Abby Rafieha
Founder, Abbyson
Before Abby Rafieha first formed the Abbyson Corp. in 1989, he traveled to more than 50 countries to gain an understanding not only about global sourcing but also to better understand the art and culture of those places.
Today, more than 30 years later, he continues to travel, expanding his product lines into what has become a one-stop resource for upholstery and wood furniture. His three sons — Yavar, Doddy and Rodd — also are a key part of the business and travel extensively themselves to achieve similar design inspirations.
But it is Abby’s leadership and vision that offers a platform for the company to grow and thrive in the coming years. Among his key priorities looking ahead are growing product categories within the line, including home office and outdoor furniture.
“I would like to see Abbyson continue to evolve and grow its product categories, ensure our designs remain on trend and to empower forward thinking, talented employees that can help us maintain our brand positioning within the marketplace,” he told Furniture Today.
“I would say another very important accomplishment is to support and employ all the wonderful Abbyson employees throughout the U.S. that are part of our extended family and team. I believe our future growth will be unbelievable. Our goal has been to be a vertically integrated Top 10 furniture brand in the United States and we are on our way.”
But he said that to achieve growth, the company will continue to invest in its supply chain.
“Consumers want their product faster, but quality and price must remain,” he noted. “It’s a challenge that we have taken on.”
To help achieve such quality and consistency, the company will have opened three new factories by 2021, including one in southern Italy that will be solely focused on home office furniture and be able to ship 500 containers per month. Another of the three plants will be able to ship 1,500 containers per month.
“Having our own manufacturing facilities will give us full control over our quality,” he said. “We are committed to using the best materials we can find. The only thing I can think about when designing a product is quality. Many factories will compromise on the material to bring the cost down; we will not do that at our new factories.”
He added that the company also will continue to maintain a sharp focus on e-commerce, an area his sons saw as a trend in 2008. Together, he said, they have worked to launch a strong e-commerce model that has driven growth.
“Over the past several years, we have perfected this side of the business,” he said. “This positioned us well to deliver essential home furnishings to people as our culture shifted and everyone had to stay home.
“We were able to support our retailers and e-commerce partners as their online business continues to grow. And our direct-to-consumer brand has seen enormous growth. Our company will continue to build our e-commerce business and share our knowledge with retailers so that they can flourish in this new online environment.”
