Wiltshire Named President of La-Z-Boy Retail

Furniture World News

La-Z-Boy Incorporated has appointed Mark Wiltshire to the newly created position of president of the La-Z-Boy retail division. Wiltshire previously was vice president and general manager for the division, which directs and manages La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries(R) stores owned by La-Z-Boy Incorporated. Wiltshire will manage the growth of the company-owned network as well as oversee the development, operations and profitability of the 61 company-owned stores, including those in high-impact markets Chicago, Washington D.C. and Boston. Wiltshire reports directly to CEO and president, Kurt Darrow, in this role. The La-Z-Boy retail division is one of the company's three core business segments, along with upholstery and casegoods. This realignment demonstrates the company's continued focus on the retail business as a key strategic initiative. "Retail continues to increase in importance in our overall business mix, and Mark has been instrumental in the development of this segment," said Darrow. "I'm confident that Mark's deep and varied retail experience will ensure further success as we aggressively open and integrate more stores into our network." As president of La-Z-Boy retail, Wiltshire will manage 14 direct reports and more than 1,200 employees. Wiltshire has played an instrumental role in La-Z-Boy's rapid expansion of company-owned stores as vice president and general manager for La-Z-Boy retail. In this role, he overhauled the marketing strategy and instituted a uniform merchandising program across the network. He will continue to focus on streamlining the division's operations as part of his overall responsibilities as president of the division. Wiltshire previously spent three years as vice president of sales and marketing for La-Z-Boy Canada Limited, where he oversaw the growth of the Canadian La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries network and doubled sales within a five- year period. Prior to that, Wiltshire was the national sales manager of La-Z-Boy Canada Limited. Wiltshire joined La-Z-Boy in 1997, bringing with him significant retail experience, most recently serving as the merchandise and marketing manager for Canada at Cantrex Buying Group. In that position, he led the national advertising and merchandising programs for over 1,000 independent furniture and bedding dealers across Canada. His store management experience includes time spent as general manager at the 11-store chain The Bedroom Shoppe's as well as Leon's Furniture in Weston, Ontario Background Information: With annual sales of over $2 billion, La-Z-Boy Incorporated is one of the world's leading residential furniture producers, marketing furniture for every room of the home, as well as for the hospitality, health care and assisted- living industries. The La-Z-Boy Upholstery Group companies are Bauhaus, Centurion, Clayton Marcus, England, La-Z-Boy, and Sam Moore. The La-Z-Boy Casegoods Group companies are American Drew, American of Martinsville, Hammary, Kincaid, Lea and Pennsylvania House. The corporation's vast proprietary distribution network is dedicated exclusively to selling La-Z-Boy Incorporated products and brands, and includes 329 stand-alone La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries(R) stores and 338 La-Z-Boy In- Store Galleries, in addition to in-store gallery programs at the company's Kincaid, Pennsylvania House, Clayton Marcus, England and Lea operating units. According to industry trade publication In Furniture, the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries retail network is North America's largest single-brand furniture retailer. Additional information is available at http://www.la-z-boy.com/