advertorial Q&A with rick dawson President of Charter Furniture How has your company evolved over the years? We've strengthened our core manufacturing competencies by consolidating our operating and sales platforms on the East and West coast. By leveraging key partnerships in Asia, we've broadened our product line, offering a one-stop resource for our clients. We've significantly increased our market share with several national brand programs and are the go-to for custom design and purchasing within guestrooms and public spaces. When joining the company in 2006, our sales were $26M; climbing to $100M by 2018. How important is customization? How has it enhanced your products or relationships with clients? Custom seating is a major driver of our business today, representing 50% of our sales. We've shifted how we operate our factories including expanding Why is collaborating important to your company? Tell us about some recent product/project collaborations. Collaboration with our clients is the foundation in driving innovation and new design. Ellen Johnson, our Director of Design, is creating a Design Concierge platform to assist designers during the model room and custom product development stages. This is the ultimate form of collaboration and differentiates us from our competitors. What is something exciting happening at your company that you would like to share? Charter is unveiling a brand image "refresh" this month that includes a complete overhaul of our website. Charter will also be launching new case good collections at HD Las Vegas! Stop by HD Expo booth #4109 to see what all the excitement is about. What differentiates you from your competitors? our sample and new product development teams to ensure model rooms and custom orders are handled with TLC and delivered on time. We are producing a high number of custom products each month and proudly showcasing these new designs on our web site to demonstrate our strong craftmanship and manufacturing capabilities. By expanding our custom capabilities, we've evolved into a tremendous resource for our design and purchasing clients. 022 May 2019 hospitalitydesign.com Charter embraces custom and new product development opportunities. We offer our clients the most comprehensive collection of seating products in the industry. Our ability to execute custom seating and deliver on time has created a value proposition second to none. Charter has facilities in California and North Carolina providing our clients with East and West coast FOB shipping points, reducing lead times and freight expense.http://www.hospitalitydesign.com