July2018_MonthlyUpdate

MONTHLY UPDATE: JULY 2018 

MONTHLY UPDATE 

President’s Note 

Bew White and William White 

Summer is off to a fantastic start with June being our largest shipping month of the year, and a record for our 

company! We also had another record selling month across the board with Summer Classics up 7%, Gabby up 15%, 

Contract up 15% and Summer Classics Private Label up 40%. 

In July, we will introduce more than 150 new Summer Classics products and a series of product introductions called 

Americana Modern with a special emphasis on the Adirondack period. We will also be including the launch of a new 

natural oak colored finish. To name a few of the new Summer Classics collections... 

• Kennebunkport - is a group that Bew designed back in the early ‘90s that is a redesign of that product, but we 

think it looks like something that will resonate with a lot of clients. 

• Ashland - is a teak version Adirondack product that we think will be a huge winner. 

• Luna - A woven and aluminum collection offered at a great price point with lounge chair at a $799 retail. 

• Hoizon - a new sling group. 

• Soho - a new woven deep-seating group in a raffia finish. 

• Havana - a new cane and aluminum deep-seating group. 

Gabby is also preparing to show over 95 new items that are new to our Atlanta showroom at the upcoming market. 

Thanks to our design team for all of their efforts! 

July will be the biggest month of events in our company’s history. We just wrapped up a successful Dallas Market and 

are now preparing for the following: 

• Atlanta Market, July 10th-17th 

• The launch of our Atlanta Contract showroom, July 13th 

• Chicago pre-show, July 17th-19th 

• First Annual National Sales Meeting with all the sales divisions including, Retail, Wholesale, 

E-commerce, Contract, and Private Label at 

Pursell Farms, July 21st- 23rd 

• Garden Party where will host an exclusive 

market preview of our 2019 Summer Classics 

and Private Label lines, July 23rd-26th 

• Las Vegas Market, July 29th – August 2nd 

We appreciate all the hard work that everyone is putting 

in to deliver success at these events. We have also made 

great progress on this quarter’s company rocks, and one 

of our priorities was to improve communication across 

the company. We are making improvements to our 

newsletter based on your valued feedback. Thank you! 

Sincerely, 

Bew & William 

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An Inside Look 

at the 

NEW 2019 

Summer Classics 

Product Line 

Kennebunkport 

Soho 

Havana 

Ashland 

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Sales Update 

Schon Duke, VP of Sales 

A day in the Life of one of our Sales Representatives… 

This is a typical day for one of your sales representatives at Summer Classics 

and Gabby. Some of you might wonder how these people do their jobs 

and work with customers. In this example, Rob Robinson, travels during 

a 6-day week on the road: 1200 miles, 12 cups of coffee, 24 visits, 1 new 

account, 3 good prospects. Below is an example of one day during that 

work week: 

Sunday: prepare & pack “wine & cheese” for 12. Bring “Garden Party” to 

the customer. 

Monday: 

• Depart BHM 6:30am…152 miles (2.2 hrs.) later, I visit my 1st client (traditional Furniture Store). She’s 

competition sensitive. It’s my 7th visit and no orders yet. I wait 45 minutes answering emails, while she 

finishes up with a customer. I present local demographics and her best bets. She leads with heavy negotiation 

and distribution. I counter with “volume get my attention” and show product. She decides to pitch it to her 

client (fingers crossed!). 

• 10:30 gas up and drive 118 miles (2.2 hrs.) to 2nd client. I pull over twice to answer calls and research answers 

as the trucks rumble by. The last high-end furniture store in this city, client is a 3rd generation owner and 

gentleman. He doesn’t like pop-in’s, so I try to excite the designers to order. 

• 2 miles to 3rd client (Designer) – I give ETAs and quote new orders. 

• 2 miles (17 min) to 4th Client (Patio Store) – Distribution sensitive due to a lost sale in 2010. I “take their 

temperature” before I explain the new quality lab, and list for them exactly who I sell to in their town. 

They order (I think as a courtesy). 

