by Edited assortments and collaborative design processes aim to create effortless merchandising
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — For Hooker Furnishings, less is more. Ahead of High Point Market, the Martinsville, Virginia-based company is rolling out a more streamlined “whole-home” strategy designed to make it easier for retailers to shop, merchandise and sell across categories.
Central to the strategy is the formation of Hooker Custom Upholstery, which unifies its fabric and leather capabilities under one brand. (Previously, they were separately branded as Bradington-Young and HF Custom.)
“You can get any frame in leather and any frame in fabric,” said Richard Vest, president of Hooker Custom Upholstery. “We’ve even structured the pricing to keep everything consistent at $150 per foot jump. So, it makes buying easy for the consumer.”
Case goods serve as the anchor of the upholstery design process.
“For us, it’s understanding that case goods is the leader, and we’re here to be pulled along and to finish out the whole room or the rest of the home,” Vest said.
Hooker is also tightening its assortments. “Our products are more of a chameleon. They have to go with multiple things,” Vest said.
The team is focused on curated assortments, ranging from approximately 100 to 200 SKUs.
“We’re much more intentional and dialed in now,” said Kathryn Behmer, director of merchandising for occasional and accents. “So when the retailers come in, they know that what we’re showing is the best of the best that we have to offer.”
Behmer said in the design process, balancing trends with practicality is key. For Behmer, it’s about finding the “sweet spot” between what consumers want, retailers need and how Hooker can help identify and fill those voids. She said they take care not to get siloed within the company or the furnishings industry.
Throughout the typical 18 months case goods are in development, the team takes products to its top retailers for feedback.
“I think what’s special about that is it’s really collaborative. … By the time a product gets to market, it has probably already been in front of 50 to 75 people,” Behmer added.
In its High Point Market showroom, Hooker will adjust its merchandising to reflect the tight edit of its products.
“When (retailers or designers) walk in, they can envision it, they get it and it’s something that is digestible and fun,” said Bobby Jones, vice president of upholstery for Hooker Furnishings.
At the upcoming market, Hooker will also build on its 2025 rollout of its Margaritaville line. “I think both in case and upholstery — we’re using this market as kind of a fill-in market to kind of close some of the gaps.” Jones added they’ve gotten good retailer feedback they’re incorporating to round out the products.
Beyond design, Hooker is also addressing tariff-related pressures and faster shipping speeds. In February, the company launched a new website and online B2B marketplace. Soon, it will expand its quick-ship chair program (launched last High Point Market) that delivers in 18 business days. Jones said Hooker is also launching a “mixing” warehouse in Vietnam that will allow retailers to use it as a one-stop shop.
“They can pick any piece, no minimums, between case and upholstery in Margaritaville and mix it in a direct container,” Jones said. Jones added those capabilities equate to approximately a 20% savings, which is a meaningful tariff mitigator for our retailers.
“That’s what’s really special about our Margaritaville program, as well as our inline Hooker upholstery import assortment that mixes with our cases on a day-to-day basis,” Jones added. “That’s our big value opportunity to the industry that we feel is not just a tiebreaker, but an outright winner when we get compared to our other competition.”
