Bassett Furniture revamps organizational structure

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, March 18, 2013

BASSETT, Va. — Bassett Furniture Inds. announced a new organizational structure the company said will better serve its dual-channel marketing strategy and support future revenue growth.

Heading the list of promotions is Bruce Cohenour, who has been named senior vice president of sales and merchandising. In the newly created post, Cohenour will oversee sales and merchandising activities in areas of the country that do not have Bassett Home Furnishings stores.

Cohenour, a former Hooker Furniture executive who has been Bassett's senior vice president of upholstery merchandising since 2011, reports to Rob Spilman, president and CEO.

"In the almost two years Bruce has been with us, he has proven himself to be a very capable executive and I look forward to working with him to grow our open market wholesale business," Spilman said.

He said Cohenour is a "strong complement" to Jason Camp, who will continue as senior vice president of retail and marketing.

"Jason and his team have led an impressive turnaround in the performance of our corporate retail division," said Spilman. "With these two men in place, we have strong leadership in both components of Bassett's growth strategy."

Spilman said the company also has promoted Mike Daniel, who has 25 years' experience in private and corporate accounting, to senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Also promoted to new positions were:

• Matt Johnson, who is now vice president of sales and merchandising for the HGTV Home licensed collection. He has been with Bassett since 1984 and most recently was vice president of product development and design. In his newly created post, he is responsible for open market business development and the implementation of the HGTV Home strategy with major retailers. He reports to Cohenour.

• Pete Morrison, vice president of retail marketing. Reporting to Camp, he will oversee the development of marketing and promotional programs for the Bassett Home Furnishings store network. Morrison previously held a variety of advertising and marketing posts at the company.

• Ed Avery, vice president of upholstery product development. Reporting to Mark Jordan, senior vice president of upholstery, he will oversee product development for all stationary and motion lines. His 30-year association with Bassett includes stints as a sales representative and retail manager.

In addition, the company has hired Carlos Bosch to the new position of national sales manager for upholstery. Reporting to Cohenour, he will oversee sales development in the open market by leveraging the company's styling and custom order capabilities.

Bosch has been a sales representative for several upholstery brands, including Natuzzi and LeatherTrend.