Hooker Furniture made the leap into outdoor furnishings with the acquisition of casual furnishings company Sunset West.
Hooker, which encompasses 12 operating businesses producing furniture under multiple brand names, including Hooker Furniture, Bradington-Young, Sam Moore, and Pulaski Furniture, among others, purchased Sunset West in an all-cash deal.
The move allows Hooker to enter a furnishings category that has grown considerably over the past decade, particularly in the wake of the pandemic when consumers have looked at outdoor spaces as a safe place to escape and relax.
“As consumer lifestyle trends have shifted to spending more time outdoors, they want the same quality and design they have inside of their homes,” said Hooker Furniture CEO Jeremy Hoff. “The Sunset West brand and its people bring so much to the table by becoming part of the Hooker Furnishings family of brands. They are experts in the category who understand the market, the value proposition and product sourcing, giving us immediate credibility in the segment that it would have taken years to build ourselves.”
Founded 15 years ago by Wes Stewart, California-based Sunset West has developed a reputation as a high-quality, fashion-forward brand. The company builds its collections around color stories, making it easy to mix and match between lines to create a more customizable look. According to the terms of the deal, Stewart and his team will remain in place to operate the business.
And Stewart said the transaction enables his company to have warehousing and stronger distribution in the eastern and central regions of the country, access to Hooker Furnishings’ high-traffic showroom in High Point, and the opportunity to sell into its vast retail and interior design customer base.
“Partnering with a legendary name in the industry like Hooker Furnishings was paramount to our strategy,” he said. “The convergence of outdoor and indoor furniture gives us both stronger product offerings and opportunities. The price points and channels of both our companies align extremely well.”