Universal Furniture Names New Regional Sales Vice Presidents

Furniture World News Desk on 3/2/2015

Mark Cowan, Kevin Miller, Sean O'Connor.


Universal Furniture International, Inc. reported that it has expanded its sales management team to meet the demands of five consecutive years of growth. Kevin Miller has been promoted to vice president of sales of the Western region while Mark Cowan is joining the company as sales vice president of the newly created Central region. Miller will also handle the company’s international business. Sean O’Connor remains vice president of sales for the Eastern region.

“We are in the wonderful position of needing more people to deliver the services Universal Furniture is known for to an expanded customer base,” says Jeff Scheffer, President and CEO of Universal Furniture. “We’ve taken a step back to review our mission and the strategies to accomplish our goals and found that in order to deliver the same great service for an expanded product line in the Universal Furniture and Smartstuff by Universal brands, we need more horsepower.”

“This is the next step for Kevin, who has worked for Universal Furniture for eleven years, most recently as our director of marketing. He has been instrumental in the rebranding of Universal Furniture and was largely responsible for the launch of Smartstuff, in addition to having wonderful people skills and being a strong leader.”

Since joining the company in 2004, Miller also has held the positions of national sales administration manager, brands manager and sales analyst.

Cowan was most recently an independent sales representative with Jonathan Louis International with prior experience as vice president of strategic and key accounts for America’s Furniture Brands and as a senior account executive with Action Industries.

“Mark is a good fit with our culture and our personality, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in sales and key account management and business development,” Scheffer says. “He is a seasoned professional who has strong relationships with retailers and understands the customer focus that makes Universal easy to do business with.”

Universal Furniture International, Inc. is a whole home resource offering good, affordable, smart design. Highly regarded for its beautiful home furnishings at attractive prices, the company offers design excellence and exceptional manufacturing standards. Manufactured at its dedicated facilities in China, its brands include Universal Furniture and Smartstuff™ by Universal. Universal Furniture is sold through fine home furnishings retailers throughout North America and in numerous other countries. For more information, please visit www.universalfurniture.com.