FMG Symposium kicks off 2025 with flair and substance

Jan. 23-25 event in Las Vegas drew dealers, vendors from around the country

LAS VEGAS — Heading into the January Las Vegas Market, FMG once again held its annual symposium, drawing dealers and industry suppliers from around the country.

As always, the event offered a host of networking opportunities that showcase the importance of FMG to its members while also offering some of the best educational content in the industry.

The event took place Jan. 23-25 at Resorts World Las Vegas, delivering a first-rate agenda for those who were able to attend. Guests offered rave reviews of the keynote speaker, Terry Jones, the founder of Travelocity and Kayak, whose presentation was titled “Turn Disruption Off; Turn Innovation On.”

This was followed by a welcome reception where wholesalers and their retail customers had a chance to network and catch up while enjoying drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

The next day’s agenda kicked off with a presentation by featured speaker Donald Cooper, “The Management Guy,” whose presentation was called “Accelerate Your Business: How to Sell More, Manage Smarter, Grow Your Bottom Line … And Have a Life!”

This was followed by a panel discussion with upholstery manufacturers on Selling Custom Order Upholstery, moderated by Oscar Miskelly of Miskelly Furniture. Up next was a panel on Visualization Presentation, moderated by Karolina Zajac, head of customer growth at Intiaro, which was followed by featured speaker Ivan Joseph, a scholar-practitioner and confidence coach, who spoke on “Mastering the Skill of Self Confidence.”

Ivan Joseph spoke on “Mastering the Skill of Self Confidence.”

A panel of mattress merchandising and marketing professionals then participated in a panel discussion called “Dream Big: A 2025 Mattress Market Forecast,” followed by presenter Nicole Cervi of Wells Fargo whose presentation was called “A New Horizon: The Economic Outlook in a New Leadership and Policy Area.” The first day ended with an overview of the FMG members that opened new stores in a retail environment otherwise tainted with bankruptcies or store closings.

The evening featured a Vendor Appreciation Party at the Jalisco nightclub at Resorts World, where you can see photos of the event featured here.

Saturday, Jan. 25, sessions were open to FMG Retail Members only, addressing a host of topics ranging from involving the entire team in store events/promotions, a review of video ads and a presentation on FMG Digital Advertising by Michael Herschel IV. This was followed by a review of FMG member best ideas for 2025 and a store tour of Boulevard Furniture.

“In keeping with tradition, there is no specific theme to this year’s symposium,” said Mike Herschel, FMG president, in his published remarks in the symposium directory. “We emphasize the importance of sharing and promoting discussion on as many different and innovative topics as possible. Our goal is to enlighten, educate and foster relationships.”

Others attending the symposium shared some thoughts with Home News Now about the event and why they believe it remains relevant for the industry at large.

“It was a good conference for networking with retailers and hearing about their business challenges and opportunities,” said Michael Pitman, senior vice president, Magnussen Home. “We gained insight and understanding as to how Magnussen can help the retailers grow revenue in 2025.”

Scott Sullens, vice president of key accounts and business development at full-line furniture resource Intercon, said he thought the presentation by the keynote speaker was one of the best keynote addresses FMG has had.

“They continue to elevate their speakers through the conference,” he said, adding that he believes networking also remains a highlight of the event. “It is important to be where your customers are. We are a big supporter of FMG; they are big supporters of us. We like supporting our partners.”

Steve Riley, president of Riley Consulting Group, said he has been going to the event since 2007, starting when he was director of furniture and flooring at Nebraska Furniture Mart.

“You get to network with everybody,” he said. “You get a lot out of it, and there was a lot of energy this year.”

Thomas Russell

Home News Now Editor-in-Chief Thomas Russell has covered the furniture industry for 25 years at various daily and weekly consumer and trade publications. He can be reached at tom@homenewsnow.com and at 336-508-4616.

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