Badcock launched its Rent-to-Own division, Home Now, in 2004  to re-capture a segment of the market lost during Badcock's "re-imaging" (Badcock & More) as a more upscale retailer.

RTO Magazine featured Wogan (Wogie) Badcock III, son of Hall of Fame nominee Wogan Badcock, Jr, in 2007. Download E-book.

Wogan Stanhope Badcock, Jr. (1932-1996), former president of W.S. Badcock Corporation, has been nominated to the American Furniture Hall of Fame by the The American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation (AFHF). Badcock and More is the largest furniture retailer in the Southeast and one of the largest in the nation.

Wogan's great grandfather, Henry S. Badcock, opened the first Badcock Home Furniture store in Mulberry, Florida in 1904. Wogan Badcock, Sr. bought the store in 1920 for $9,000. In 1930, Badcock, Sr. began consigning merchandise to area collectors who sold from trucks along their routes. Soon, some collectors acquired buildings to display their merchandise. By 1960, there were 46 such stores - the foundation for the Company's system of dealer owned and operated stores that continues today.

Wogan Badcock, Jr. was named president in 1963. By 1984 he expanded the company's presence to 200 stores throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina. According to AFHF, Badcock, Jr. paved the way for extensive growth and innovation while maintaining the family-like atmosphere of the company.

Badcock launched its Rent-to-Own division, Home Now, in 2004 (see story) to re-capture a segment of the market lost during Badcock's "re-imaging" (Badcock & More) as a more upscale retailer. Current W.S. Badcock president Don Marks told RTO Online in 2005, "We're growing our business big-time with the new look, but as our new look gains customers on the upper end of the spectrum, we have seen a slight deterioration of our customer base at the lower end of the economic scale." Home Now opened its final pilot store in August, 2007 in Largo, Florida. The largo store is the first RTO co-located with one of the company's retail locations (see story).

"As an industry, it is important that we stop to recognize and appreciate our leaders," said Donald Belgrad, president of AFHF. "This year seven individuals have been nominated by their peers as leaders who have had a remarkable impact on the furniture industry. Each inspires us with their leadership, service and integrity."

In addition to Badcock, Jr., the 2008 slate of AFHF nominees includes;

Alfred J. Audi (1938-2007) and his wife, Aminy, transformed L. & J.G. Stickley from a company of fewer than 25 employees into a thriving international business with three factories, 14 showrooms and more than 1,600 employees. Mr. Audi purchased the Heirloom Upholstery factory and continued to employ the workforce as Stickley Fine Upholstery. He also purchased and revitalized John Widdicomb, Cibola Leather and Madison Square.

Howard G. Haas (1924), who was president and CEO of Sealy Inc. for 19 years, increased revenues from $32 million to $550 million without the acquisition of a competitor or supplier. Mr. Haas took Sealy’s profits from slightly better than break-even to one of the highest returns in the industry. Currently an adjunct professor of Strategic Management at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Mr. Haas is co-author of the best-selling book, The Leader Within.

photo rtoonline Albert Kohut (left), Badcock‘s VP of New Business Development, and Dan Companion, Home Now Director of Operations, at the ribbon cutting of the companies flagship rent to own store in 2005. See photo gallery of the ribbon cutting ceremony and reception.

Simon Kaplan (1924), a World War II veteran, was founder and CEO of Crest Furniture, Inc., D/B/A Value City Furniture. He began with a single store and expanded to seven retail locations and four Ashley Home Stores. Mr. Kaplan also played an active role in the formation of the Furniture Marketing Group (FMG), which today has 79 members with more than 500 retail locations and a combined retail annual volume exceeding $2.5 billion.

K. Bruce Lauritsen (1942-2007) rose from sales trainee in 1968, to president in 1989, to CEO in 1993 of Flexsteel Industries. Flexsteel’s revenues grew from $19.9 million in 1968 to $172 million in 1989 to $425 million in 2007. Mr. Lauritsen launched Flexsteel’s first in-store gallery in 1984; today there are more than 600. A member of the board of the American Home Furnishings Alliance since 2000, he joined their executive committee in 2005.

Pasquale Natuzzi (1940-) is founder, chairman and chief designer of the Natuzzi Group, the world’s leading producer of leather sofas and Italy’s largest furniture manufacturer. Mr. Natuzzi transformed the industry by democratizing the leather sofa, a product once reserved for the elite. With revenues of 634.4 million euros and more than 8,000 employees, the Natuzzi Group today operates 12 factories worldwide. Natuzzi Americas is based in High Point, N.C.

Adrian M. Pearsall (1926-) founded Craft Associates, which became the second largest employer in Northeastern Pennsylvania. After he and his brother sold Craft to the Lane Company, Mr. Pearsall became a partner at Comfort Designs, from which he retired in 1991. Mr. Pearsall is known for his innovative designs, including the popular beanbag chair. He recently authorized the use of his name for Craft Classics, Inspired by Adrian Pearsall, which debuted in 2006.

New members will be announced and officially inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame at the annual banquet celebration on October 21 at the High Point Market. To make reservations for the banquet, please call 336.882.5900.

The American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is an international, industry-wide organization founded to honor those individuals whose outstanding achievements have contributed to the continued growth and development of the U.S. furniture industry, as well as to research, collect and preserve our cultural, economic and artistic history.