FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARSH PROVIDES PROSPEROUS EXAMPLE

“Furniture Company grows as other local firms close”

High Point, NC, Oct. 6 - Local officials visited a booming furniture manufacturer this week that has avoided the fate of some of its associates who have closed their doors.

Many local companies, such as Holton Fine Furniture & Accessories and Wood-Armfield Furniture Co. have gone out of business. Most recently, Rose Furniture Co. announced Tuesday it likely will liquidate its assets. All three companies have been in the area for decades but have suffered as the furniture retail industry continues to decline. But Marsh furniture – which makes its product in High Point – has survived since 1906 by sticking to what it does best.

	Reid Marsh, President and CEO

"All we make is wood kitchen and bath cabinets," said Reid Marsh, chief executive officer of Marsh Furniture. He spoke to the High Point Economic Development Corp. board of directors Tuesday after a tour of Marsh's facility south of downtown.

Since kitchens have become more fashion-oriented, Marsh said, the company has tried to keep up. When he became president in 1989, the company made four lines of cabinets and one type of vanity. It now offers 130 choices.

Marsh said his company ships within two weeks to everywhere east of the Mississippi River, with most of the business going to the Carolinas and Virginia .

Marsh Furniture, with its niche product and two-week turnaround on any order, has bucked the trend to which other furniture companies have fallen prey. The company has started putting its product in higher-value starter homes – ones costing $600,000 – as well as homes on a lower end of the scale at $180,000.

Mayor Becky Smothers said Marsh not only is good at what it does, but also takes care of its employees and the community.

"They have made a significant contribution to affordable housing," she said.

Smothers commended the company for outfitting Macedonia Place, a four-block revitalization project at Lake Avenue and S. Centennial Street, with cabinets. Marsh also provides assistance for employees moving into the community.

The company has 730 employees who make 3,000 cabinets a day. About 120 work in South Carolina and another 36 work in retail stores in Greensboro, Burlington, Winston-Salem and Charlotte. Marsh said his company generated $97 million in sales in 2005 and expects to make close to $110 million this year. That's up from the $13 million the company made when Marsh first took the reins about 10 years ago.

"We've been blessed," he said.

Source: Emma Burgin, staff writer for The High Point Enterprise

Marsh Furniture Company has been manufacturing fine kitchen and bath cabinetry for 100 years. As we celebrate our 100th anniversary we are committed to delivering the highest level of customer care and quality products. Because of these values, Marsh Furniture remains one of the largest independently owned stock cabinet manufacturers in the United States . Visit our website at www.marshfurniture.com.

Inquiries:
Tom Reinbold, Marketing Manager
Telephone: 336.884.7363

	1001 S. Centennial Street, P.O. Box 870, High Point, NC 27261-0870 Phone 336.884.7363 Fax 336.884.3553