Tropitone Names New Vice President Of Sales And Business Development While Also Fine Tuning Marketing Program

Furniture World Magazine

Tropitone Furniture Co., a leading manufacturer of fine casual furniture, has appointed industry veteran and successful Tropitone sales representative, Erwin Gremmer, to serve as vice president of sales and business development while Peter Homestead, vice president of design, takes on an expanded leadership role in aligning Tropitone’s marketing program with its product design direction. According to Michael Echolds, chief executive officer of Tropitone, during Erwin Gremmer’s six-year tenure at Tropitone, he has established strong relationships with retailers based on his extensive knowledge of the retail market and his demonstrated commitment to serving the needs of the company’s customer base. “Erwin Gremmer not only has a keen understanding of the issues that casual furniture retailers face day-to-day, he also is familiar with the history of retailing in our industry. This gives him important perspective which has enabled him to create win-win relationships for both Tropitone and our customers,” Echolds said. “As the company’s new vice-president of sales and business development, Erwin will have an expanded opportunity to strengthen Tropitone’s ‘partnership relationships’ with retailers while also taking an active role in identifying and managing new business development and strategic direction.” Commenting on his new role Erwin said “I am excited about this opportunity to build on Tropitone’s long-standing presence in the casual furniture marketplace and our reputation as a manufacturer focused on delivering unbeatable quality and superior customer service for the right price and at the right time.” As an industry veteran, Gremmer has held numerous executive management positions and had responsibility for the sales organizations at several leading casual furniture manufacturers over his 20-year career, including Grosfillex, a leading French manufacturer of outdoor resin furniture; a Rubbermaid/Allibert joint venture which sold outdoor furniture to both the retail and contract markets; and Hartman, the leading Dutch manufacturer of outdoor furniture. As Gremmer assumes his new leadership role in sales and business development, Peter Homestead, Tropitone’s vice president of design, will take on additional responsibility for directing the company’s marketing program along with Cindy Andera who has been named marketing manager, Echolds said. “Peter will leverage his ongoing leadership role in product design to ensure that the graphic design elements of Tropitone’s marketing program -- including our product catalogues and showrooms -- complement key product design features. Cindy will work with Peter to implement this more parallel approach between the design of our product and the graphic design elements reflected in our product marketing program,” Echolds said. Andera is returning to Tropitone after having successfully served in several other marketing management positions at the company between 1992 and 1998, including marketing manager for the Basta Sole product line, product manager for fabric and finish, and western regional sales manager. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 with a bachelor of science in marketing. Founded in 1954, Tropitone is based in Irvine, California, and is recognized throughout the casual furniture marketplace for its design leadership as well as its commitment to service and value. The company sells its products to retailers, designers and the hospitality trade under the Tropitone, Veneman and Basta Sole trademarks. In August 2001, it acquired Sun West Creations, which offers an extensive selection of contemporary styles and sizes of tabletops that go beyond the traditional glass tabletops to include faux stone and marble mosaic tile. In additional to its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Irvine, the company operates a manufacturing facility in Sarasota, Florida. For more information about the company, visit www.tropitone.com.