New York, New Jersey furnishings groups vote to merge
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 18, 2011
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Furnishings Assn. of New Jersey and the Greater New York Home Furnishings Assn. have agreed to merge, hoping to eliminate redundancies and propel forward a single, stronger organization for all members.
GNYHFA voted in favor of proceeding with a merger early this month, said Abe Feinblum, that group's president and the business manager for Julius M. Feinblum Real Estate in Plainview, N.Y. MFA voted in favor of the move a few weeks earlier.
Feinblum said a name has not yet been formulated for the new association of area retailers, supplier representatives and service providers. The groups hope to complete the merger process by January and expect to release more information at their combined Awards Dinner and Dance gala Dec. 3 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Suffern, N.Y.
MFA has about 178 members, down from about 200 members roughly five years ago due to industry consolidation and economic hardship, said Alan Granetz, executive director of the New Jersey group. MFA's membership ranks are down from more than 700 people during its heyday in the 1950s.
Granetz, a third-generation industry veteran, will lead the new combined associations as executive director.
GNYHFA has 38 members, up from a year ago, Feinblum said, but he noted it recently added a few members with the folding of an upstate New York industry association earlier this year. GNYHFA has been without an executive director since it cut the position held by Barbara Goldstein in March 2010.
Kevin Snyder, president of MFA and a representative for Simmons Upholstery and other lines, said the MFA and GNYHFA have talked about a merger on and off for years and have been combining some of their events into single functions in recent years.
"I think we finally reached a point where now is the time to move forward," he said.
"It's just not viable to have two associations essentially operating in the same trading area," said Patrick Cory, managing partner of Secaucus, N.J.-based Cory 1st Choice Home Delivery and one of a handful of industry leaders who sits on the executive board of both organizations.
During the past 10 to 15 years, the industry has seen the number of suppliers dwindle. There are fewer smaller independent furniture retailers in the area and fewer reps. Also, the reps that are remaining now cover larger territories.
All of these factors have hurt the pool of potential members, Cory said.
Granetz said he's planning to bring to the combined organization some things the larger MFA has been able to offer, including a detailed annual membership directory and a quarterly newsletter.
In the past, the two groups have effectively competed with each other by holding separate charity events and other industry functions, including two charity golf outings that were within one week of each other. Now, Granetz said, he hopes to unite all members with shared events.
The groups have some work left to do before the merger is final, including the combining of separate bylaws. Granetz said he's hopeful "we can show both new Jersey and New York members we can be a very active group with their support and participation."
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N.Y., N.J. furnishings groups vote to merge
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