Covington buys Heirloom assets, taps Bruno
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, July 14, 2008
NEW YORK — Covington Fabric & Design has purchased the assets of Heirloom Decorative Fabrics, a converter owned and operated by decorative fabrics veteran Tom Bruno.
In a related move, Bruno will join Covington July 14 as vice president, sales and marketing, reporting to Roger Gilmartin, president and CEO.
Before starting Heirloom, Bruno headed sales at Weathervane Hill and Tomkins Roth. He also previously headed sales at Covington and its Spectrum Fabrics division, and had worked at Waverly.
“Tom will assume the responsibility for the sales and marketing functions of the merged entities and brings back into our business an unparalleled knowledge and experience of the sector,” Gilmartin said. Heirloom will be operated as a division of Covington, he said.
He added that Bruno's appointment will allow Covington to move Steve Marrandino back to leading the sales team in its contract business.
“This is a growing segment in our industry and this move will place the emphasis on this part of the business that needs and warrants it,” said Gilmartin.
Mark Kahan, Covington's chairman, added, “This acquisition, Tom's arrival and the recent appointments of Marion Murray as creative director and John Severson as chief financial officer should be a very clear message to all of the seriousness of our family's commitment to restoring the Covington brand.”
