Eitel leaves CEO post
Steve Fendrich takes reins at Simmons
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, October 5, 2008
ATLANTA — Bedding major Simmons said last week that veteran CEO Charlie Eitel is turning over day-to-day management responsibilities to Steve Fendrich, the company's president and chief operating officer since January.
Simmons said Eitel, who has been chairman and CEO since January 2000, will remain active in the company as vice chairman of the board. He will continue to be a liaison with key customers and suppliers, and will finish his term as chairman of the International Sleep Products Assn., which expires in March.
Fendrich joined Simmons in August 2005 as executive vice president of sales. Earlier, he spent nearly 25 years as a bedding retailer, including a stint as president of Sleep Country USA. He was a co-founder of Houston-based The Mattress Firm and was an executive of that company from 1986 to 2000.
Eitel said the chairman and CEO posts will remain vacant for the time being, but he stressed the company isn't looking for a CEO and said he hopes Fendrich eventually will get the title.
Fendrich reports to the newly formed executive committee of the board, which is composed of outside directors David Jones, Joseph Messner and Scott Schoen. All other senior management reports to Fendrich.
“It has been an honor serving as the chief executive officer and chairman of Simmons for the past eight years,” Eitel said. “During my tenure, I have seen this great company expand his position as the mattress industry leader in innovation and quality through continued development of key brands.”
He said he's especially proud of the culture the company developed on his watch, the management team he hired, and the improved safety record at the company's factories.
“I feel good about turning the company over to a leadership team that I consider best in class,” he said. “That's really my No. 1 accomplishment.”
Fendrich, meanwhile, said he realizes the company — and the entire mattress industry — face enormous challenges in the coming months, but he believes his extensive retail experience has prepared him well and gives him credibility with Simmons' retail customers.
“I have a good relationship with our dealers,” he said. “When I'm talking to them, they feel like they're talking to a person who's been in their shoes before.”
However, he said he doesn't believe the industry-wide sales slump will begin to reverse itself until there's an uptick in housing sales.
“In my 25 years in the retail business, we never saw tough times like this,” said Fendrich. “But once we get a sense that real estate has bottomed out, we'll start to get a better handle on things.”
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