Bernie & Phyl's Furniture Wins Family Business Award

Furniture World Magazine

Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture has been selected as the 2008 winner of the Massachusetts Family Business Award for businesses with more than 250 employees. The Massachusetts Family Business Awards were created to recognize the achievements of the top family owned companies in Massachusetts for their excellence in business, innovation, and contributions to the community. The awards program was developed by Northeastern University Center for Family Business; the Family Firm Institute, New England Chapter; and family businesses across the state. “It is an honor to receive this important award. Even as we have grown, our focus has been on retaining that strong sense of family and commitment to family values that has been the hallmark of our company over the years,” said Bernie Rubin, chairman and co-founder of Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture. “We will work hard to continue to earn the respect and admiration of every person who comes in contact with our company and to live up to the ideals that are represented in winning this award.” The award that Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture received was named in honor of Paul Karofsky, the founding executive of the Northeastern University Center for Family Business and current member of the Center’s Leadership Development Forum. Awards were also given in two other categories, the Ed Tarlow Award to businesses with 50 to 250 employees, and the Marshall Paisner award to businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Based in Norton, MA, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture is the largest privately owned furniture retailer in Massachusetts. The family run business has six stores in New England: Braintree, MA; Hyannis, MA; Nashua, NH; Raynham, MA; Saugus, MA; and Westboro, MA. Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture received the prestigious Better Business Bureau Local Torch Award for Excellence, in 2007 and 2004, which is given to companies that embody the highest ethical standards. In 2002, the company was named “Retailer of the Year” by the National Home Furnishings Association, which is the highest honor in the retail home furnishings industry. The company ranks 69 among the Top 100 furniture stores in the country according to Furniture/Today magazine.