1990s and beyond

1 9 9 0 s and beyond
Furnishing a Nation: The story of furniture making in Martinsville-Henry County
American of
Martinsville
celebrates
its 100th
anniversary.
1991
2007
American of Martinsville
exits the residential
furniture market to
concentrate solely on
hospitality, contract and
institutional businesses.
Hooker Furniture
further diversifies into the
fabric upholstery business
with its purchase of Sam
Moore, a Bedford, Va.based manufacturer of
upscale occasional chairs.
With this acquisition and
the earlier BradingtonYoung purchase, Hooker
Furniture is expected
to create approximately
$100 million in annual
upholstery sales for the
company.
1993
Bassett opens its 200th
Bassett Furniture Gallery
in New Bedford, Mass.
1997
After significant consumer research, the first
Bassett Furniture Direct store opened in
1997. The new store environment changed
the way furniture is sold today.
According to
the Martinsville
Bulletin, 28,000
people attended the
75th anniversary
celebration of
Hooker Furniture
and Stanley
Furniture at the
Martinsville
Speedway.
J. Clyde Hooker, Jr. is
inducted into the American
Furniture Hall of Fame.
1999
Hooker and Stanley
Furniture celebrate their
75th anniversary, which
included a fireworks
display at the Martinsville
Speedway on July 4th.
A.C. Furniture Company,
Inc. in Axton has annual
revenues of approximately
$55 million. The company
builds and ships over
10,000 pieces of furniture
weekly.
2000
2008
American of Martinsville
and LADD Furniture were
acquired by La-Z-Boy and
became part of one of the
world’s leading furniture
producers with annual
sales in excess of $2 billion.
Shenandoah Furniture
received a great response
to their new items
shown at the High Point
Furniture Market. They
introduced an expansive,
European inspired
sectional with a low profile
and multiple configurations. Also featured was a
curved sectional on tall
tapered legs, reflective of
the styles of the 1950s
and 60s.
2003
The North Hampton
home office furniture
line by Hooker Furniture.
Hooker purchases
Bradington-Young,
a specialist in reclining
chairs and upscale
leather seating, which
complimented Hooker’s
strength in home
entertainment furniture.
2004
Shenandoah Furniture
announced a $1.2 million
expansion, which will
nearly double its Patriot
Centre plant. Shenandoah
Furniture produces a
stylized line of sofas and
chairs primarily for private
label companies. Crate
and Barrel, Room & Board
and Design Within Reach
are among its customers.
Front Page News: Bedford Bulletin
announces that Hooker Furniture is
purchasing Sam Moore.
2006
still
v
Furniture works here.
For more than 100 years, Bassett Furniture has called Martinsville-Henry County home. The furniture company first began as a
sawmill on the Bassett family farm in the late 1800s—making railroad ties for the new Norfolk & Western line. More than a century
later, Basset Furniture boasts annual sales of over $300 million, 135 retail stores nationwide, and employs more than
700 people locally. Last year, Bassett launched a John Elway Home Entertainment Collection and its products have
been featured on ESPN networks. It’s easy to see why business works in Martinsville-Henry County.
still
speed to market.™
v
Furniture works here.
American of Martinsville
celebrates its 100th
anniversary. This same year,
American is purchased by
Hancock Park Associates,
a large private equity
investment firm based in
Los Angeles which invests
in entrepreneurial,
niche-oriented companies.
In 1924, a young man named Thomas Bahnson Stanley realized a long-held dream when he founded Stanley Furniture Company.
Today, Stanley Furniture is one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the United States, and the largest employer in Martinsville-
2007
Henry County. The company’s manufacturing facilities boast more than 3.2 million square feet, located in Stanleytown
and Martinsville, Virginia, as well as Robbinsville and Lexington, North Carolina. Combine that with Stanley’s eleven
Pinnacle Awards for design excellence, and it’s easy to see why business works in Martinsville-Henry County.
speed to market.™
The Martinsville-Henry County Office of
Economic Development created local ads
in 2007 that celebrated furniture being
made in the area.
One of American
of Martinsville’s
new casegoods for
the hospitality
industry—a HDTV
Cabinet Base with
two drawers.
2008
In January, Hooker
Furniture announced
it would close its last
remaining wood furniture
plant. The site had been
in operation since 1924
and most recently made
bedroom and home
entertainment furniture.
Hooker’s business model
now focuses on marketing,
logistics and global
sourcing for wood and
metal furniture.
2008
Bassett Furniture reports
$288 million in sales.
Hooker Furniture has
$316 million in sales.
Stanley Furniture has $226
million in annual sales.
It was through
ingenuity and
perseverance
that the area’s
furniture industry
was founded
over 100 years ago.
MartinsvilleHenry County
furnished a nation
and still does.
While companies
have changed
their marketing
strategies and
product lines over
time, furniture is
still solidly rooted
in MartinsvilleHenry County.
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to the following
individuals and organizations
for providing information to
chronicle 100 years of furnituremaking in Martinsville-Henry
County:
American of Martinsville
Bassett Furniture
Bassett Historical Society
Carl deHart, City Archivist
Hooker Furniture
Desmond Kendrick, Archivist
Martinsville-Henry County
Historical Museum
Stanley Furniture