MARTINSVILLE, Va. — In a year of unpredictable consumer behavior, Hooker Furnishings CEO Jeremy Hoff is bringing the newest team members into the company conversations about growth, with nearly half a dozen of them offering retail experience that will influence strategy, initiatives and product development.

Noting that Hooker now has “five leading retailers on the team,” Hoff said that the company has the opportunity to “think from the consumer backward” and develop strategies that provide what will be needed in the future in the home furnishings arena.

“With the addition of William Doherty, Becki Weber, Dixon Bartlett, Scot Kanale and Caroline Hipple to the Hooker team, we are creating synergies that will keep us nimble and responsive,” Hoff said. “For more than 100 years, we’ve been willing to adapt when necessary, and we will continue to build on our strengths and maximize our potential as we move forward.”

Doherty is the director of business development; Kanaly is vice president of sales for domestic upholstery. Weber heads up M, a brand launched last year targeting design-conscious consumers and younger demographics. Bartlett works with Hooker in a consulting role, joining Hipple, his HB2 Resources co-founder and previous colleague at Norwalk Furniture, in her new endeavor.

Hipple’s new role

As chief creative officer for Hooker Furnishings, Hipple is part of the executive leadership team and will direct and help execute a collaborative merchandising approach across the furniture brands that integrates case goods, import and domestic upholstery and outdoor furnishings, as well as lighting, accessories and décor. The new role “had to have teeth,” according to Hoff, noting that he was determined to set Hipple up with the tools necessary to succeed.

“I didn’t want her to have to have me to do what she needs to do,” he said. “She’ll be able to do what I just thought about doing. …We’re both at the right points of our careers to pull this off.”

Noting that she has a “need for speed” with a laugh and that she “just wants to do the work she loves,” Hipple says that she wasn’t concerned about a specific title. Instead, she is focused on immersing herself into the Hooker Furnishings company and culture and learning more about each brand as well as the people affiliated with each one.

“I seek to understand before I seek to be understood,” she said, emphasizing the importance of learning from the Hooker team. “Discernment work is so important.

“We have our North Star,” Hipple continued. “It’s a macro focus on how will we win. The big picture is that we have great product, great customer service, and we’re a culture that is ‘big idea’ oriented. We’re going to make sure our dealers hear us.”

In the past several years, Hooker has opened showrooms in Atlanta and Las Vegas markets and also moved its showroom in High Point to a larger space in the Showplace building. The physical moves allow the Hooker team to present its whole-home product selection with a strategic consumer footprint, an initiative that will be enhanced and expanded under Hipple’s direction.

Citing the success of the integrated merchandising approach developed in Atlanta and Las Vegas, Hoff and Hipple said that buyers can expect to see more iterations of Hooker product merchandised cohesively at future markets, “acknowledging trends as a group” across all brands.

“We will study the analytics to see what works and what we need to change, and we will take smart risks in merchandising,” Hipple said. “We will show more forward-facing products and better goods throughout the showrooms, and we will make it make sense to our dealers.”

Hoff added that the combination of Hipple’s direction, the retail experience of the team and the operational efficiencies are a powerful trio that will support Hooker’s growth now and in the future.

“We’re a matrix organization, and Caroline will have all of the support she needs to move forward without hurdles,” he said. “The whole organization is transforming to serve customers where they are going. We have the strength to pull it all together.”

See also:

• Hooker Furnishings taps Hipple for new role 
• Hooker CEO breaks down company’s $200 million growth plan 

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