A virtual tour of an international furniture showroom

Welcome to our new home away from home.

That’s what we got to say as we greeted retailers and designers during the recently completed Spring High Point Market.

After over 30 years in the same furniture market showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center, Hooker Furniture moved to a high traffic location on the same floor to unite with our subsidiaries Sam Moore and Bradington-Young in a completely redesigned and renovated 80,000 square foot showroom.

If there is one word we would chose to describe our new showroom, it would be “welcoming.” Everything about the design and layout has a common theme of hospitality. That’s one reason the lobby, shown above, and all public areas of the showroom have a soft neutral color scheme and seating arrangements to invite conversation and relaxation.

If there was one word our visitors used most frequently to describe our new showroom at the recent market, it was “open.” The sight lines of the showroom are open, creating energy and excitement. The description of “open” was followed closely behind by “light and bright.”

The neutral color scheme in shades of taupe and gray is a perfect backdrop for splashes of color in our new product introductions. For example, the tangerine and fuchsia upholstery from Sam Moore and Bradington-Young really pops in the display window that flanks our lobby!

Here’s another view of our display window that shows off one of the large Hooker Furniture “H” logos made of wood that adorn each side of the window. Lots of visitors commented that they “loved our H’s!”

In keeping with our hospitality theme, our visitor lounge awaits just beside the lobby. Featuring a large flat screen TV, wireless Internet access, a coffee and water bar, cozy seating and a Company History Display, the lounge is a comfortable place for dealers, designers and industry guests to wait to see their sales representative or other company employee.

While dealers, designers or other industry guests waited at the Spring Market, many enjoyed looking at old photos and reading stories about how Hooker Furniture was founded and how the company has been shaped through the years.

Stories like how the citizens of Martinsville had the faith to raise almost $30,000 in seed money to give to J. Clyde Hooker Sr. to begin a new furniture factory in their town in 1924. The money was a direct gift to the young entrepreneur without so much as a receipt given in return…but generations of these citizens would reap the return of stable, fulfilling employment.

The Company History Display features photographs of early executives and tells the story of how the company entered various product categories through the years and became known as a niche marketer, especially in home entertainment, home office and accent furniture.

One of the most meaningful history frames highlights furniture industry statesman, community benefactor, decorated World War II veteran and the visionary leader of our company from 1960 to 2000, J. Clyde Hooker Jr. So many of the core values of our company—from integrity to listening to caring – emanate from the example Clyde set during his lifetime before his death in 2010 at the age of 89.

The next stop on most visits to our showroom is the front desk.

Next comes perhaps the best view of the showroom, a glass-walled circular “hub” entrance that offers a panorama of what is to come. Once you step inside this area, you can see the entrances to the Sam Moore, the Hooker Furniture and Bradington-Young sections of the showroom and the entrance to the Café.  On display are our newest and most exciting furniture pieces.

Compliments of the glass walls, a “teaser” is offered of the new and exciting furniture that awaits inside the showroom

Of course, the café is one of the most popular destinations of the showroom as well. How do you like these sparkling “light bubbles” on the wall that gives the feeling of shining stars?

This market, each of our divisions had new introductions that were very well received. For Hooker Furniture, the headline collection was Rhapsody, a 75-piece collection of casual opulence combining classical style, grand scale and a sophisticated rustic finish.

Sam Moore, founded in 1940 as America’s chairmaker, had an historical market by introducing 12 sofa groups to become a full upholstery resource. The sofa groups were very well received.

Bradington-Young, an upscale leather specialist, focused on transitional-styled, family room sofa groups, reclining chairs and comfortable, stylish club chairs. This curved front conversation sofa with an embossed croc look leather was a well-received introduction.

Another nice feature of the new showroom is a Dealer/Designer Resource Center. In this room, retailers and sales reps can select from hundreds of fabric and leather swatches and dozens of finish samples to create custom chairs, sofas and sectionals. Our catalogs and our website, viewed on a large screen and operated from an iPad, are at their fingertips to help them.

Well, we hope you have enjoyed your “inside track” tour of a furniture market showroom.

Hopefully now you can understand why our president, Alan Cole, said that our new showroom  “makes the impactful statement, ‘This is Hooker Furniture today.’ The showroom reflects our revitalized product direction and the energy and excitement about our future. It signals a fresh new era at Hooker Furniture built on a wonderful legacy.”