Stickley buys Nichols assets
Move keeps longtime brand alive
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, July 13, 2008
MANLIUS, N.Y. — High-end manufacturer Stickley has acquired the furniture designs and certain other assets of case goods producer Nichols & Stone, company officials said last week.
Nichols & Stone, believed to be the oldest remaining U.S. furniture manufacturer, will be run as a separate division of Stickley. New product in the line will make its debut in the Stickley showroom at this October's High Point Market, the company said.
Nichols & Stone President Carlton “Tuck” Nichols Jr., a member of the eighth generation of his family at the company, will help with the transition and launch. Nichols will remain on board for a year as an independent consultant.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Nichols & Stone becomes the third case goods acquisition for Stickley in six years, having taken over the John Widdicomb brand in 2002 and Madison Square Furniture in 2005.
“We are delighted and honored to carry on the over 150-year tradition of fine design and quality of this proud company. We believe this addition dovetails perfectly with what we already have in place and fills a void in our product line,” said Aminy Audi, president and CEO of Stickley.
The Nichols & Stone line has national distribution — including many of Stickley's dealers and to Stickley, Audi & Co., the company's corporate-owned retail division, officials said.
Nichols & Stone's production facility in Gardner, Mass., which was not part of the purchase, will close, Audi said.
Nichols & Stone has faced challenges as domestic manufacturer competing against low-cost imports in a slow economy. The company had been working for several weeks to obtain financing and convert its factory from a dining, occasional and bedroom furniture manufacturing plant to an assembly and finishing operation. It planned to import dining parts from China, Central America and Italy and assemble them in Gardner.
Then in June, Nichols & Stone officials said the Gardner factory would close in early July. Nichols said then that the traditionally styled furniture produced at the plant accounted for 70% of the company's sales. The company also sourced bedroom from Honduras and Chile.
Nichols & Stone will continue to use its shield symbol, the circa 1931 logo that was inspired by the House of Windsor's coat of arms, the Stickley release said.
Established as a factory in 1857, Nichols and Stone's history actually dates back to 1762, when it was known as the Nichols Bros. Chair Manufactory in Westminster, Mass., and sold chairs made in workshops.
“This is a very significant day in the history of two fine furniture companies that represent the best of American tradition, craftsmanship, and integrity as Nichols & Stone joins Stickley Furniture,” Nichols said.
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