National Furniture began manufacturing durable, elegant wood furniture, and providing this furniture at prices middle class residents could afford.  Since then, National Furniture has met the needs of the residents of the tri-state area by continuing to provide classic furniture designs which have developed a reputation for quality throughout the region.

The business was started by Bob Wood Sr.  He was a furniture-maker who relocated his family to the tri-state area from England.  Because he had few connections in the tri-state area, the business took several years to become established.

For the first three years, Bob Wood Sr. operated National Furniture alone.  The business operated at a profit from the beginning, making him enough money to live, and to reinvest some profits in advertising.  In the fourth year of operation, he borrowed money, hired workmen, and began selling his designs to a local department store on consignment.  At this point the business began to rapidly expand. 

National Furniture quickly attracted attention as a reputable brand manufactured in the area, and in the fifth year began to receive orders from other department stores.  In the seventh year Mr. Wood hired administrative support personnel, more workmen, and moved to new facilities.  The company continued to grow and exactly twenty years after forming National Furniture, the business reached $10 million in yearly sales.  During this time, Bob Wood Sr. took Bob Wood Jr. into the family business, and he began his career with National Furniture.

For the next four years, National Furniture weathered economic trouble in the tri-state area.  While the furniture market was hit hard, the reputation of National Furniture sustained company sales at $10 - $11 million each year.  However, the company was not well prepared for this unprecedented period of flat sales, and rising costs began to eat into profit margins. Three years ago, the area's economic situation began to improve, and sales began to climb again.  Unfortunately, accelerating costs continued to erode the company's profitability.

Bob Wood Sr. retired in 19xx, leaving Bob Wood Jr. in charge of the business.  That year was the worst year in National Furniture history.  It was the first year ever that sales actually declined in dollar value from the previous year.  The company lost over half a million dollars, and the net profit ratio was -6.21%.

Bob Wood Jr. recognized that National Furniture had to make major changes in it’s operations if it wished to reduce costs and remain in business.  Realizing he was not well positioned to make these changes, Bob Wood Jr. immediately brought in consultants to recommend cost-saving measures in each element of the business.  He also gambled on increasing advertising expenditures combined with a new design consulting division to assist in the sales efforts.

Although National Furniture did not fully recover, the actions of Bob Wood Jr. have put the company on the road to recovery.  Last year sales increased 11.5%, while losses were cut to $343,826.00.  Most encouraging, the full force of the cost-cutting measures taken by National Furniture are not expected to be realized until next year, which analysts predict will be a banner year for the tri-state area furniture market.

Many companies do not recover from tragic events such as the retirement of the owner.  This event, coupled with the spiraling costs that National Furniture was incurring almost put the company under.  However, the combination of cost cutting measures and increased sales have put the company on the road to profitability once again.