by The home furnishings company’s growth plans include expanding its international, contract and hospitality businesses
TRUMBLE, Conn. — Nearly three decades after acquiring Interlude Home, CEO Carl Phillips is reshaping the company’s leadership team as the business prepares for its next phase of growth.
The Trumbull, Connecticut-based company recently appointed Jessica Norby as vice president of sales and promoted Sean McFadden, who has been with Interlude for 27 years, to executive vice president. Norby will lead the company’s unified sales team across upholstery, COM and imports, and McFadden will help lead Interlude’s operational expansion while also serving as a strategic adviser to Norby.
These key appointments are central to Interlude’s latest growth strategy, which focuses on expanding its international, contract and hospitality businesses. Phillips said that although those segments have always existed and Interlude has dabbled in them, they have played “second fiddle” to Interlude’s domestic residential business — until now.
“With these challenging times we live in, we thought that this sort of focus is what’s required in our leadership,” Phillips told Home News Now. “It hasn’t been about adding more management, but it’s been about separating responsibilities so each leader can spend more time where they’ll have the greatest impact.
Interlude’s leadership changes come as furniture companies navigate more cautious consumers. While the luxury and premium furnishings segment continues to perform well compared to the middle of the category, Phillips said that consumer behavior has notably shifted.
“People are not spending money as easily as they were historically,” Phillips said. “Even when they buy a multimillion-dollar home, they’re not pulling the trigger on furniture purchases as quickly as they used to.”
As a result, Phillips said that interior designers are carrying projects for longer periods, requiring suppliers to remain engaged throughout an extended sales cycle.
“That means it’s also a greater challenge for us because we have to follow up on each of our potential sales,” he added.
For Phillips, the company’s expanded businesses will also be guided by the same tenets since he purchased Interlude nearly three decades ago. At the time, he was furnishing his own homes and found the buying experience “painful,” because of lack of inventory, misrepresented delivery times and damaged merchandise.
“I said, ‘Wow, this would be a great industry to get into if you could solve those problems,’” Phillips said. “And I think we have to a great extent. I think the industry as a whole has come a long way, but I think we do it far better than most.”
Phillips said that while revenue growth is ultimately the goal, achieving it requires a clear strategy. To differentiate itself in the marketplace, Phillips said Interlude primarily uses its own salespeople rather than independent representatives, invests in extensive training for its new hires and supports them with technology to help them best serve their customers.
Phillips also cited Interlude’s domestic factory in Christiansburg, Virginia, and its six-week lead times, which he said have been consistent for years.
“That’s always been one of our strengths,” Phillips said. “Whether it’s imported goods where we stock or domestically manufactured upholstery.”
Outside of what Interlude can control, Phillips admitted it’s a strange time in the furniture industry. Despite the current economic challenges, Phillips said that while some companies might be tempted to pull back and wait things out, he’s taking a different approach.
“We think this is a really interesting time to try to strengthen our business, focus and build relationships with the right partners that will last throughout the next cycle,” he added.
