FOURNIER FURNITURE INC. ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT CHANGE

Furniture World Magazine

Fournier Furniture, Inc. announces the retirement of Mr. D. Frederic (Fritz) Myers (formerly President and CEO) and the appointment of William J. Sample to President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Fournier, Mr. Sample was a Senior Management Consultant with TBM Consulting Group, Inc. of Durham, N.C., which specializes in implementing world class manufacturing systems using lean manufacturing techniques. Mr. Sample has worked as Group Vice President at Hon Industries, Inc., responsible for the company's wood office furniture manufacturing facilities, and as President of Domore Corporation, a manufacturer of contract office furniture. "Speaking for myself and everyone at Fournier, I am appreciative to Fritz Myers for providing stability to the organization as the company made the initial transition from being a subsidiary of a large conglomerate to becoming an independent company. We all wish him well. I am excited to have the responsibility of leading the company through its next phase of growth and to further developing the company's ability to be a strong partner with its customers", said William Sample. Mr. Sample further added, "Fournier Furniture is in the fortunate position of having an upscale product line in a market that is increasingly moving toward better products, higher price points and greater perceived value. It is my intention to work closely with our customers, our sales/marketing team and our production team to accelerate our development and delivery of products that meet the needs of the market. I intend to aggressively implement Lean Manufacturing techniques in order to allow Fournier to become a more reliable, short lead time supplier, as well as being a low cost producer." Fournier is a leading U.S. manufacturer of ready to assemble (RTA) furniture for the residential, home office and small business markets. Fournier was acquired through a management buyout led by the Kaizen Breakthrough Partnership, L.P. in February 1996. E-mail link: vcvijanovic@naxs.com