News

The environment heading into Neocon is upbeat—with stock prices high, the general economic environment strong and the M&A industry hot.

Nearly 50 years ago Charlotte businessman Ralph Stump founded The Stump Companies with a clear mission to provide owners of the furniture industries with real estate transactions and trusted, smart and confidential financial leadership overseeing mergers and acquisitions.

Tim Stump considers the challenges alongside many of the positives in today’s economy.

The Stump team had a strong Q1 performance as the home furnishing industry continued its own impressive growth trends.

The Stump team is looking forward to what they believe will be an improving M&A environment in 2024...

On February 24th we attended Billy Joel’s monthly concert in NYC’s Madison Square Garden and never considered that COVID could become an issue here, despite it beginning to circle the globe. By mid-March the US was shut down, the stock market was plummeting, and unemployment was skyrocketing.

Tim Stump reflects on the company his father created and the impact it has had on the furniture business. Originally published in Home News Now.

Bo Stump, a Partner at Stump & Company, and Jason Somerville, the Founder and Managing Partner at Global Wired Advisors, help put these trends into context.

Stump & Company served as exclusive advisors to Royal Custom Designs and its selling shareholders and initiated the sale to Makers & Craftsmen.

Masked and temperature checked (and with hand-sanitizer in pockets), our team spent two very upbeat days in High Point for PreMarket. Furniture Today called it the “mother of all PreMarkets” - we agree.

This has been a strange springtime for the world and the furniture industry.

Stump & Company has had a very strong 12 months with four ‎transactions closed in the Hospitality Sector in 2017 and 2018. We look forward to several other announcements in the coming months.

The weeklong Spring Residential High Point Market was upbeat and busy. The resounding feeling was that this market was a success, with the energy and enthusiasm of 2006/2007. We spoke with 200+ industry CEOs who described business as good in spite of a weak first quarter with some retailers.

Optimism at the market was palpable. Most owners mentioned looking 1-2-3 years down the road and seeing encouraging signs for increased sales growth and shareholder value creation. With these good feelings comes renewed chatter in the Merger & Acquisition market. Many Private Equity firms want out of existing positions, while plenty of others want in. Some will want to add to existing portfolios to bolster their holdings. Strategic acquisitions are likewise heating up.

The High Point Market continues to be a “can’t miss” show for residential furnishings. This year was no exception, and exhibitors felt that traffic was good and order writing was consistent with prior years. Positivity prevailed and exhibitors and attendees alike were upbeat in this economic climate, despite the noise and confusion of state and national politics.

This was one of the best markets in years, a sentiment shared by most people we encountered during our 6 days in High Point.

The general sentiment was that the furniture industry is in transition and management teams need constant vigilance and a willingness to adapt to succeed in this rapidly changing environment.

ur team kicked off 2019 with a flurry of travel. January’s tradeshow gauntlet was in full force with back to back shows for three consecutive weeks. The Vegas market this week was the highlight.

A visit to the United State's fastest-growing and third-largest-by-volume container terminal reveals the powerful investment the Port of Savannah has made to maintain the accurate pace for the U.S. economy's import and export needs.

Stuart Elizabeth Mullens, granddaughter of two Furniture Hall of Fame nominees, Ralph Stump and Stuart Love, recently joined furniture industry mergers and acquisition leader Stump & Company as Vice President and Principal.

Home Furnishings Business includes Stuart Stump Mullens, 31, in their Forty Under 40 list.

Started by Ralph Stump in 1972, Stump & Company celebrates its 50th year in business with a new website and brand.

Stump & Company combines M&A Advisory with Furniture Real Estate transactions through their partnership with The Stump Corporation, the other half of Stump.

Axial interviewed Stump's second generation partners, Stuart Mullens and Bo Stump to get their first hand perspectives on furniture sales trends.