by Individual with industry experience will support strategic vision and company’s growth moving forward
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Hooker Furnishings has entered into a cooperation agreement with Global Value Investment Corp. under which GVIC and the company will work together to identify a new independent director with industry expertise. The independent director will be identified within 45 days of the agreement, and once the new director is identified and vetted, the board will increase from eight to nine individuals.
“We are pleased to have reached this constructive outcome with GVIC, which we believe is in the best interests of our shareholders,” said Jeremy Hoff, chief executive officer of Hooker Furnishings. “We look forward to welcoming an industry expert to our board to support our strategic vision and continue advancing our objective of delivering long-term profitable growth.”
JP Geygan, chief executive officer and president of GVIC, said that the company believes Hooker has an attractive business model, strong financials “and a leading position within its industry.”
“We see meaningful opportunity for profitable growth and long-term value creation,” Geygan said. “We appreciate the constructive and thoughtful engagement with the Hooker board leading to this outcome and look forward to an ongoing productive dialogue with management and the board.”
The company also announced that longtime board member and current chair W. Christopher Beeler Jr. plans to retire from the board at the company’s 2026 annual meeting of shareholders and will not stand for reelection. The company said his decision did not result from any disagreement with the organization.
“I’d like to express our deep gratitude to Chris Beeler for his dedication to Hooker since joining the board in 1993,” Hoff said. “Mr. Beeler’s decades of experience with the company have been instrumental in helping Hooker navigate through numerous economic cycles, and I know that we will continue to build on his insights as we move forward. His contributions have been invaluable, and the entire board of directors thanks him for his service to the company and our shareholders.”
Under the terms of the agreement with GVIC, the company said it has agreed to nominate the new independent director for election at the 2026 annual meeting and 2027 annual meeting of shareholders.
GVIC has agreed to vote all of its shares in favor of Hooker’s nominees at such annual meetings (subject to specified conditions) and has entered into other customary voting and standstill commitments until the earlier of 30 days prior to the nomination deadline for the 2028 annual meeting of shareholders and 120 days prior to the anniversary of the 2027 Annual Meeting. The full agreement will be filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.
