Luxe redux.

• Author: Martin, Cathy
• Position: NC TREND: Triad Region

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

One of North Carolina's most iconic furniture brands is gunning for a place in the homes of more affluent customers. Heritage Home Group, parent company of Thomasville Furniture, is hoping to reignite the 112-year-old brand by associating it with the company's high-end product lines, including Drexel Heritage and Henredon.

The change is part of a realignment of the company's sales workforce. Many retailers who carry the company's other high-end brands also sell Thomasville; now those dealers will have to work with only one representative for ordering and creating showroom displays. Thomasville previously was counted among the company's mainstream brands, including Lane and Broyhill.

"We found that we have many more loyal dealers who choose to purchase Thomasville, Drexel Heritage and Henredon than dealers who purchase Lane, Broyhill and Thomasville," says Laura Holland, vice president of marketing and communications for Heritage Home. The higher-priced luxury brands are sold through a wider network that includes interior designers and boutique stores, Holland says.

Thomasville started making chairs in 1904 and was a bulwark of North Carolina's furniture industry for generations. Missouri-based Furniture Brands International bought the company for $331 million in 1995; by then, the shift to overseas production was accelerating. Furniture Brands filed for bankruptcy in September 2013 and was acquired by private-equity...