• 4.4 miles (10 min.) to big Design Firm/boutique, finally! – Wine & Cheese 

presentation, I’m nervous! I set up a carefully orchestrated spread of 

marketing materials, wines and cheeses, fresh flowers and a TV. I talk 

a little wine, a little product, a little SC lore, and pour. It’s 6pm. I break it 

down & quickly load the car. I “Priceline” a hotel in the parking lot, drive 

there and change shoes. I find a restaurant on Zomato and try it. Gas up. 

Back to the hotel and catch up on emails. Then I search for new leads 

online. Tomorrow I prospect! New introductions are intoxicatingly fun. I 

need to replace a large dealer that sold their building and retired. 

Our Sales reps are road Warriors and their cars act as their rolling “offices.” 

They must visit our customers and still conduct business while moving 

down the road to the next sales call. Many Thanks to Rob Robinson for 

sharing his schedule and work week with us! 

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Contract Update Don Smith, VP of Contract Sales 

June has been very busy for the Contract Division! The month kicked off in New York at the Hospitality Design 

Awards ceremony. Summer Classics Contract was a sponsor for the event that showcased our brand to hundreds of 

the top designers from all over the world. It was exciting night and Summer Classics Contract was specified in projects 

that were finalist in their categories. 

Summer Classics Contract also had a large 20x20 booth at 

the National Apartment Association exhibition in San Diego, 

CA June 13th-15th. The NAA Exposition brings together the 

rental housing industry’s top management professional 

and supplier partners eager to network, share ideas and 

showcase the latest products and services. Angela King, 

Mark Rodell, and Don Smith attended the event. This was 

a great opportunity to introduce our product offerings 

to developers and property managers in the multi-family 

community. We were thrilled with the response at the show! 

Alissa Landrum attended the NeoCon show in Chicago, IL at 

the Summer Classics Showroom. Held every June at The Mart 

NAA Summer Classics Showroom 

in Chicago since 1969, NeoCon serves as the commercial design industry’s launch pad for innovation—offering ideas 

and introductions that shape the built environment today and for the future. 50,000 design professionals attended 

NeoCon, representing markets ranging from Workplace, Healthcare, Hospitality, Retail, Education, Public Space and 

Government, and the commercial design community. Our new and potential customers loved the showroom and 

the ability to see a large variety of products during the show. 

The last event this month was held at the Summer Classics retail store in Richmond, VA. Our representative in the area, 

Lacy Wilmouth, invited the design community to attend a Margaritaville themed party. Deana Ray, Don Smith, Lacy 

Wilmouth, Lindsey Malone, Jeff Fuge, and Alissa Landrum attended the event. We had a great turn out! The designers 

were able to experience the brands and depth of our product offerings. Andy and his team at the retail store were so 

helpful and we couldn’t have pulled off this event without them! 

A fun event at the SC Home retail store in Richmond! Thanks for having us! 

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Retail Update 

Marianne Minogue, VP of Retail & Licensing 

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt 


This month, Retail saw some significant growth in several markets that we are incredibly excited about. We celebrate 

this month’s Business Highlights with achievement to plan and growth of 17-55% over LY. 

o MTD Sales Plan Achieved: 

#1 – Louisville 141% 

#2 – San Antonio @ 126% 

#3 – Nashville @ 123% 

#4 – Pelham Showroom @ 109% 

#5 – Chicago @ 107% 

#6 – Atlanta @ 100% 

o YTD Growth and here have been some changes…BIG SMILE: 

#1 – Nashville @ 40% 

#2 – Pelham Showroom @ 24% 

#3 – Louisville @ 21% 

#4 – Richmond @ 19% 

#5 – The Outlet @ 9% 

#6 – Raleigh @ 9% 

#7 – Chicago @ 9% 

#8 – Dallas @ 1% 

Our clients just love sharing with us!! 

o Pool Kings wanted to partner with our San Antonio Store , take a look at a few of their postings: 

o From Susan and the Atlanta team on their 3PL delivery service with Downstream Logistics: Chris, we wanted to let 

you know that I received 3 very nice complements from customer’s today about their deliveries. We just wanted to 

say Thank You to you and your Team for everything you do. 

