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Southerland, Inc.
Purchased by Employees
May 20, 2010 -
Southerland, Inc. of Nashville, TN announced on May
17, 2010 the purchase of the company by employees
through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The
acquisition, which was originally announced March 1st,
was completed May 17, 2010. It is a first for the
company and, to a large extent, the furniture and
bedding industry.
The new, employee-owned Southerland is being led by
two co-presidents, David Corbin and Stephen Russo, and
executive vice president and CFO Bryan Smith. Marty and
Trey Southerland, as well as other Southerland family
members, are remaining with the company in key roles.
“We’re proud of the products we make and the company
we’ve become,” said Herman Southerland, who has retired
as Southerland’s chairman and CEO. “Southerland has
operated as a family-owned enterprise for more than a
century. During that time, we’ve become one of the
leading independent bedding manufacturers in the U.S.
Today, looking back at what we created together, I’m
especially proud to be a company employees want to own
and carry forward.”
Over the past nine years, Southerland has grown into
a three facility operation headquartered in Nashville,
with additional facilities in Oklahoma City and Phoenix.
These facilities offer scalability and capacity ideally
suited for the company’s plans for further growth and
distribution.
The move from family-owned to an ESOP-owned structure
and recapitalization was led by the new executive
leadership team. Under the new ESOP, employees own 100
percent of Southerland. The ESOP structure will offer
tax efficiencies for the company as well as incentives
and an exceptional retirement benefit for employees.
Under the new leadership team, Southerland will
continue to develop its own brands as well as private
label brands for regional bedding retailers. In addition
to directing the day-to-day operations, Southerland’s
new management team will focus on innovative and
consumer-focused product development, a diversified
licensed brand portfolio, optimization of its cost
structure through lean practices, strategic sourcing and
value-added sales efforts.
Corbin and Russo have been working as consultants
with Southerland since mid-2009. Corbin is a marketing,
new product development expert and brand management
specialist with experience at Procter & Gamble, Pulaski
Furniture Corporation and Chromcraft Revington. Russo is
an operations specialist who successfully ran Latex
International, Consolidated Bedding and Restonic
Mattress. Bryan Smith is a CPA and finance/accounting
specialist and a long-standing member of the Southerland
management team.
For more information, please visit
www.southerlandsleep.com.
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