[_mbsignuplink_]
 | Home > Mattresses > Bassett > About Bassett
It is difficult to imagine, given the 100 years of beautiful furniture styles created by Bassett, that the first product produced by the company's founders was a rough-hewn railroad tie. It was the late 1800s. The Bassett family was operating a sawmill in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains that supplied rail ties for the new Norfolk & Western line that was being built through the family property. In 1892, the rail line was completed and the family began looking for new markets for its lumber.
John David “J.D.” Bassett was making a good living traveling the countryside selling goods for general stores when he began carrying lumber samples from the mill. He quickly made his first sale of lumber to a coffin company in Winston - Salem, N.C. and returned home with the knowledge that the furniture industry, and its demand for raw lumber, was gaining a foothold in the region.
Soon he had orders for oak from several furniture companies in North Carolina. As he learned more about the industry, he found that the best furniture markets for lumber we re up north and soon was on his way to showcase his Appalachian oak.
The furniture companies were pleased with the quality of the wood and he returned home with a stack of orders.
“Here I was shipping raw lumber from Henry County to Jamestown, N.Y., and Grand Rapids, Mich., where factories converted that lumber into finished furniture to be shipped everywhere, including the South,” J.D. recalled. “It seemed to me that furniture certainly could be made in Henry County (Va.) at a tremendous advantage.”
J.D. got together with his brothers, Charles Columbus “Lum” Bassett and Sam Bassett, and brother-in-law Reed L. Stone and laid out the idea of making furniture instead of supplying other companies with lumber.
“I have been closely observing the people who make furniture,” J.D. remembered telling them. “It is a wonderful business, but not the easiest of work I ever saw performed. It requires skill. Good salesmanship is imperative. Careful management is vital. It is not the kind of industry to be taken lightly.
“But I am confident that we are qualified to build such an industry. So I think we had better abandon the foolishness of sawing all our good timber and shipping it north or anywhere else. I think we should be wise to make furniture out of every tree we own or have access to.”
In 1902, the Bassett Furniture Company was formed by the four men with assets of $27,500. Leaving the others in charge of the new factory, J.D. focused on acquiring machinery.
The Bassett Furniture Company began with about 50 rugged mountain men and farmers from the hills of the Blue Ridge. The first styles were made of solid oak and featured simple profiles with carved details and overlays. Early furniture designs were purchased from traveling designers for $100.
Around 1906, Bassett began incorporating highly-prized veneers into its designs, which allowed greater flexibility in style.
“The factory was the first furniture factory built in Virginia to succeed,” J.D. Bassett later recalled. “Going was hard at first because of our small capital. We worked for small salaries. I drew $30 a month for the first three years. We made $15,000 the first, $25,000 the second, and the third year, $35,000.”
At that time, large dressers sold for $4.75, washstands for $2.75 and beds for $1.50.
The company grew rapidly in the following decades. In 1917, the factory was destroyed by fire yet sales at the Bassett Furniture Company reached $1 million.
The J.D. Bassett Manufacturing Co. was formed in 1921 with J.D. Bassett’s son, W.M. “Bill” Bassett, as president. In 1927, Bill Bassett purchased Craig Furniture in Martinsville, Va ., and renamed it the W.M. Bassett Furniture Co. Bill’s brother, Doug, succeeded him as president of J.D. Bassett Manufacturing .
It was during the 1920s that Bassett began a long and successful relationship with designer Leo Jiranek, whose styles consistently kept Bassett at the fore front of furniture design trends.
In the following years, the three companies competed for the same customers, often going after each other’s business. In 1930, J.D. Bassett called a “house divided” meeting.
“I don’t believe you can be exceptionally successful in this business if you are divided,” J.D. Bassett said at the time. “There is no good reason why we should be divided. A much better job can be done if all these companies are combined under one directing head.”
Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. was formed in 1931 with J.D. Bassett Sr. as Chief Executive Officer. He would serve as CEO until 1956.
During the Depression, Bassett reduced work schedules and cut wages but employees’ schedules were staggered so each was able to earn a subsistent wage for basic needs. In 1938, Bassett pioneered the “waterfall” furniture design, which dominated the furniture landscape for next the 10 years.
At the outset of World War II, J.D. “Doug” Bassett Jr. met with representatives of the Yellow Cab and Coach company who had received a government contract for military trucks. Bassett was subcontracted to create truck bodies and plants remained active during the war.
During the late 1940s and 1950s, Bassett’s business exploded. The baby boom was on, and suburban growth was fueling furniture sales. Plants were renovated to increase production and efficiencies.
In 1956, W.M. Bassett succeeded his father as CEO. Two years later, Bassett made a calculated move that revolutionized the furniture industry. It launched the first national furniture adve rtising campaign in magazines such as LIFE and LOOK.
Doug Bassett, who succeeded his older brother as CEO in 1960, focused his energy on aggressive modernization of Bassett plants. The company was shifting from a furniture maker in a small southern Virginia town, to the “World’s Largest Manufacturer of Wood Furniture” and a national marketer of brand name products.
About this time, Bassett acquired the Prestige Furniture Corp. and added upholstery to its lineup.
Under the direction of new CEO Ed Bassett, the son of co-founder C.C. Bassett, and President Robert H. Spilman Sr., the branding effort was expanded in 1966. The effort later included sponsorships of the Grammy Awards, NBC’s Today Show, and a successful television program called “American Lifestyles” with actor E.G. Marshall as host.
Beginning in the mid-1960s, Bassett began a period of strategic acquisitions and diversification. This included the purchase of the Macon and Dublin, Ga., plants, the National/Mt. Airy Furniture Company, and E.B. Malone Bedding.
Ed Bassett remained CEO until 1982 when he was succeeded by Spilman, one of Doug Bassett’s sons-in-law.
During Spilman’s 15 years as CEO, Bassett continued to grow and gained unparalleled financial strength. In the early 1980s, Spilman orchestrated a deal that made Bassett the primary investor in the hub of furniture industry - the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point, N.C.
The next decade, Bassett recognized that furniture retailing was changing. Small “mom-and-pop” stores were quickly being consumed by huge store chains. The future of furniture brand retailing was controlled distribution where an assortment of Bassett products could be displayed in a friendly, beautiful setting with trained sales staffs.
After significant consumer research, the first Bassett Furniture Direct store opened in Austin, Texas, in 1997. The new store environment changed the way furniture is sold today. Coffee bars and design centers were added to create a friendly atmosphere while bold colors and simple architecture added eye appeal.
Bassett Furniture Direct focused more on building relationships with consumers by being a “decorating partner.”
|
CURRENT OFFERS
Simmons Beautyrest
50% off + up to 25% off
 shop now - ends May 18
Latex Rollback
Take up to an extra $1,000 off
shop now - ends May 18
Clearance Blowout
New mattresses below cost
shop now
|
free downloadable shopping guide
