Western Home Furnishings Association Announces Retailer of the Year

Furniture World Magazine

The Western Home Furnishings Association (WHFA) announced the recipient of its annual Retailer of the Year Award, the highest honor which can be bestowed on a western furniture retailer. Eric Foucrier, President, and Philip Linder, CEO, of the Linder Furniture Family comprised of Linder’s Furniture, Legacy Home Furnishings and Rooms Express, will be honored on May 8, 2007 at an exclusive dinner celebration and awards presentation. The event will take place at WHFA’s 2007 Palm Springs Conference & Tradeshow being held at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort. Award winners are selected on their contributions to the home furnishings industry, service to their own community and their personal business achievements and leadership of their company. Foucrier and Linder have a long established tradition of service, devoting countless hours to key industry leadership roles such as the Highpoint Market Advisory Board as well as the newly formed Las Vegas Advisory Board. Founded in 1984 by business partners Linder and Fourcrier, Linder’s began as a waterbed store before evolving into an oak specialty store in the early 1990’s. Following the recession of the mid 1990’s, the company was reorganized with the larger stores turned into the present full-line furniture stores. “We have been through many growth modes…we have been through the good and the bad times,” said Foucrier. Today with three full-line furniture stores featuring top-selling categories such as upholstery, mattresses and electronics, the Linder’s Annual Sales Volume is expected to exceed over 80 million dollars in 2007. As a company, Linder’s has recognized and supported many local athletic teams and children’s causes, such as the City of Hope and Make-a-Wish Foundation. In 2006, Linder’s was selected as Southern California’s Retailer of the Year for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and was responsible for the organization’s most successful fund raising campaign in history. The company also assists in other various and deserving religious, community and charitable organizations. “I firmly believe that as a successful local business, supporting these organizations is simply my way of thanking a local community for their support throughout the year,” said Linder. Giving back to the community is further demonstrated in Linder’s heavy involvement in the Habitat for Humanity program, recently completing two homes constructed in the Palm Springs area. Linder’s Furniture is a leading retailer of quality home furnishings and is the largest independent furniture chain in California. Linder’s acquired the Legacy stores in January, bringing their network of retail sites to 11 and their staff to more than 375. Since then, they have tripled their presence in the Coachella Valley with stores in Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage and now La Quinta. For more information on Linder’s Furniture please contact Ross Steiner at 310-864-1107 or by e-mail at rosssteiner@linderfurniture.com.