United Furniture Acquires Lane Furniture

TUPELO, Miss. (PRESS RELEASE) – In a joint announcement today, United Furniture Industries Inc. and Heritage Home Group LLC announced the two companies have entered into an agreement for United Furniture to acquire Lane Furniture.

United Furniture President Larry George said the purchase includes the global rights to the iconic Lane brand, the 750,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Belden, Mississippi, and Lane’s 202,000 square-foot Royal Development recliner mechanism facility in High Point, North Carolina.

“We are excited about the opportunity to include the Lane brand with our United Furniture and Simmons branded products and equally excited to have the Lane team join the United Furniture family,” George said.

Heritage Home Group CEO Pierre deVillemejane said, “The sale of the Lane business is an important step in the transformation of HHG. The transaction will significantly reduce the complexity of our portfolio and sharpen our focus on the growth of our core stable of well-recognized brands, including Broyhill, Thomasville, Henredon, Drexel, Lane Venture and Hickory Chair. At the same time, the proceeds of the sale will provide additional capital to further strengthen our prestigious portfolio and fund expansion.

United Furniture President George commented, “We wanted to acquire Lane because it is an American company with values much like ours. Their craftsmanship is excellent, and Lane reclining mechanisms set the industry benchmark for quality, durability and ease of use. Our companies are a perfect fit and poised for growth.”

DeVillemejane added, “We are very excited that Lane will become part of United Furniture, which has a strong track record in manufacturing, distributing, sourcing and selling home furnishing throughout the U.S. and Asia. United Furniture is committed to the growth and development of Lane, and is based in Lane’s hometown of Tupelo, which will provide important continuity for the people associated with the business. Our executive team thanks all Lane employees for their dedication and wishes them continued success as the business begins an exciting new chapter in its storied history.”

The roots of United Furniture were founded in 1983 in North Mississippi with the opening of Comfort Furniture. In 2000, United Furniture was created with the merger of Comfort Furniture, Parkhill Furniture, and United Chair. Its mission was to create a company with the vision and resources needed to become an industry leader in the emerging competitive marketplace. By December 2008, United Furniture received the exclusive licensing agreement as the U.S. manufacturer of Simmons Upholstery.

In August 2015, Simmons Case Goods was added to the United Furniture product lines. That allowed United to include coordinated upholstery and case goods under the Simmons brand.

Today United Furniture employs approximately 3,500 team members across millions of square feet of production space with locations in Nettleton, Tupelo, Okolona, Hatley, Sherman, Vardaman, and Amory, Mississippi; Archdale, High Point, Lexington, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Victorville, California.

“Our focus is to meet the needs of retailers and consumers through style and value,” said Doug Hanby, United Furniture’s chief operating officer.

The Lane brand dates back to 1912 when John Lane purchased a box plant in AltaVista, Virginia, and built a reputation for production and marketing of cedar chests. In 1972, Lane purchased Action Industries, a pioneer in reclining chair manufacturing. Subsequently through mergers and acquisitions, Lane became part of Heritage Home Group.

Both companies say they expect the acquisition will be completed prior to the end of the year.