Home Furnishings International Association Schedules Inaugural Board & Talent Team Meeting Concurrent With San Francisco Market

Furniture World Magazine

The home furnishings international association (HFIA), a long-standing industry association representing home furnishings professionals nationally, announced their commitment to hold their inaugural board of directors and talent team meeting in san francisco to run concurrent to the SanFrancisco summer market. The meeting is the first of its kind for the organization who has plans for similar meetings in the future in other areas of the country. "we have seen a need and our board has expressed their desire to expand our presence in the industry by collectively visiting other venues outside dallas," said mary frye, president of hfia. "as an association we have a history of shopping markets outside of dallas, however, the addition of educational and association business meetings is new approach for us." The three day program kicks off Saturday,July 21 with a dinner presentation at the mark hopkins inter-continental hotel given by Samantha Kurtz, a clinical psychologist with Kurtz & Associates, Mclean, Virginia. Kurtz, whose expertise is in macro and micro organizational behavior will present a different approach to selling that emphasizes the importance of maintaining the human touch in today’s highly technical, fast-paced world. Kurtz will focus on the psychological elements of developing solid relationships with customers and will outline how to balance those factors with the urgent need for efficient and high profit selling. In addition, she will uncover the effects of today’s web-based economy on traditional hiring, selling and merchandising approaches. During Sunday’s program, Ted Shepherd, of Shepherd Retail Performance, will share his more than 15 years of experience and insight into the retail home furnishings industry. He will be presenting "Profit Mapping: Managing Your Top Line for a More Profitable Bottom Line." Shepherd will introduce guests to a process that will help owners identify profit traps that siphon off the potential benefits from additional sales. Industry veteran, Dave Perry, executive editor for Furniture/Today, will cap off the Sunday activities, sharing his insights and antidotes as HFIA recognizes the commitment and energy of its outgoing Board of Directors and installs its incoming Board of Directors. The program will end Monday with a lunch and keynote address by Joe Ruggiero, of Home and Garden Cable Television Network. Ruggiero is currently Executive Producer, Design Director and Host of "THE WORLD OF DESIGN" and Host and Creative Director of the series, "HOMES ACROSS AMERICA," seen on the Home and Garden Cable Television Network (HGTV). Ruggiero, whose extensive travels have taken him to England, France, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Ireland, Jamaica, Australia, Germany, the French Riviera and Spain, has combined those experiences with a study of how they appear in current home furnishings trends. He will bring his "The World Of Design" exclusively to HFIA members in attendance at the Inaugural Board & Talent Team Meeting.