P.A.M.A Furniture files for Ch. 7 bankruptcy

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, August 13, 2012

JAMESTOWN, N.C.- High end upholstery and case goods resource P.A.M.A. Furniture, known for its traditional style pieces with extensive carvings, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.
      On July 31, the company filed a voluntary petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Greensboro, N.C. It lists assets of $245,504 and liabilities of just over $1 million.
     Secured creditors include Fidelity Bank of Fuquay Varina, N.C., and U.S. Funding Inc. of High Point.
     The filing lists Maria Pennisi Page, president, and her husband, Domenick Pennisi, CEO, as majority owners, each with a 35% stake in the business. Their son, Anthony Pennisi, vice president, and daughters, Ann Marie Page, vice president, and Paula McNeill, secretary, each have a 10% stake in the business.
     The filing did not reveal specific sales information about the company. However, it did say the company experienced declining profits in recent years.
     Originally known as Pennisi Originals, the company was founded in 1974 by Domenick Pennisi and his brother Andrew. It made dining chairs and dining and game tables with highly carved traditional styles that Domenick learned to carve in Italy in the 1950s and 1960s.
     While some chairs were imported from Italy, the company made most of its line domestically for OEM clients. After Andrew died in 1984, the company shifted to an import model and changed its name to P.A.M.A. Furniture. The name came from Domenick and Maria's children, Paula, Ann Marie and Anthony.
     Over the years, its product line primarily was sourced from Indonesia, Italy and the Philippines. In addition to chairs and dining room furniture, the company offered upholstery and bedroom furniture, much of which had highly carved Italian design inspirations. To diversify its customer base, the company later offered some more transitional, less carved forms.
      While it continued to source whitewood furniture pieces for various OEM clients, it ultimately expanded its custom business. At first it outsourced custom finishing and upholstery services, but eventually shifted more of that work to its own Jamestown, N.C., factory. It added an upholstery shop around 2001 and began its finishing operation around 2002.