MARTINSVILLE, Va., Oct. 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hooker Furniture Corporation (NASDAQ:HOFT) announces that Steve Lush, a 33-year veteran of the furniture retail, manufacturing and interior design industries, will join the Company in the new position of Executive Vice President – Hooker Casegoods Sales and Merchandising.

In the new position, Lush will direct the activities and long-term sales and merchandising strategic direction for Hooker Casegoods. Lush, who most recently served as president of Fort Myers, Fla.-based retailer Robb & Stucky, “will be invaluable to us and our customers as we develop products and strategies to respond to the changes currently underway in the home furnishings sector,” said Paul B. Toms, chairman and chief executive officer of Hooker.

“With both a retail and manufacturing perspective in the upper-price-points case goods arena where we operate, we believe Steve can help set our overall direction, identify opportunities in trending styles and products, in retail channels and the overall retail landscape,” Toms added.

“I’m pleased and honored to join Hooker Furniture Corporation,” Lush said. “With its solid financial stability, experienced management team and considerable expertise in merchandising and marketing, Hooker is uniquely positioned for significant growth. I am excited about being part of the team and helping to take the company to the next level.”

Prior to leading luxury furniture retailer and interior design studio Robb & Stucky over the last five years, Lush served in executive sales management positions at Universal Furniture and Hickory Chair Co. Prior to that, he was a senior executive at retailer Hendricks Furniture Group, a former top 35 furniture retailer comprised of Thomasville Home Furnishings and Boyles Furniture stores.  He began his career as a fourth generation manager in his family’s retail furniture business founded by his great-grandfather in 1893. 

The addition of Lush in the new executive vice president position at Hooker is “part of our succession plan to make sure that high caliber leadership is in place for the next 10 to 15 years,” Toms said. In December, Hank Long, senior vice president of merchandising and design at Hooker, is retiring, and Ray Harm, senior vice president of sales, plans to retire next May. Lush, who reports to Mike Delgatti, president of Hooker Furniture Corporation, expects to begin in December.

Incorporated in 1924, Hooker Furniture is one of the most respected furniture brands in the world. The company’s 2016 acquisition of Home Meridian International (HMI) ranks Hooker as one of the top five sources for the U.S. furniture market. An importer of residential wood and metal furniture and a manufacturer and importer of upholstered furniture, Hooker Furniture is based in Martinsville, Va. Major wood furniture categories include bedroom, dining, accent, home entertainment and home office furniture in the upper-medium price points sold under the Hooker Furniture brand. Hooker's residential upholstered seating companies include Hickory, N.C.-based Bradington-Young, a specialist in upscale motion and stationary leather furniture, and Bedford, Va.-based Sam Moore Furniture, specializing in fashion upholstery with an emphasis on cover-to-frame customization. The Hooker Upholstery brand offers imported leather upholstery in the upper medium price range.

The Home Meridian division addresses more moderate price points and channels of distribution. HMI brands include Pulaski Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, Prime Resources, Sourcing Solutions Group, Right 2 Home and Samuel Lawrence Hospitality. Hooker Furniture Corporation’s corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities are located in Virginia and North Carolina, with showrooms in High Point, N.C. and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The company operates eight distribution centers in North Carolina, Virginia, California and Vietnam. The company's stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol HOFT. Please visit our websites at  hookerfurniture.com, sammoore.com,, homemeridian.com, slh-co.com, pulaskifurniture.com, bradington-young.com.

For more information, contact: Paul B. Toms, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hooker Furniture; Phone: -276-632-2133; ptoms@hookerfurniture.com