by Mickey Sharpe named VP, design and creative and Steadman Lanier joins company full-time as director, marketing and social media
WILSON, N.C. — Industry style leader Sarreid Ltd. has hired two industry veterans that the company believes will be a critical link moving forward between its customers and the consumer buying the type of luxury home furnishings product it provides to the marketplace.
The company has hired long-time interior designer Mickey Sharpe as vice president of design and creative and industry marketing specialist Steadman Lanier as director of marketing and social media. Both are new positions, with Sharpe reporting to Sarreid President and CEO Brad Cates and Lanier reporting to Sharpe.
Sharpe comes to the company from Sharpe Design, an interior design firm he has owned and operated for nearly 20 years. Lanier has handled marketing for Sarreid on a contract basis over the past five and half years and before that owned and operated a women’s high-end apparel and accessories boutique in Wilson, where Sarreid is based.
Sharpe will be responsible for product development and related branding initiatives to help ensure a consistency in its product development and marketing that allows customers and consumers immediately to recognize the Sarreid line. Lanier will handle marketing and social media on a full-time basis, communicating both the product story and brand messaging to Sarreid customers and consumers alike.
With their respective connections to Sarreid’s interior design customer and the consumer for fashion and luxury products, the company expects to create meaningful returns for its customers and the connections they in turn make with their own customers.
“We are taking a holistic look at the business and making changes that we need to make to accelerate growth,” Cates said, noting that having Sharpe involved in product development frees him up to pursue larger strategic initiatives and growth opportunities.
“When Mickey approached me about coming on board full time, I was beyond thrilled,” Cates said. “He and I understand each other’s aesthetic. It could not have been a better fit.”
He added that Sharpe’s experience as an interior designer will specifically guide product development with an eye on what makes sense for the market and why customers would decide to place that product.
Lanier, he noted, has retail and market experience that will help guide the company’s marketing and brand messaging and communicate that through social media, thus connecting the brand to an even larger customer and consumer base.
“She checks all the boxes of a Sarreid customer,” Cates said of her 15 years of experience owning a high-end boutique.
He added that having both Sharpe and her together on the team already has brought the company’s energy to another level, particularly from a product development process that taps into the mind of both the Sarreid customer and the end consumer.
“I have the luxury of having our customer and our consumer in one product development meeting,” Cates said. “It makes it a very dynamic product development process.”
“These are just two changes and we are not done,” he added. “We are in active recruitment where two plus two equals seven.”