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o 

Mary in Chicago did an amazing Country Club project! Love! 

Accounting Janet Roberson, Chief Financial Officer 

Tips for Increasing Productivity: 

I was recently reading an article in Inc. magazine about being too busy to be productive. The article was mostly about 

prioritizing and focusing on the most important tasks or projects. This is not unlike the rocks, pebbles and sand 

parable we’re all familiar with from EOS. Nonetheless there were some great reminders about how to be in control of 

your day and get more done so I thought I would share them with you: 

• Plan your day and develop a checklist or ‘to do’ list for the week. Of course things can change quickly around here, 

so it’s important to make a plan and prioritize your work. Make sure the most important things get done first. 

• Try not to get sidetracked by ‘urgent’ tasks. Tasks that are deemed ‘urgent’ by others but are not critical to your day 

can be distracting. If you’re overwhelmed with urgent requests work with your Supervisor to help sort out what must 

be done from what can wait. 

• Work out a system for things like checking your email. Reserve time throughout the day for managing communication 

and reserve time to focus on achieving tasks or projects. 

• Don’t multitask. This is counterintuitive for most of us. But the idea here is that if you do 20 things through the day 

and nothing gets finished you haven’t accomplished much. It’s better to focus on fewer things and get them done 

than to have a lot of unfinished work that’s almost done. 

• Take a clarity break. Sometimes you just have to step away and clear your head. Doing this will often increase your 

productivity, especially when you’re stuck or overwhelmed. Obviously not everyone can get up and take a break 

whenever they want so in those cases use your scheduled break to get away and gain some clarity. 

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Private Label Update Harold Hudson, President 


June has been a busy month for Private Label! We will finish our 2019 Private Label Catalogue this week as all of the photography was 

completed last week, so now it is just down to the styling details of the catalogue. It will be available in print at the Chicago Pre-Market 

July 17-19. 

This year for Chicago Pre-Market we are moving the Private Label products into a portion of the Summer Classics showroom and the 

existing Private Label showroom will be displaying Close-outs/Discontinued from Summer Classics and domestic inventory of Private 

Label. There will be some very good deals for both SC and SC PL!! 

The new products being introduced for Private Label in 2019 continue with designs that will appeal to the Millennials and customers 

looking for Container Direct product with the same Summer Classics quality and sharp price points. 

We will introduce three two new collections and some alterations of two existing collections. All of these new frames along with 

existing frames will be on display during the Garden Party 

• San Marino has the same bucket as Retro with a full teak base. We added a teak strip to the top rail of the Jersey collection. Staying 

with teak we will add a 42” square Rio Teak Table to the existing table line and a square end table and rectangular coffee table. 

• A new contemporary look has been added with the Toronto Collection. The frame is tubular aluminum with a teak top frame. 

• In the more traditional sense we added deep seating to the Prado Woven Collection. 

Chaplin’s Corner John Scott 

Every episode, the Food Network TV show Chopped features a competition between very experienced chefs. They’re each given a 

“mystery basket” containing a seemingly random list of ingredients. But whatever is there, they must use it to create a delicious meal 

that impresses the judges. On one episode, for instance, the basket included pound cake, a calf’s liver, an unusually bitter vegetable, 

and a small game bird. Now these chefs are all very well trained. They can make an appetizer. They can whip up a great dessert. But 

when they open a basket to discover they have to make an appetizer with mussels and waffles, or a dessert with tomatoes and tofu— 

that’s when things get real interesting. 

Relationships in life work the very same way whether its marriage, co-workers, friends, acquaintances or someone you just met. 

Relationships hand you over to the “mystery basket” and in doing so you discover the ingredients you’ve been given to work with, just 

as the other person is given the ingredients that they have been given with you. Ask anyone in a meaningful relationship and they’ll 

tell you, there’s always a surprise in each basket. An unexpected illness. An unknown wound or insecurity. An in-law who was only 

supposed to stay for 2 weeks. The basket is full of surprises. But no matter what you find in there, you’ve still got the task of working 

with and through the basket of unknowns. That is what we are called to do because God made relationships a key part of the fabric 

of life. 

