Leader's Casual Furniture springs into the season

By Courtney Mueller -- Casual Living, 4/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

Leader's Casual Furniture, Largo, Fla., is jumping into the spring selling season. In January, the family-owned casual furniture specialist opened a store in Pompano Beach, Fla., its third on Florida's east coast, bringing the total number of Leader's stores to 16.

Of the new store's location near a major intersection in Broward County, President Jerry Newton said, "Our biggest challenge here will be getting people to slow down enough to see who we are and what we do."

Leader's also will re-open its showroom in Boca Raton this month. The store is a replacement for the four-year-old showroom lost in October 2005 from the effects of Hurricane Wilma.

"We are very anxious to get this location up and running again," Newton said. "Our customers have been exceptionally patient considering the circumstances. Many of them have been traveling to our West Palm store during the interim. Others are just waiting and keeping an eye on our progress."

Georg Kaufmann also was promoted within the company to chief financial officer. With Leader's for four years, Kaufmann previously worked in the banking industry. "His contribution to our company has already been extraordinary," Newton said.

Plans also are underway to expand on Leader's warehouse and build an additional showroom. "We see great opportunity for our industry in the coming years," Newton said.

Leader's Casual Furniture promoted Georg Kaufmann to chief financial officer.