Personnel Update
Bob’s Discount Furniture has hired William Bracker as VP of Marketing. Bracker’s hire comes at a time of rapid expansion for the Manchester, Conn.-based chain, which opened four stores Memorial Day weekend in the greater Pittsburgh and Baltimore areas. Three more stores are slated to open in late summer and fall in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in February, the retailer will enter the Midwest market with five store openings in Chicago.
Gracious Home announced that new ownership is now in charge of the company. A former Walmart executive has joined with a real estate executive to expand New York City-based luxury home décor retailer. Dottie Mattison who served in a variety of executive roles from 2006 to 2010 at Wal-Mart, has teamed up with David Mitchell to buy a majority stake in Gracious Home for an undisclosed price. Mattison will serve as CEO and Mitchell as Chairman. The former majority owner of the retailer, investment group Americas Retail Flagship Fund, now becomes a minority owner.
Home Depot announced that Bill Lennie, President, The Home Depot Canada, has been named Exec VP, Outside Sales and Service. In this newly created post, Lennie will be responsible for leading The Home Depot’s Pro, MRO and installation services business, including the integration of Interline. Lennie will continue to lead The Home Depot Canada until a successor is named.
House-Hasson Hardware’s VP Merchandising, Gerald Allen Winn, who was with House-Hasson for 32 years, died June 5, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 58.
Lowe’s Companies has promoted Tiffany Mason to the role of Senior VP Corporate Finance and Treasurer. In her new role, Mason will maintain her responsibility in investor relations and treasury and tack on oversight in financial planning and analysis.
Lumber Liquidators now former Chief Merchandising Officer William K. Schlegel is the latest casualty of an ongoing management shakeup and overhaul by company founder and Chairman Tom Sullivan. Previous victims who ‘suddenly; lost their jobs include the now former corporate CEO and President Robert M. Lynch who “unexpectedly” resigned, according to the company’s press release, and Chief Compliance Officer Raymond Cotton who quietly resigned from the company in May, without benefit of a formal press release.
Sullivan continues to clean house after the damning report by 60 Minutes raised concerns about the company’s product sourcing practices and allegations of circumventing federal laws.
In the most recent personnel move, Lumber Liquidators said the employment of Schlegel, the company’s Chief Merchandising Officer, was terminated effective June 19. Leadership of merchandising now falls to Chief Marketing Officer Marco Pescara who will oversee merchandising and marketing in a newly combined role at the chain. Pescara has served as the company’s top marketer since 2006.
TW Perry has a new chief executive. Michael Cassidy, who left ProBuild to join TW Perry as President and CEO back in June 2008, is no longer with the company. This was confirmed by both the company and Mr. Cassidy. Cassidy and the company have reportedly agreed to a package including a buyout of the former CEO’s ownership-interest in TW Perry. Gary Bowman has now assumed the CEO spot at TW Perry. Edward Quinn Jr. remains Chairman as well as principal shareholder of the company.
Weyerhaeuser Distribution has promoted David Helmers to the role of VP for the division. Helmers has been with Weyerhaeuser for 20 years, most recently serving as director of sales and business development for Weyerhaeuser Distribution.
Mergers and Acquisitions
The Home Depot announced its entry into a definitive agreement to acquire Jacksonville, Fla.-based Interline Brands, Inc., a leading national distributor and direct marketer of broad-line maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products.
Under the terms of the agreement, The Home Depot will acquire Interline for $1.625 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The acquisition, which has been approved by the shareholders of Interline, is expected to be completed during The Home Depot’s fiscal third quarter, which ends on November 1, 2015. The deal is subject to applicable regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
Industry Insight
Marvin’s Building Materials and Home Centers, based in Leeds, AL, plans to open a new store in Camilla, Georgia. The store is currently under construction. It will be located in the previous Walmart location, next to the new Super Walmart. The store is expected to open in late October 2015.
The Tile Shop announced the opening of its latest showroom, debuting in Matthews, North Carolina. This marks the company’s third location in the Charlotte metro area. As with all Tile Shop showrooms, the 18,000-sq.-ft. store will feature more than 4,000 globally sourced tile and natural stone varieties, as well as an on-site design and education center.