The best chefs are the ones who work with the ingredients while something unique is formed. They patiently work through the 

basket and stay humble through the process knowing we all have something different that we carry with us. This is never easy. And 

sometimes an impossibility. If I can help you with any relationship in your life right now where there is a struggle, I would love to listen. 

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Human Resources 

Enhancing the HR Toolbox: 

David McLean, VP of Human Resources 

Improving what and how we communicate is an on-going initiative. This month I would like to draw attention to the 

self-service features in ADP and the new and improved job postings page on Gather. 

In early June we rolled out the Employee Self-Service features offered by ADP. Historically, if you wanted to update 

your personal information, tax withholdings, or even your direct deposit, you would have to take care of this during 

normal business hours and would have to ask someone in HR to update this information or submit a form. I think we 

can all agree that we clearly living in the information age as well as a “microwave society” (where we want everything 

instantly). ADP Workforce Now, https://workforcenow.adp.com/, which we should all be familiar with, provides the 

opportunity to update our information in a way that is most convenient based on your individual needs. No longer 

the need to call HR or submit a form. We can all agree that this is a step forward! While ADP does allow for most, if 

not all, transactions to be completed on their website, there are a few exceptions, which are mainly related to state tax 

forms. In these limited situations you will still need to work through HR to update that information. 

When you log into ADP Workforce Now, the main landing page includes anywhere from 4 to 8 tabs depending on 

your role. The “Myself” tab is where your personal/company-related information is housed. 

I would like to encourage everyone to take some time over the next couple weeks to review each section of the 

“Myself” tab to both familiarize yourself with the self-service items as well as to update any information that might be 

out of date. 

Speaking of the ADP website, you might have noticed a new look and feel to the ADP homepage. ADP provides 

opportunities for their customers to utilize their portal as a general communication vehicle and not simply a site for 

just payroll/employee data. The information currently on the ADP homepage (Company Mission, Company News 

and Announcements, Quick Links, etc.) are just placeholders for us to load content in the future. We are currently 

evaluating how we can utilize the ADP website and how that relates to how we use Gather. More to come on this! 

Job Postings: The job postings page on Gather (http://gwcgather.com/job-postings/) has been enhance and now 

includes a full listing of all vacant positions. We have also included a link to the Internal Job Bid Form for your 

convenience. If you have any questions about a job posting, please contact Margo Scoggins, Corporate Recruiter 

(205-358-9392 or margos@summerclassics.com) or the hiring manager for that position. 

I hope everyone is having a great summer thus far! July is going to be a great month with the National Sales Meeting 

and Garden Party on the agenda. I am looking forward to experiencing these events and to continue to get to know 

our incredible employees! 

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Marketing Update 

A few things we are excited about this month! 

Amy Myers, CMO 

Thanks to our marketing and design interns, Minxiang Luo, Jack Hawkins, and Cameron Duke for spending a couple 

of long, hot days helping with the photo shoots for Summer Classics and our brand video! 

We had some great press in Jacksonville after the opening of the new store: 

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/news/local/new-details-arise-about-new-development-at-thesouthbank/77-8159394 

Congratulations to the Gabby Design team who had the new Jane Chest selected on the High Point Trend report 

for 2018. The team will also introduce more than 100 new products at Atlanta market next week. Our graphics team 

has been busy putting together all the promotional materials needed for not only Atlanta, but also Garden Party and 

Chicago preview. 

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The new Summer Classics catalog is on press! This is a huge team effort to get all the parts and pieces aligned to 

make this happen but LeeAlice Monroe is the one that pulls it all together in the end! 

Meet the Interns! 

Cameron Duke 

Margaret Murray, Desgin Consultant Intern, SC31: 

Margaret Murray is from Mobile, Alabama, and is studying marketing at the University of Alabama. 

