5 Questions with Sean Corrington of Furniture Marketing Group
by Kelle Marsalis, President & CEO
Recently I checked in on Sean Corrington, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing with Furniture Marketing Group, located in Plano. Sean and I met several years ago when I worked closely with the owner of FMG on small business programs. It was clear from the start that FMG, and Sean, are fantastic community partners, employers, and members of the Plano Chamber. Read more of our conversation below to learn about the company, Sean, and his beautiful baby girls.
I’ve known FMG for a few years now, and have even utilized some of your great products in my office. What would you like readers to know about FMG and what you specialize in?
Furniture Marketing Group, Inc. (FMG) is a family of companies headquartered in Plano, TX. We have showrooms in both Texas & Oklahoma as well as client support centers spanning from the west to the east coast. FMG is a provider of interior furnishings for corporate environments of all sizes, government entities, and healthcare providers, as well as the education sector. “Interior furnishings” honestly doesn’t even begin to describe what we help our clients with in today’s world. We provide ergonomic work from home solutions, flexible architectural space division, technology solutions, and many other critical products our clients demand. Aside from a distributor of products, our teams lead client conversations with a consultative approach on product solutions given an organization objectives. Doing this alongside great industry partners yields a concept in which FMG executes through completion. Long term support of our clients over the years is really what makes the difference.
FMG is a family-owned business. How has the company grown since its beginnings?
We are in our 39th year of business and fortunate to be one of the largest distributors for Haworth, which is a multibillion dollar furniture manufacturer based in Western Michigan. Our roots go deep with our supplier. Our founder, Cleon Almond, started FMG in 1981 and at that time, Haworth just like FMG, was a lot smaller. Haworth’s current Chairman Emeritus, Dick Haworth, and Cleon focused together on one key objective. Provide best in class products & customer service to our clients. Today FMG second generation CEO, Greg Almond, instills those same principles from his father, continuing to guide FMG forward.
What has been the biggest surprise you’ve learned about the furniture business in your 7 years with FMG and 20 years in the business?
The biggest surprise I’ve learned is the sophistication that goes into designing an office space. Twenty years ago, I thought office furniture was just a desk and a chair! Big picture discussions around analyzing the amount of real-estate for each employee as well as discussion about creating an atmosphere that supports a company’s core values and objectives are critical to the success of any project. More important than ever, our organization must provide flexibility of a workspace that allows for changes and that has to be done with thoughtful up-front design. Sometimes I wish it was just a desk and a chair!
We are in the 12th week of the pandemic in the USA. Are you working from home? If so, what has been the biggest challenge?
FMG is a supplier to essential businesses so our offices have remained open. However, a majority of our employees are working from home as we finalize our own return to work strategy. I personally have worked from our office in International Business Park sometimes at least 3 or 4 days a week while working from home the others. Since mid-March, I have been one of 6 people in our 16,000 foot office so it has been very easy to practice physical distancing inside a space as such when no one is around! There are challenges to both scenarios. I miss the interaction in the office and do not have the luxury of walking up to an associate to have an ad-hoc conversation in which I might be able to get an answer immediately. With technology, I can still get the answer but it might take just a bit longer. I definitely miss the day to day in person collaboration. While working from home, that in itself has had a few challenges. My wife, Michelle, and I have twin daughters, Avery & Aubrey who are about to turn one year old and as you can imagine, the home office has a lot of things happening!
Ok, it all can’t be about business. You’ve been in Plano for a while, so tell us what is your favorite thing to do in Plano?
Since moving to Plano three years ago, Michelle’s and my life has changed dramatically as you can imagine. We use to spend some late nights in the Shops at Legacy & Legacy West. We now spend a lot of our time at some of the great parks Plano has to offer and our latest favorite is Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. However, our favorite spot is at our home in Plano with our girls. Michelle, Avery, Aubrey, and I plan on spending many nights and weekends right in our own back yard swimming and grilling!
Learn more about Furniture Marketing Group, Inc. at their website.
