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High Point Market Fall 2008: Stickley rolls out N&S

Will keep Nichols & Stone as distinct brand

Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, October 22, 2008

AT THE MARKET - The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Edward J. Audi, executive vice president of Stickley Furniture, hopes to use this market to assure dealers that the even though case goods supplier Nichols & Stone has changed ownership, there's still a lot that's the same.

Stickley, which acquired the furniture designs and certain other assets of the troubled Massachusetts-based producer in July, is showing its first Nichols & Stone furniture here this week. The traditionally styled line is in a showroom adjacent to the Stickley space at 225 N. Elm St.

Stickley is marketing Nichols & Stone as a distinct brand and has a separate catalog for it, Audi said.

Nichols & Stone was believed to be the oldest remaining U.S. furniture manufacturer. It became the third case goods acquisition in six years for high-end specialist Stickley, which took over the John Widdicomb brand in 2002 and Madison Square Furniture in 2005.

"We were saddened when we heard Nichols & Stone was in peril and we acted quickly," Audi said. "We've had a tremendous response, many from longstanding dealers who were very nervous about losing such a longstanding resource."

Nichols & Stone had national distribution - including to many of Stickley's dealers and to Stickley, Audi & Co., the manufacturer's corporate-owned retail division. It will continue to be distributed nationally, Audi said.

The brand will continue to focus heavily on casual dining and popular collections will still be produced, Audi said. There are currently about 100 SKUs in the line.

The Nichols & Stone line will continue to be made of solid birch will offer a number of stains and paints, he said.
Stickley will manufacture table and case pieces at its Manlius, N.Y., facilities. It will produce some chairs there and will import others through Stickley International, Audi said.

The line and chairs will be priced aggressively, Audi said. The opening price point for a table and four chairs will be $3,500.

Former Nichols & Stone President Carlton "Tuck" Nichols Jr., a member of the eighth generation of former owners, and other representatives and manufacturing personnel continue to help transition production to Stickley, Audi said.

"Strategically it's a perfect fit for our family of brands. It will be a wonderful brand positioned next to the Stickley and the John Widdicomb brands and we're extremely proud to continue the tradition of carrying on some great American furniture manufacturing names," Audi said.

"Collectively between Widdicomb, Stickley and Nichols & Stone we have 400 years of American Furniture making tradition."

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