Furniture Brands International Announces Realignment of Reporting Structure at Hickory Chair Company

Business Wire, June 18, 2003

Business Editors

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2003

Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN), announced today a realignment that includes the transfer of the Hickory Chair Company reporting responsibilities from Thomasville Furniture Industries to Henredon Furniture Industries.

W.G. (Mickey) Holliman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Furniture Brands, said, "Effective immediately, the Hickory Chair Company operations will report through Henredon rather than through Thomasville, as has been the case for several years. This realignment makes sense because of the close identity between Hickory Chair and Henredon in terms of its product focus, customer base and price points.

"Over the next few weeks Henredon management and Hickory Chair management will work closely together to determine what economies can be achieved from this realignment. Sales and marketing operations will remain separate, and this change should be totally transparent to Hickory Chair's retailers and consumers."

Mr. Holliman added, "As a part of this realignment, the showroom operations of Sterling Square, also formerly reporting through Thomasville, will be transferred to Henredon as well. This change is in recognition of Henredon's growing focus on its designer showroom business and Thomasville's continuing attention to its single-branded stores development program. Again, this transfer represents no immediate change in Sterling Square's operations."

Furniture Brands International is America's largest home furnishings manufacturer, manufacturing and sourcing its products under six of the best-known brand names in the industry - Broyhill, Lane, Thomasville, Henredon, Drexel Heritage and Maitland-Smith. The company markets its products across a broad spectrum of price categories and distributes its products through an extensive system of independently owned national, regional and local retailers.