Doug Mueller, other investors acquire Dickson Furniture Inds.
Case goods source plans to expand its distribution
Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2011
 Dickson’s master bedroom line includes the transitional Branson group, an imported set that features this upholstered panel bed with nail head trim, in poplar solids and maple veneers with an espresso finish. |
 Doug Mueller |
HOUSTON — Case goods importer and manufacturer Dickson Furniture Inds. has been sold to an investor group that includes company executive Doug Mueller.
The investor group also includes Scott Plantowsky, whose family has been in furniture retailing in southeast Texas since the early 1900s.
The investors purchased the company from former CEO Jim Dickson, who will remain on board to help run the company's Houston production facilities. Mueller, who has been named president and CEO, will handle day-to-day operations including manufacturing, importing and marketing.
Terms of the sale, which closed in early April, were not disclosed.
Dickson Furniture, formed in 1976, is involved in contract and residential furniture production. It operates about 300,000 square feet of production and warehouse/distribution space in Houston. The manufacturing portion is about 80,000 square feet and employs about 70 workers. Another 30 work in administrative and management positions.
The company also leases warehouses in Dallas, El Paso and San Antonio, Texas, and has a fleet of trucks that ships goods to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.
Mueller said roughly half of the company's sales are in residential furniture. Of that, about a third is domestic and the rest import.
On the domestic side, it produces laminate master bedrooms that retail from $599 to $999 for four-piece groups. It also produces some laminate youth bedrooms.
Its imported products include master bedroom, casual dining and motion upholstery.
The wood products are veneered and solid groups produced in China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. A typical four-piece imported bedroom retails from $699 to $3,000, while a five-piece dining set retails from $599 to $799.
Mueller said the company will add some positions in management and administration as it builds its sales force to expand distribution beyond its core five-state sales area.
Over the years, Dickson has shown at the Tupelo Furniture Market. As it looks to grow its business over the next 12 to 18 months, it will consider showing at additional U.S. trade shows, Mueller said.
It also plans to establish a greater brand presence through other marketing initiatives, he said, and will invest in upgrading its infrastructure to improve service for customers and employees.
"Our company has always had a great reputation for quality production and value," said Mueller, who has been with Dickson since 2008. "It's just that not many people have heard about us."
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