She loves to travel, hangout with friends and family, shop and relax. She chose Summer Classics 

because growing up she always loved furniture and interior design. Since she has started her 

internship as a Design Consultant, she has learned about the different materials, colors and styles 

and has fallen in love with the family like work environment. By the end of her time as an intern she 

wants to achieve a good feel for the furniture industry and how customer service and sales fit in it. 

A fun fact about her is that she studied at Oxford University in England. 

Scott Easter, Accounting Intern: 

Scott Easter is from Auburn, Alabama, and attends Auburn University as an accounting major. He 

loves to play basketball and watch sports. He chose Summer Classics since he liked the core values 

the company has and wanted to experience what accounting was like in the furniture industry. 

Since he’s been an intern for the accounting department, he has enjoyed how genuine all the 

people are and how good the office environment is. A fun fact about Scott is that he qualified for 

the USA Rugby team in high school. 

Jack Hawkins, Design Intern: 

Jack Hawkins is from Huntsville, Alabama, and is currently attending Auburn University, majoring in 

industrial design. He loves doing anything outside, especially hockey and rock climbing. He chose 

Summer Classics when he met Margo Scoggins and Leigh Anne Alfonzo at a career fair at Auburn 

where they made a powerful impression upon him. Since he has started his internship, he has 

enjoyed the people and the projects and hopes to learn more about the Summer Classics design 

process and how the product they design effects the company and the industry. A fun fact about 

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Minxiang Lou, Design Intern: 

Minxiang Lou is from Guangzhou, China, and is attending Auburn University as an industrial 

design master’s student. He loves the play video games, skate board, study history and read in 

his free time. He chose Summer Classics because he loves to design furniture and because he 

met Lee Ann Alfonzo and Margo Scoggins at the Auburn career fair. He has enjoyed the family 

work environment of the company and wants to learn how a great furniture company works. 

A fun fact about himself is that he used to be a professional ping pong player. 

New Hires 

Please help us welcome the following new employees to our team! 

Name Position Location 

Rachel Blindauer Assist VP of Design, Gabby Corporate 

Mark Hamlin Retail District Sales Manager for the Southeast district Corporate 

Sarah Loper Design Consultant Nashville 

Margaret Murray Design Consultant Intern Corporate/SC31 

Scott Easter Design Consultant Intern Corporate 

Alexandra Perdue Design Consultant Intern Nashville 

Ramon Sandoval Warehouse Associate I California Distribution Center 

Promotions last month: 

Austin Roberts, Operations Intern: 

Austin Roberts is from Helena, Alabama, and attends the University of Alabama as a 

graduate student. He loves sports, puzzles, music and photography. He chose Summer 

Classics because it gave him an opportunity to get more experience in a retail setting. He 

has enjoyed the people and the challenge of the tasks he has been given since starting at 

Summer Classics, and he hopes to learn more about his strengths and weaknesses. A fun 

fact about himself is that he was in the Alabama marching band and his nickname is Bobby. 

Michael C. Duke, Marketing Intern: 

Michael C. Duke A.K.A “The Marketing Intern” is from Winston Salem, North Carolina, and 

currently attends Western Carolina University, where he is majoring in Entrepreneurship. 

He loves long walks on the beach, cars, sports and anything outside that doesn’t involve 

too much running. He chose Summer Classics because he grew up in the furniture industry, 

and fell in love with the company working as a Design Consultant at the factory outlet 

during his summers at home. He has enjoyed seeing how everything that he has learned in 

the classroom applies in real life, and being a part of the wonderful environment that is the 

marketing department. He hopes to learn more about how Summer Classics operates on a 

broader level. A fun fact about him is that in his first semester as a freshman, he founded a 

campus recognized organization that is now the biggest on campus. 

