Kevin Hobbs Vice President, Texas Stores Gabberts Furniture and Design Studio

Furniture World Magazine

Kevin Hobbs joined Gabberts Furniture and Design Studio in 1996 as director of the company's Texas stores and was promoted in 1998 to vice president of Texas stores. He is currently responsible for overseeing all daily operations,. including sales, marketing, community relations, market financial performance and community home projects, of Gabberts' three retail stores in Dallas and Forth Worth. In addition to these duties, Hobbs was project leader overseeing the Dallas store's two-year, $4 million, head-to-toe renovation, which was completed in May 2001. The 100,000 square foot showroom was transformed into the first home furnishings store in the country to be completely designed around customer "lifestyles," collections of similarly designed furnishings for every part of the home all located in one store area. He also serves as chairman of Gabberts' Texas Business Council, a 12-member elected panel that oversees the company's Texas operations, is a member of the corporate operating committee and is closely involved in creating and implementing the company's team-based organizational process. Prior to joining Gabberts, Hobbs held key executives positions from 1978 to 1995 with Helzberg Diamonds, Inc., a Kansas City-based, $300 million national jewelry retailer. Positions included divisional vice president of human resources, national director of training a nd development, merchandise controller and store manager. A native Midwesterner, Hobbs. earned a bachelor's of arts degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1974. He relocated to Dallas in 1996 to join Gabberts and currently lives in the city of Dallas.