Rebuilt Rowe on road to recovery
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, September 10, 2007
McLean, Va. — Six months with a new president, downsized to a core business and backed by deep pockets, Rowe Furniture seems headed for a new life after bankruptcy.
The company, long one of the industry's top upholstery makers, is on stronger financial footing provided by new owner Sun Capital Partners, a private investment company. Rowe said it is making consistent, on-time deliveries.
And its management and sales staff say they're in constant communication with the company's customers to make sure store owners, upholstery buyers and even salespeople on the floor believe Rowe's performance is the real thing.
"I can tell you that in the last couple of months we've hit over 150 retail locations, and we're not finished yet," said the company's new president, Stefanie Lucas, who moved up from a senior executive position to succeed Gerald Birnbach after a Sun Capital affiliate acquired the company in January. "We're ensuring that we're out there and talking to people."
