Havertys
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : HVT S&P 600 Component |
| Industry | Furniture |
| Founded | 1885 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
|
Number of locations
|
100+ |
|
Key people
|
Clarence H. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO Dennis L. Fink, Executive VP and CFO Steven G. Burdette, Executive VP and COO J. Edward Clary, Executive VP and CIO Richard D. Gallagher, Executive VP, Merchandising |
| Revenue |
 US$804.87 million (2015) |
|
US$27.79 million (2015) |
|
|
Number of employees
|
3,596 (2015) |
| Website | www.havertys.com |
Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. ("Havertys") is a retail furniture company founded in 1885. Beginning with a single store in downtown Atlanta, Havertys has grown to become one of the top furniture retailers in the south and central United States.
Havertys was founded by James Joseph (J.J.) Haverty and his brother Michael in 1885. The first store was located at 14 East Hunter Street (now 117 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) in Atlanta, Georgia. By the third year, the new company moved to a larger location.
In 1889, J.J. and Michael entered a partnership with the owner of a neighboring furniture store, Amos G. Rhodes, forming the Rhodes-Haverty Furniture Company. A year and a half after the first Rhodes-Haverty store opened, J.J. Haverty moved westward to St. Louis, Missouri with his family to expand, and soon after bought interest in a number of smaller showrooms. It wasn't until 1894 that J.J. returned his family back to Atlanta and went on the road to open more stores. By 1908, 17 stores were open and thriving.
J.J. Haverty's son Clarence, who first began in the business by sweeping floors, rose to a leadership position and wished for a larger role in the business. The partnership with Rhodes was dissolved amicably and, with the flip of a coin, 16 of the stores were divided between Rhodes and Haverty. The main Atlanta location was purchased outright by J.J. Haverty and the business took back its original name of Haverty Furniture Company.
Following the split with Rhodes, the company expanded across the South. The Atlanta headquarters outgrew their facility and moved to a larger six-story building in 1924. Also during this period, J.J. Haverty and Amos Rhodes formed another partnership, this time to erect the Rhodes-Haverty Building, which would remain Atlanta's tallest structure until 1954.
In the late 1920s, the company took advantage of the booming stock market and went public. The stock sale took place on October 1, 1929. Four weeks later, the market crashed. Havertys' strong financial positions enabled the company to weather the difficult years ahead.
Clarence Haverty, who had run the business for many years, was officially named President in 1938, at which time his father J.J. became Chairman of the Board. In October 1939, just short of his 81st birthday, founder J.J. Haverty died.
In December 1941, the United States entered World War II and the company faced hard times brought on by the rationing of furniture production materials. When the war ended, pent-up demand for consumer goods caused sales to surge. The company seized the opportunity to remodel older stores and open new locations. Clarence Haverty's son, Rawson, returned from war and assumed the position of Corporate Secretary.
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Wikipedia