers more involved in the product development process. Around 1963, the company began holding design meetings with retailers to get their opinions on product planned for the spring and fall markets. As many as 30 large and small accounts attended the meetings, which were held in places like New York, Dallas and Atlanta.

That tradition survives today, with meetings held twice a year in High Point and attracting about a dozen dealers, said Hank Long, senior vice president of merchandising and design.

The first meetings in the early '60s led the company to develop new items such as desks, room dividers and stereo cabinets, Hooker said. Ultimately, the success of these products led to an expanded presence in home entertainment and home office with signature pieces such as wall units, armoires and desks.

“It wasn't long before we were better known for the peripheral stuff than we were for bedroom furniture because there was no competition in that,” he said. “In bedroom, there were plenty of places to buy.”

The company also expanded its distribution to include department stores, a relatively untapped market at the time.

“At the time, it was a bigger business than any of us realized, but there were only a few people in it,” Hooker said. He recalled that a merchandise manager from Strawbridge & Clothier in Philadelphia asked the company to provide about 1,000 traditional-style entertainment wall units a year.

“I said 'You got it.' That got us into the wall business. It turned out to be a great move for us…. It is still a big part of our line.”

The new categories tested and honed the company's prowess as a wood manufacturer. To fuel this opportunity, the company expanded its main plant in Martinsville, Va., and purchased four other plants in North Carolina and Virginia from the 1970s through the 1990s.

At its plants, headquarters and distribution facilities, Hooker employed more than 2,000 workers by the company's peak in the late 1990s.

While it quickly grew as a manufacturer — sales from about 1970 to 1980 rose from $11 million to $30 million — the company also got an early start on imports.

In the late 80s, it began bringing in occasional tables and small dinettes, Hooker said. A dozen years later, it was importing a range of products, including tables, consoles, chests, casual and formal dining, bedroom, entertainment centers and accent furniture. By 2002, imports accounted for 42% of net sales, according to the company's annual report.

The shift to imports

Imports' growing importance placed Hooker at a crossroads. Did the company continue making product domestically, or should it shift its focus to more value-driven imports?

The company ultimately chose to import wood furniture rather than produce it and began closing its wood operations, starting with downsizing the 760,000-square-foot Martinsville plant in 2002-2003 and closing other plants in 2003 and 2004. The remainder of the flagship Martinsville plant shut down in March 2007.

Today, the company still makes upholstered furniture in the United States in plants operated by Hooker subsidiaries Sam Moore and Bradington-Young. These employ about 600 workers. Combined with the Martinsville headquarters, the company has total employment of about 800.

The wood operations were memorialized in the 2008 film, “With These Hands: The Story of an American Furniture Factory,” by Matthew Barr, which documented the Martinsville closing.

This transition from a manufacturing to marketing operation on the wood side occurred after Clyde Hooker stepped down as chairman and CEO.

Today, he has mixed feelings about the shift. While he is sad to see the decline of the company's wood manufacturing, he believes imports are critical to its long-term prosperity.

“Imports just swamped the company then,” he said. “Everybody was importing. You either had to be in it or fight against them…. We didn't have a choice. They were going to damage our domestic manufacturing whether we brought them in or not.”

He said the switch to imports “was very dramatic. I wasn't in charge and I didn't make the decision, but I concurred with it because it was necessary under the circumstances. There wasn't enough business out there domestically.”

Today, Clyde Hooker remains chairman emeritus, a role that recognizes his 40 years of company leadership. He comes in the office each day until around noon.

“He is available to consult and especially encourage and inspire,” said Kim Shaver, vice president of marketing and communications.

She said he also attends markets and “maintains very strong relationships throughout our dealer and rep network and is highly revered by them all.”

Hooker said he has enjoyed his long career with the company, particularly his relationship with the dealers. He credits them with providing critical feedback and support as the company has evolved into new categories.

“It helped us venture out of the mainstream,” he said, adding that the dealers “are glad to share the information with you. A lot of those dealers are still with us and have been with us for years and years.”

Hooker also credited the company's employees for picking up on the needs of the marketplace and perfecting product that stemmed from the design meetings.

He also appreciates his father's advice to “find something we can be important in. I think we have done that … and we have been strong in innovation with new product. That has given us a lot of quality points.”