Leaders of two furniture industry trade groups are applauding a recent joint
leadership conference in Greensboro that they say may heal some of the harsh feelings
going around their industry regarding imported products and the accusation that some
companies are profiting by dumping cheap goods in America.

Members of the Young Home Furnishings Executives organization joined members of the
Women In the Home Industries Today organization last week for a management training
program put on by Staub Leadership Consultants.

"This kind of event is extremely important for our industry at this juncture, because
we've gotten bogged down in conflict," said Kim Shaver, director of marketing for
Hooker Furniture who attended the conference.

"At this conference there was a general willingness to learn and grow, a little bit
more openness to see the views of others, and to see what's best for the whole. We've
gained a lot of insight into the skills necessary to move our industry ahead."

The American furniture industry has been divided recently by companies that either
support or oppose the idea of closing American furniture plants to outsource those
production jobs overseas. More than 40 U.S. plants have been closed in the last three
years as the furniture industry is reorganizing amid consumer demand fluctuating.

"The definition of leadership that they gave us was to achieve results by influencing,
inspiring and aligning others," Shaver said. "That's what we've got to do in this
industry...align others through inspiration, not so much through accusation. Right out
of the starting gate, we got past the superficial at this event into root-cause kind of
discussion."

Richard Tompkins, vice president of sales at Crescent Home Furnishings of Tennessee,
said the conference demonstrated that younger managers need to take a more active role
in the furniture industry.