Three quarters of a century is an extraordinary achievement for any company to reach. It is a milestone that requires continuity in outstanding leadership, astute market analysis and knowledge of customer needs, an ability to adjust to those changing needs, and of course, a small bit of good fortune.
This year, the contract furnishings manufacturer Davis celebrates its 75thanniversary. 2019 commemorates 75 years of one family owning and operating a business that began as a war-era reupholstery company and has grown through phenomenal success in contract furnishings.
We spoke with the Davis family to peer back in time, to see how this company came to be a leading contract furnishings maker.
During World War II in 1944, it was that astute market analysis and understanding of customer needs that first moved John T. Davis, Sr. to start his own company in High Point, North Carolina.
“During the war, Americans were not buying new furniture,” says Danny Davis, President of Davis. “My grandfather, John T. Davis, Sr. was an upholstery supervisor at one of the companies in High Point, and he decided to start his own company that would focus on repair and upholstery work on existing furniture.”
John T. Davis, Sr. formed Davis Upholstery Co., along with the help of his wife, Hattie Lee Davis, and his oldest daughter, Dorothy Haines. After serving in the Coast Guard in the South Pacific during World War II, his son, John T. Davis Jr., was discharged on Christmas Eve 1945 and joined the family business soon after. In 1947, Davis operations expanded to include manufacturing of chairs and occasional tables.
“In 1961, the company introduced its first contract seating program, employing around 30 people at the time,” notes a Davis company timeline document. “In 1964, John T. Davis, Jr. assumed the role of President from his father and renamed the company Davis Furniture Industries. The company celebrated its 25thanniversary in 1969 – the same year it released its first casegoods collection.
The 1970s were defined by Davis’ shift toward the office/executive market, and the company’s progression to the third generation.
“My father, John T. Davis, Jr., took the company in a new direction, transitioning out of residential and toward the contract market,” says Mr. Davis. “At that time, colleges and other institutional facilities were really expanding, and we were expanding with it.”
Davis’ company timeline notes that during his time as President and CEO, John Davis, Jr. oversaw 15 plant expansions and grew the company from a single line of chairs to a full line of contract seating, lounge furniture, desks, and conference tables.
When Danny Davis joined his father and his older brother, Randy Davis, who lead marketing and sales, in the family business in 1976, he brought with him his passion for product design. Danny had earned an industrial engineering degree through a furniture manufacturing program at NC State, and he was interested in finding contemporary, high design products. “The goal was clean, contemporary designs which would combine quality and function.”
Danny and his team began building close relationships across the Atlantic with European designers who were developing interesting, innovative products. They also began working alongside these new designers, “helping to engineer and manufacture original designs.”
In the late 1980s, Davis began securing licensing agreements with companies in Germany, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Italy, manufacturing those companies’ products in North America.
“When I became more involved in leading the business, my main focus was to find someone to handle the sales and marketing side,” says Danny. “Once that was in place, that really let me do what I enjoy most, which is product design.”
The company continued to hit new milestones.
In 1983, it opened its first showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and in 1992 opened a showroom in NYC in the New York Design Center. In 1996, John Davis, Jr. retired and his son, Danny Davis, took over as President. At the time of its 50thanniversary, the company employed 160 employees and around 100 sales representatives. Davis started its Davis Guaranteed Freight program in 1999 and in 2018 introduced a Quick Ship program that currently offers Quick Ship models from five popular product lines.
In 2001, Danny’s daughter, Ashley Davis Williams, joined the company, officially moving the family business into the fourth generation. Her brother, Brian Davis, joined the biz two years later. Ashley currently serves as director of customer relations, and Brian is a product development engineer. Ashley and Brian grew up playing and running around Davis headquarters, then beginning to work there as they grew older – between the two of them, they’ve done everything from painting chain link fences, tearing roofs off of buildings, working in most of the plants, and managing facility expansion, to learning the nuances of customer service, marketing and sales.
“Coming into the family business always meant a lot to me,” says Brian. “We were raised here, by our family and through everyone working here.”
The loyalty and pride oft found in family businesses extends well beyond the Davis family, to include many of its now 258 employees – people who have built their careers and supported their families through their work at Davis. Employee Debbie Duncan first started working at Davis when she was 17, and has worked in most of the plants, building, sanding, and inspecting furnishings, through her 25 years at the company. After stepping away for a few years to raise her children, she was welcomed back to the company when she was ready to jump back into her career.
“Danny was constantly coming through the plants, saying
hello and taking the time to talk to everyone. Davis is such a great company to work for, and it means a lot to all of us.”
While much of its history has included a broad expansion of product categories, Davis has spent its most recent years working tirelessly to identify what types of products its customers need and want most. Under Danny’s direction, Davis has achieved massive growth while maintaining its focus on design – always design. Danny works closely with Rob Easton, VP of Design at Davis, to continue developing high quality, cutting edge products with designers it has known for years as well as new, young design talent.
“We have a lot of designers that we’ve developed relationships with over the years that are tremendous people,” reflects Danny. “All of our staff, everyone who works here, are tremendous people.”
Davis is a company poised for a bright future. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for NeoCon this year. Most of all, we’re excited to congratulate the Davis family in celebrating the company it built, its rich heritage, and all it means to its employees, its customers and the industry.
