LADD'S American Of Martinsville Contract Group Signs Supplier Agreement With Bass Hotels & Resorts

Furniture World Magazine

LADD Furniture, Inc. chairman and CEO Fred L. Schuermann, Jr., reported today that LADD's contract furniture group, doing business as American of Martinsville ("AOM"), has signed an agreement with Bass Hotels & Resorts (formerly Holiday Hospitality) for the opportunity to supply casegoods for the Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn brands. New room construction and renovations will utilize five different casegoods (wood furniture) groups, in possibly as many as 42,000 rooms over a two-year period, as hotel operators continue to implement the company's major modernization/renovation initiative. Bass Hotels & Resorts operates or franchises more than 2,600 hotels, making it the world's largest hotel operator. "We're very pleased with this agreement," Schuermann said, adding, "it demonstrates the world-class stature of our contract furniture business, and is a tribute to the American of Martinsville team." AOM president Michael P. Haley added, "Holiday Inn has been a valued customer of American of Martinsville for a number of years. Bass Hotels & Resorts is committed to quality and consistency of service, and we're pleased to have been selected as the recommended preferred casegoods supplier for these brands." Headquartered in Martinsville, VA, AOM is one of the world's leading suppliers of guest room furniture to the hotel industry, as well as to assisted-living (retirement) facilities and to the U.S. government. AOM operates manufacturing facilities in Chilhowie and Martinsville, VA and employs approximately 1,300 people. AOM's parent company, Greensboro, NC-based LADD Furniture, Inc., is one of the largest North American manufacturers of residential furniture, marketing a wide range of residential wood and upholstered furniture domestically under the major brand names American Drew, Barclay, Clayton Marcus, Lea, Pennsylvania House and Pilliod -- in addition to the American of Martinsville brand. These products are also sold worldwide through LADD International. LADD also owns and operates LADD Transportation, a support company. LADD's stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol LADF and additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.laddfumiture.com.