SF Mart AnnouncesGold PassWinners

Furniture World Magazine

The San Francisco Mart announced that bestowed Gold Pass Awards to Howard Haimsohn of Lawrance Contemporary Home Furnishings in San Diego and Jack Fendrich of Brenner’s Furniture in Eugene, Oregon. The Gold Pass is awarded to select Western retailers who have distinguished themselves by the caliber of their retail stores, their industry participation and their ongoing support of the SF Mart. The Winter Market 2004 winners were honored in a ceremony on January 29 at the SF Concourse. Lawrance Contemporary Home Furnishings was started by Herman Haimsohn in 1937 in the Hillcrest area of San Diego. The store, then known as the Modern Furniture Company, thrived under the helm of Herman and his son Ed. In 1976, Herman’s grandson Howard joined the business, starting in the warehouse and then working in every aspect of the store. While Howard had a self-described passion for sales, his father delegated much of the buying duties to him to the point that by the early 1980s, Howard was doing almost all the buying. San Franciscohas been an important market for Lawrance Contemporary. While Howard also attends shows in High Pointand Milan, he can’t recall missing a San Francisco Market in the last 25 years. “Over the years, San Francisco has been a strong contemporary market,” Howard says. “San Francisco has always showcased smaller, new contemporary lines and the show has always been meaningful to us.” The family opened a second store in 1981 in Encinitas, at which point they changed the name from Modern Furniture Company to Lawrance Contemporary Home Furnishings. In 1983, Howard and his father started the Contemporary Design Group, an idea that germinated during the January 1983San Franciscomarket. In February 1983, the Haimsohns returned toSan Franciscoto meet with six other store owners to form the group, which has since grown to 22 members coast to coast. The group shares advertising and buying clout, as well as operational ideas, and are in the process of creating a private brand. Lawrance Contemporary was named as the 2001 “Western Retailer of the Year” by the Western Home Furnishings Association (WHFA). Howard himself has been very involved with both WHFA and NHFA, serving as WHFA president in 1991 and NHFA president in 2002 and chairman in 2003. The SF Mart also salutes another third generation store owner and WHFA supporter, Jack Fendrich of Brenner’s Furniture. When people in Lane County, Ore., think of furniture, they think of Brenner’s, a fixture in downtownEugene since 1938. The original store was owned by Jack Brenner and Sarah Fendrich-Brenner, who eventually passed management duties to Sarah’s son, Nathan Fendrich, and his wife Beatrice. Nathan and Beatrice’s sons more or less grew up among the sofas. When son Jack was in college, he began working in the back room, making deliveries and setting up stock. He worked his way into sales and then into management, eventually taking over for his dad. “I saw a lot of potential in the company and wanted to help the family business,” says Jack of joining the company. After much persistence, Jack persuaded his dad to modernize the store in the mid-1980s, adding more phone lines, bringing in computers, widening the aisles and installing air-conditioning. Jack’s brother David joined the company five years ago, and together the two have transformed the store, increased sales and made a commitment to keep the store in downtownEugene. “We have made a lot of technological, marketing and operational changes in the last few years, including moving our warehousing on-site, which has greatly improved our efficiency,” says Jack. “We also changed our merchandising from a warehouse type of environment with rows of furniture to one that uses stylish design vignettes.” As a result of their hard work, persistence and business acumen, Brenner’s has just experienced its two biggest years ever – 2002 and 2003 – despite the weak national and local economy. Jack attributes that success to a combination of better buying and better merchandising, but gives much of the credit to their long-term employees. “Our team members – with their talent and time – make our business what it is today,” he says with both pride and humility. Jack does most of his buying business in San Francisco, preferring to deal with West Coast vendors for faster and more economical delivery. He has been attending SF Markets for 17 years, and, remarkably, has attended High Point only once. Jack is involved with both WHFA and Pacific Furniture Dealers (PFD), crediting both organizations for enabling them to smartly and efficiently build their business.