VICE PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR OF U.S. SALES – UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE
About the Company
Our client is an established, privately held consumer products company that designs, sources, and supplies home furnishings to many of North America’s leading retailers. The business has extensive experience developing furniture programs through both branded and private label strategies, supported by in-house design, product development, merchandising, and global sourcing capabilities.
With established retail partnerships, international manufacturing resources, and a strong product development infrastructure, the company is focused on significantly expanding its presence within the U.S. upholstered furniture market.
About the Role
The company is seeking an accomplished furniture sales executive to lead the continued growth and expansion of its U.S. Upholstered Furniture business .
The Vice President / Director of U.S. Sales – Upholstered Furniture will be responsible for developing and executing the overall U.S. sales strategy, expanding distribution, opening new accounts, and strengthening relationships with existing retail partners.
Reporting directly to executive leadership, this individual will identify and pursue high-value growth opportunities across national and regional furniture retailers, warehouse clubs, mass merchants, e-commerce platforms, specialty retailers, independent dealers, and buying groups.
This role requires an executive with deep knowledge of the upholstered furniture industry, established retail relationships, strong new-business-development capabilities, and an understanding of product development and global sourcing.
Key Responsibilities
U.S. Sales Strategy & Business Growth
- Develop and execute the long-term U.S. sales strategy for the upholstered furniture business.
- Identify and prioritize the highest-value opportunities to drive profitable and sustainable revenue growth.
- Build a comprehensive market expansion strategy focused on increasing distribution and market penetration throughout the United States.
- Establish annual sales plans, revenue forecasts, budgets, and key performance metrics.
- Evaluate market trends, competitive positioning, consumer preferences, retailer needs, and geographic opportunities to identify new avenues for growth.
- Develop strategic account plans that strengthen existing partnerships while creating opportunities for additional programs, categories, and distribution.
- Partner with executive leadership on the continued development and expansion of the U.S. upholstered furniture business.
New Business Development & Retail Expansion
- Identify, develop, and secure new retail partnerships for upholstered furniture programs.
- Expand the company’s presence across national and regional furniture retailers, warehouse clubs, mass merchants, e-commerce platforms, specialty retailers, independent dealers, and buying groups.
- Develop executive-level relationships with merchants, furniture buyers, category managers, and senior retail leadership.
- Leverage established industry relationships to create introductions, open new accounts, and accelerate business development.
- Develop and expand strategic partnerships across targeted retail channels.
- Drive growth through branded, private label, exclusive, and retailer-specific furniture programs .
- Negotiate annual business plans, promotional programs, pricing strategies, and long-term customer agreements.
- Identify opportunities to expand existing accounts through additional products, programs, assortments, and distribution.
- Maintain an active new-business pipeline and establish disciplined processes for tracking opportunities from initial introduction through program launch.
Strategic Account Leadership
- Serve as the senior relationship manager for key national and regional retail accounts.
- Develop long-term relationships with buyers, merchants, category managers, and senior retail executives.
- Conduct strategic business reviews to evaluate performance, identify opportunities, and strengthen customer partnerships.
- Develop collaborative business plans aligned with retailer objectives, merchandising strategies, and category opportunities.
- Partner with customers to develop customized upholstered furniture programs and assortments.
- Monitor sales performance, profitability, inventory, and customer satisfaction and implement corrective action when necessary.
- Maintain close visibility into retailer performance, competitive activity, consumer trends, and emerging market opportunities.
Product Development & Merchandising Partnership
- Partner closely with Product Development, Design, Merchandising, and Global Sourcing to develop upholstered furniture programs that reflect evolving consumer trends and retailer requirements.
- Translate retailer feedback and marketplace insights into actionable product development opportunities.
- Participate in assortment planning, product positioning, pricing, and program development.
- Collaborate with internal teams to develop retailer-specific products, collections, and exclusive programs.
- Support product development initiatives from concept through customer presentation and market introduction.
- Work cross-functionally to optimize pricing, merchandising, packaging, speed-to-market, and overall product positioning.
- Maintain awareness of upholstery trends including silhouettes, materials, fabrics, functionality, construction, price points, and consumer preferences.
Global Sourcing & Commercial Execution
- Collaborate with global sourcing and product development teams to align customer requirements with manufacturing capabilities, cost targets, quality expectations, and delivery requirements.
- Understand the commercial implications of overseas manufacturing, product costing, lead times, freight, inventory, and supply chain considerations.
- Balance revenue growth with margin expectations and long-term account profitability.
- Partner internally to ensure customer commitments can be executed effectively from product development through delivery.
Sales Operations & Performance Management
- Establish disciplined sales processes, reporting, forecasting, and performance measurements that support scalable growth.
- Maintain accurate revenue forecasts and business development pipelines.
- Analyze account performance, margins, market penetration, and growth opportunities.
- Provide executive leadership with regular updates regarding sales performance, customer activity, competitive developments, and new-business opportunities.
- Utilize market and customer data to support strategic decision-making and resource allocation.
Industry & Market Presence
- Represent the company at major furniture markets, trade shows, retailer meetings, and industry events.
- Build and maintain a strong presence within the U.S. furniture industry.
- Leverage industry events to strengthen existing customer relationships, develop new retail contacts, and identify emerging opportunities.
- Utilize the company’s showroom presence to introduce new collections, conduct customer presentations, host retailer meetings, and support year-round business development.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related discipline preferred.
- Minimum of 5 years of progressive sales and business development experience within upholstered furniture , with sales leadership experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the U.S. upholstered furniture industry and retail landscape.
- Proven success developing business with major national and regional retailers.
- Demonstrated ability to open new retail accounts and build business from the ground up , in addition to expanding established strategic partnerships.
- Strong existing relationships with furniture merchants, buyers, category managers, and retail executives.
- Experience selling branded, private label, exclusive, and retailer-specific furniture programs .
- Experience partnering with product development, merchandising, design, and sourcing organizations.
- Working knowledge of global sourcing, overseas manufacturing, product costing, and supply chain considerations.
- Strong financial acumen with experience in forecasting, budgeting, pricing strategy, margin management, and sales analytics.
- Strong presentation, negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout the United States and North America.
Leadership Profile
The successful executive will bring:
- Deep knowledge of the upholstered furniture market and its major retail channels .
- A strong network of established relationships within the furniture industry.
- A demonstrated history of opening doors and developing new retail accounts.
- An entrepreneurial and growth-oriented approach to building business.
- The ability to identify market opportunities and convert them into executable sales strategies.
- Strong commercial instincts combined with financial and analytical discipline.
- An understanding of how product development, global sourcing, pricing, merchandising, and retail execution work together to drive profitable growth.
- Executive-level presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management capabilities.
- The ability to operate successfully within a fast-paced, entrepreneurial organization that values innovation, agility, accountability, and customer relationships.
The Opportunity
This is an opportunity to join a financially strong, privately held organization with established retail relationships, global sourcing capabilities, and significant product development resources at an important stage in the expansion of its U.S. upholstered furniture business.
The Vice President / Director of U.S. Sales – Upholstered Furniture will have significant responsibility for shaping the company’s U.S. growth strategy, expanding distribution, developing new national and regional retail partnerships, strengthening existing customer relationships, and building a larger and more diversified upholstered furniture business.