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Nicotera, Kaftan join Carls Furniture as VPs

Retailer makes series of management changes

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, June 5, 2008

Carls management changes/ce (jm)

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — Carls Furniture here has made a series of management changes in the past few months.

Industry veteran Michael Nicotera has joined as vice president of merchandising, replacing Jayson Friedman, who has moved to the retailer’s Carls Patio division as merchandise manager.

George Kaftan also has joined Carls as vice president of marketing, replacing Gary Fitzpatrick, who left the company. And Alan Steinberg, former general manager of Carls, has left to join Fort Myers, Fla.-based Robb & Stucky.

Nicotera, who is responsible for merchandising in Carls’ nine full-line Florida stores, reports to President Jeff Baker. He has been in the home furnishings business for 34 years, most recently as founding partner of Spectra Home, a sales and marketing company specializing in mid-century modern leather upholstery.

At retail, he has worked for Big Lots, Burdines department store in Miami, Broadway Stores in Los Angeles, John Breuner Furniture in San Ramon, Calif., and Gimbels Midwest in Milwaukee.

Kaftan previously was director of marking for a real estate lending firm. Jeff Baker, Carls president, called Kaftan “a seasoned marketing and advertising executive with 20-plus years experience in online and off-line consumer, B2B and product marketing.”

Fred Berk, president of Robb & Stucky, said Steinberg joined the Top 100 company early this year in an executive position at its Boca Raton, Fla., store. “He has a wealth of experience, being in the furniture industry for 20 years or better, and we believe he’s going to be a great asset to our company,” Berk said.

Friedman’s position at 15-store Carls Patio is a new one, said Carls Patio President Gary Ecoff. Merchandising responsibilities previously were handled by Ecoff and General Manager Paul Otowchits.

“We’re growing so fast our current management was spread too thin,” said Ecoff.

Carls opened two patio stores this year — in Naples, Fla., as Carls Patio and in Agoura Hills, Calif., under its Berk’s banner. Another California store will be coming shortly, Ecoff said.

Fitzpatrick said he left Carls early this year and has gone back to freelance marketing and advertising work for clients such as JM Lexus in Margate, Fla., which he said is the largest Lexus dealer in the world.

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Nicotera, Kaftan join Carls

Jun 8, 2008

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