Legends taps Dockter for import program
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 21, 2003
Phoenix — Legends Furniture has hired Chris Dockter to head up a new import program.
The domestic producer began developing the sourcing program in October and in March received its first shipment of entertainment centers and occasional tables from China.
As director of imports, Dockter will be responsible for expanding Legends' import offerings and assuring that quality parameters are maintained, said President Rick Schmidgall. Dockter will be based here and will travel to China and other countries about once a month.
Dockter has an MBA degree from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management. He spent two years working in Taiwan for Dura Industrial, which imports a variety of home-based products, from faucets to kitchen cabinets.
Schmidgall said Dockter has the advantage of being fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
"It gives Chris the ability to converse directly with the people who will be responsible for producing Legends' imported product and convey what Legends expects in style and quality," he said.
Dockter said he is supervising an employee based in China. Legends also is considering whether one day it should open an overseas office.