Name Position Location 

Dafne Sandoval Seamstress Corporate 

Shawn Feely Assistant Store Manager Corporate/SC31 

Dexter Cantrell Assistant Store Manager Outlet 

Renee’ Gilbert Lead Store Support Corporate 

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W.I.T. Whatever It Takes Monthly Award 

Carolyn Fynan – Human Resources Manager 

Carolyn joined Summer Classics in 2016 in the Accounting and 

Finance department. She moved to human resources department 

in early 2017 and was recently promoted to her current role of 

Human Resources Manager. Carolyn was asked by Amy Myers, 

Chief Marketing Officer, to develop an assimilation exercise with 

the Gabby Design Team and our new Assistant Vice President of 

Design - Gabby, Rachel Blindauer. Carolyn adjusted her schedule, 

met with Amy to discuss the plan, met with the Gabby Design 

Team employees to get their input, met with Rachel to get her 

input, facilitated the assimilation meeting, and provided a recap to 

Amy. Carolyn was able to accomplish all of this in just a few days. 

According to Amy, “My request was really pretty unreasonable 

without any notice but Carolyn made it happen. Very grateful 

for her flexibility and making Rachel’s onboarding even better.” 

Carolyn’s approach and actions emulate all elements of our Core 

Values, DESIGN! Summer Classics is fortunate to have Carolyn 

serving and supporting our employees! 

Leigh Anne Alfano - Junior Designer 

Leigh Anne was an intern with the company in 2016 and returned 

as a full-time employee in 2017. She has proven herself to be a 

diligent hard worker. She always has a bright and optimistic 

attitude when it comes to her work. She always wants to lend a 

helping hand and is a joy to work with. Leigh Anne completely 

exemplifies the core values and the WIT attitude. She works very 

hard and takes on additional responsibilities to help push the 

organization forward. Leigh Anne has planned and organized 

SC photo shoots, taken on Gabby tailored development and has 

done a great job with that. She is a joy to work with and a great 

asset to our organization. 

We are excited to begin our WIT Team Recognition and who better to start this off than a group of dedicated workers from 

our Pelham Warehouse Distribution Team: 

Maleake Kersh, Keon Tarver, Jamar Ward, Arthur Smith, James Farley and Wymarcus Smith put the dedication in DESIGN 

by helping out, not only in their area, but in the marketing department. Despite working a full shift in distribution, they 

were willing to put in extra effort to assist in the office and make some quick and heavy furniture moves. They are a 

dedicated and an enthusiastic team!! 

CONGRATULATIONS!!! 

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Name Birthday Location 

Angela Eubanks-Kelman 27 Florida 

Asteris Nyangobwa 10 Corporate 

Brian Newton 5 Corporate 

Britney Rosse 12 Corporate 

Carolyn Fynan 18 Corporate 

Chad Cortner 20 Corporate 

Chris Gothard 22 Corporate 

Cynthia Massingill 9 Dallas 

Don Smith 25 Corporate 

Ellen Mims 16 Corporate 

Emily Kiley 21 Corporate 

Herminia Ramirez Avila 20 Corporate 

Jayme Reeves 3 Pelham 

Kelvin Reed 24 Corporate 

Kinshasa Floyd 11 Illinois 

Lois Samuel 30 Corporate 

Marie Burns 6 Corporate 

Marylyn Turnipseed 8 Pelham 

Noel Ruiz 31 California 

Preston Watts 11 Corporate 

Rachel Blindauer 3 Corporate 

Randy Lewis 1 Raleigh 

Rick Scott 14 North Carolina 

Rob Robinson 16 Corporate 

Samantha O’Brien 24 Nashville 

Sarah Murphree 18 Corporate 

Scott Deason 14 Corporate 

Sheila Fenn 17 Corporate 

Taylor Rowe 13 San Antonio 

Wendell Demoss 10 Corporate 

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Inspiring Thoughts 


1. What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product 

better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.- Dave 

Thomas, founder of Wendy’s 

2. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to 

try just one more time.- Thomas Edison 

3. Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. ~ Winston 

Churchill 

4. To succeed… You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, 

something to inspire you. ~ Tony Dorsett 

5. Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. ~ John 

Wooden 

6. I find that when you have a real interest in life and a curious life, that sleep is not the 

most important thing. ~ Martha Stewart 

7. Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not 

frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were. ~ 

David Rockefeller 

8. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Dedication | Enthusiasm | Synergy | Integrity | Goal-oriented | Nimble 

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July2018_MonthlyUpdate

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