by Industry veteran Doug Diemoz purchased the company this past spring, with an eye on paying homage to its roots, while evolving into new areas of design leadership
HIGH POINT — Under its new ownership, dealers and designers alike can expect GJ Styles to remain committed to its roots in updated traditional and vintage European reproduction furnishings while also evolving into new designs that continue its legacy as an industry style leader.
The company was acquired by industry veteran Doug Diemoz in mid-June from owners Glen and Jill Styles, who founded the company in 1985 in Leominster, England. They moved the company to High Point in 1997, where it developed an even stronger customer base in the U.S. in the market for antique reproduction-style furniture.
This leadership in the vintage furnishings category ultimately resulted in a joint venture partnership in 2008 with its primary vendor, Halo Asia. The company thus became known as Halo Styles, which developed its own style direction in casual vintage furnishings.
The casual reproduction-style furnishings ultimately caught the attention of other Asian manufacturers who were competitors of Halo Styles. These companies often knocked off Halo Styles with details ranging from the rivets in bomber-style accent chairs, and dramatic channeling of leather upholstery, to the shaping of large oak case pieces and tables in dry, low-sheen finishes seen at furniture showrooms in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Singapore in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The details even went down to showroom entrances made to look like old bomber planes and the luxurious chandeliers and candelabras that cast a romantic glow on the furnishings inside.
Showroom imitations aside, it was GJ Styles’ legacy of design leadership in home furnishings that attracted Diemoz to the company.
“A lot of people don’t know that GJ Styles was one of the original importers of this look and feel and vibe that has become one of the most popular-selling aesthetics of all-time home furnishings history,” Diemoz told Home News Now. “That is just such fascinating history to me and to stumble across this company as part of that history is just really compelling to me as a student of home.”
Diemoz has an impressive background in the industry himself, having worked as a senior vice president of finance at the Pottery Barn division of Williams Sonoma for just over nine years starting in the spring of 2002. He also has worked as chief development officer at RH, as chief executive officer of Crate & Barrel and as president at Pier 1. He also was co-founder, executive chairman and chief executive officer of West Coast upholstery manufacturer Made and Modern.
It was at Crate & Barrel and Pier 1 where he also had the chance to work some with the late Timothy Oulton, the former founder and chief executive at Halo and Timothy Oulton/Halo Creative Design. He said that his respect for both Oulton and the company that Styles developed over the many years made the deal even more compelling.
He acknowledges that while other companies have evolved into cleaner lines that represent a soft contemporary aesthetic in the marketplace, GJ Styles has maintained its presence in reproduction styles that still appeal to many consumers.
“It’s almost like it has its own uniqueness again because it didn’t evolve,” he said of its casual vintage looks. “But there is definitely an opportunity, which I also found super compelling, to grow the assortment. I think we have a tremendous opportunity in upholstery, but also in other categories of the home where I know we can win as the brand grows and moves forward.”
He noted that bedroom also remains an area of opportunity, along with outdoor furniture, as the company’s core categories today are in living room including sofas, chairs and occasional tables, as well as dining, vanities and office furniture. As the company looks to grow this mix, it will likely expand its global sourcing to some other countries that would be in addition to its main manufacturing base in China. It also may look to produce some upholstery in North Carolina, which remains a core domestic source for upper-middle-to-upper-end product, tapping into the region’s capabilities in both fabric and leather, while also benefiting from sharper lead times.
Today, retailers and designers each represent about half of sales respectively and Diemoz sees opportunity to grow the business in both markets, including smaller independents looking for the type of niche products that can help set their stores apart. To reach those respective markets, the company has added several reps in areas including North and South Carolina, up to West Virginia, Virginia and the metro Washington, D.C., area and Delaware.
The company ultimately plans to expand even further along the Eastern Seaboard with plans ultimately to reach into markets west of the Mississippi. But given the company’s rich history and the strength of its product line, he’s taking these steps strategically with the goal of long-term success and increased market penetration.
“We’re getting a lot of positive reaction on our current assortment, which is fantastic,” he said of the response the new reps have had to the product mix. “With these aspects of the home, I think we can develop a really unique point of view and really service our clients.”
