Former retailer JR Diffee joins Planned Furniture Promotions

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 10, 2012

JR Diffee

ENFIELD, Conn. — Retail furniture veteran JR Diffee, longtime president of former upscale retailer Colony House Furniture in Arlington, Va., has joined sales specialist Planned Furniture Promotions as high-end event consultant, a new position at the firm.

He will advise upscale retailers on how to use high-impact events to rejuvenate or reinvent their retail sales strategies, according to PFP.

Colony House was a design-oriented retailer that consistently ranked among the top dealers of lines like Baker, Henredon and Hickory Chair, PFP officials said. Last year, when an offer was made for the family-run company's real estate, its management decided to close the business. Diffee hired PFP to run the closing sale.

With an education and work experience in sales, marketing and insurance, Diffee joined the business in 1985 and was named president in 1991. PFP officials said that after working with him on the closing sale, they were impressed with his experience and business and strategic acumen, and asked him to join their team.

"The high-end retailers have been some of the hardest hit by the economic downturn and many are in need of financial assistance," said Tom Liddell, PFP senior vice president. "We've successfully assisted many of the nation's most well known high-end retailers. JR has an intimate knowledge of their concerns and needs and will certainly be a huge asset in working with these clients."