November 16-19
AHFA Annual Meeting
The Fairmont Sonoma
Mission Inn & Spa
Sonoma, CA

January 29-February 2
Las Vegas Market
Las Vegas, NV

March 26-April 6
High Point Market
High Point, NC

Success Within Reach

The three-day Annual Meeting, slated November 16-19 at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa in Sonoma, Calif, is an ideal time for AHFA’s supplier and manufacturer members to network in an environment designed for professional enrichment and personal relaxation.

Headlining the business program are George Stalk, Toronto-based senior vice president of The Boston Consulting Group; and Howard Lester, chairman of Williams-Sonoma.

Stalk has worked extensively in South America, Europe and Asia. He co-wrote the critically acclaimed books “Competing Against Time,” “Kaisha: The Japanese Corporation,” “Breaking Compromises,” “Perspectives on Strategy,” and “Hardball.” He has also been published in numerous business publications, including an article titled “The Costly Secret of China Sourcing,” recently published in Harvard Business Review. His presentation for furniture executives will focus on global sourcing strategies.

Providing an insightful overview of the Williams-Sonoma empire will be the man who piloted the company from a struggling California kitchenware retailer in the late 1970s to a $3.5 billion business with over 37,000 employees worldwide. Under Lester’s leadership, the company mushroomed into one of the nation’s premier specialty retailers with more than 500 stores, plus catalogs and Internet sites bearing the names Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Hold Everything and West Elm. In 2004, he rolled out Williams-Sonoma Home with home furnishings designed to be a step up in taste and quality from Pottery Barn.

Also on the agenda is an industry panel of top retailing and manufacturing executives, who will address an array of topics – from the challenges facing retailers to opportunities for traditional manufacturers to the role of the Internet in marketing and selling home furnishings.

A second panel will feature four leading fabric manufacturers discussing the seismic changes to their industry over the past decade.

Pool at The Fairmont

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa will provide an extraordinary backdrop for this diverse program. Thermal waters from deep inside the earth provide the foundation for the spa’s pampering and rejuvenating treatments. The resort’s pristine and historic golf course, Sonoma Golf Club, offers golfers 19 challenging holes. Designed by Sam Whiting in 1926 the private course is home to the PGA’s Charles Schwab Cub Championship each October. Dining opportunities throughout the three-day event – including the gala dinner and dance that close the meeting on November 18 – promise participants a wine country experience to savor and remember.

Hotel reservations should be book directly with The Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa by calling 800/441-1414 or by visiting www.fairmont.com. Click on the Sonoma property and enter the promotional code GRANN1. Meeting registration materials have been mailed.

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