Sealy Announces Sales And Operations Reorganization And Strenghthens Commitment To Retailers

Furniture World Magazine

Sealy, Inc. announces a reorganization of its sales and operations structures to position itself for continued growth in the domestic bedding market. The reorganization will increase Sealy’s focus, resources and overall commitment to the success of each of its retailers. To accomplish this, five new senior management positions have been added: Corporate Vice President of National Accounts, Corporate Vice President of Sales, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Vice President of Operations, East Region and Vice President of Operations, West Region. "This is not a cost cutting measure," stated Ron L. Jones, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sealy. "While other manufacturers are implementing substantial headcount reductions to combat a soft retail environment, Sealy is restructuring itself to provide more focus on each of our important retail customers. Sealy believes that in difficult economic times retailers need support from their key manufacturers the most," Jones concluded. "Recent trends and consolidation among our retailers have afforded us an opportunity to implement a major realignment of our organization to ensure our continued growth," said Dave McIlquham, President and COO of Sealy, Inc. "This restructuring will enhance Sealy’s ability to support retailers from a sales and operations perspective." The reorganization creates two sales regions in the United States, the East Region and the West Region. At the Sealy plant level, the operations structure will be similarly aligned which will result in increased responsiveness and service for retailers. In addition, a National Accounts Sales division has been created to manage the relationships and overall strategic direction of Sealy’s national customers. As a result of the sales restructuring, the following promotions have been announced: • Chuck Dawson has been promoted to the position of Corporate Vice President of National Accounts and will be responsible for managing Sealy’s relationships with its national chain retailers. Dawson will oversee the Sealy sales team that calls on national retailers and their branch store locations. • Al Boulden has been promoted to the position of Corporate Vice President of Sales and will be in charge of the newly created Eastern and Western United States regions along with all regional furniture stores. Within the marketing department the following changes were announced: • Mark Hobson has been promoted to the position of Corporate Vice President of Marketing and will oversee product management and brand marketing initiatives for Sealy, Stearns and Foster, and Bassett. • Susan Rigsbee, Manager of Retail Merchandising will supervise all personnel engaged in merchandising coordination and point-of-sale production for all brands. • Mark Akerman has been moved to the marketing department from the sales organization and given responsibility for the marketing of the Bassett and the Carrington-Chase brands. In the operations reorganization, two key promotions have been made: • Dan Hige has been promoted to Vice President of Operations, East Region. • Kevin Hogan has been promoted to Vice President of Operations, West Region. Sealy retail partners will receive a letter detailing these organizational moves. Sealy is the largest bedding manufacturer in the world. In the U.S., Sealy serves more than 7,000 retail outlets in all 50 states. Including its subsidiaries, Sealy has 31 manufacturing plants in the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. There are a total of 11 international licensees operating in Australia, Israel, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, South Africa, the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. In addition to its licensees, Sealy has a joint venture in Southeast Asia, India and Korea. Sealy produces and sells a full range of mattresses under the Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic®, Stearns & Foster and Bassett brand names. Sealy-branded licensed products include: crib mattresses, sheets, pillows, mattress pads and comforters, futons and upholstered furniture. More information on Sealy, Inc., can be accessed at http://www.sealy.com.