YEARS OF
Rowe Furniture EST 1946
2
Comfort Rooted in History First in Fashion since 1946.
3
A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Rowe is the only company I have worked for since leaving college. Over 32 years and many roles, I have seen tremendous change. We have had great years and challenging ones. Leadership, strategies, and the industry around us have changed. But when I think about why Rowe is still here after 80 years, I think just as much about what has stayed the same. For me, that starts with people. Some of our relationships with customers and partners go back decades, and our sales team has played an important role sustaining them. Those relationships have carried us through growth and through times when we had to find a new way forward. The same continuity exists inside Rowe. The people who build our furniture, along with those who support the work behind the scenes, carry forward knowledge learned over many years. What someone is building today is rooted in lessons and skills passed down by those who came before them. That is what makes craftsmanship so special. I am especially grateful to the customers who continued to believe in us, even when we were not at our best. Without them, we would not be where we are today. I think back to the early 2000s, when so much furniture production was moving overseas. Staying committed to manufacturing here put enormous pressure on Rowe and, at times, threatened the company’s future. Looking back, preserving our ability to make furniture here became central to who we are today. If 80 years teaches you anything, it is that lasting does not mean standing still. Rowe has had to evolve. The important part is knowing what needs to change and what needs to be protected. Through it all, our people have cared about Rowe, one another, our customers, and doing the work the right way. Eighty years is worth celebrating, but for me it brings an even greater sense of gratitude. None of us owns Rowe’s history. We are simply caring for it for a period of time. Our responsibility is to leave it stronger for the people who come next.
BOBBY ROBINSON P R E S I D E N T, R O W E F U R N I T U R E
4
The Founder and the First Factory From Industry Experience to an Independent Virginia Company
1939–41
Before Rowe, an Idea About Color While at Kroehler Manufacturing, Donald E. Rowe Sr. patented a device that helped retailers demonstrate coordinated colors for furniture, rugs and complete rooms. Long before Rowe used the words First in Fashion, its future founder was already thinking about design, choice and how customers imagine a room.
5
Rowe’s early factory in Virginia, 1946.
1946
A Company Begins Donald E. Rowe Sr., formerly a vice president of Kroehler, established the business in the Roanoke area with long-time associate Ralph E. Bentz. Furniture executive Donald L. Jordan helped secure the location and financing, and the original corporate name became Rowe-Jordan Furniture.
Early production at the first factory, 1946.
1946
A Family Enterprise Takes Shape 1946
One Chair in a Small Shop A later account traced Rowe's first production to a single recliner made in a small shop on a back street. Other historical descriptions call the earliest product an upholstered rocking chair. Either way, the company's first chapter was focused, practical and unmistakably rooted in upholstery.
Donald E. Rowe Jr. and Donald Sr.'s son-in-law, R. V. Mathison Sr., joined the young company early. Within a few years, both men held leadership roles, beginning the second generation of the Rowe story almost as soon as the first had started. 1947
Already Operating Across State Lines Barely a year after its founding, Rowe-Jordan Furniture Corp. appeared in a National Labor Relations Board proceeding. The federal record confirms that the company was formally incorporated and participating in interstate commerce during its earliest years.
6
Finding a Voice Rapid Growth and the Early Definition of the Rowe Brand
1950
From Startup to Scale Only four years after opening, Rowe-Jordan reported more than $3.25 million in annual net sales and approximately $191,500 in earnings. The figures reveal how quickly the young upholstery company moved beyond its small-shop beginnings.
Rowe logo, 1940s–1950s.
7
1950
First in Fashion Rowe documented its first commercial use of the phrase Rowe First in Fashion on August 28, 1950. The promise of fashion was not a later advertising invention; it emerged during Donald Rowe Sr.'s leadership and became part of the company's identity while Rowe was still young.
8
9
1951–52
Building for the Future in Salem By the early 1950s, Donald Rowe Sr. had acquired Donald Jordan's interest, and RoweJordan became Rowe Furniture Corporation. Architectural records identify a Rowe Furniture project in Salem by Smithey and Boynton, signifying a new home for expansion.
c. 1958
The Factory on Rowan Street An archival photograph shows Rowe Furniture Corporation at 239 Rowan Street in Salem, its name stretched proudly across the front of the long industrial building. The site would grow with the company for more than four decades.
Rowe Furniture Corporation at 239 Rowan Street, Salem, c. 1958.
10
Design and National Growth The Second Generation Carries Rowe Beyond Its Virginia Beginnings 1964
The Founder’s Chapter Closes Donald E. Rowe Sr. died in February 1964 after leading the company for approximately 18 years. Former associates remembered an intensely focused, exacting and private businessman who inspired unusual loyalty and built the foundation for Rowe's next era.
11
Rowe executives, 1960s.
Rowe leadership, 1960s.
1966
A Modern American Silhouette The original Gondola sofa embodied Rowe's growing confidence in progressive American design. Its sweeping profile arrived just two decades after the company's one-chair beginning and two years after the founder's death.
The Gondola, reissued in 2026.
12
1967
Rowe Ad
Rowe logo, 1960s.
13
E A R LY 1 9 7 0 s
A Broader Manufacturing Footprint Rowe expanded beyond Salem, opening a Missouri upholstery plant and adding capacity in Virginia. By the middle of the decade, the company operated facilities in Virginia, Missouri and California, and produced upholstery along with tables, bookcases and other furnishings.
Rowe upholstery, 1970s.
Rowe logo, 1970s.
1962–Early 1970s
Salem Frame takes root Established in 1962, Salem Frame moved into its current Salem facility in the early 1970s. It grew into Rowe’s center for frame and wood production—a role it continues today, producing Rowe’s upholstery frames and most exposed wood components.
14
1976
Thirty Years of Growth Annual sales exceeded $46 million. In three decades, Rowe had grown from one upholstered chair in a small shop into a multi-state American furniture manufacturer.
15
17
18
Our People CRAFT. CHARACTER. A SHARED JOURNEY.
Rowe logo, 1980s.
19
April 1984.
20
A New Home for American Upholstery Decades of Expansion Lead from Salem to Elliston 1996
Rowe Introduced Slipcovers As homes grew more casual, Rowe developed a dedicated slipcover collection to match. By introducing slipcovers in 1996, Rowe set the tone for livable luxury that still holds true today, and the company has since become one of the largest slipcover producers in the world.
1997
Forbes Listed Rowe as Top 200 Best Small Companies
21
1998
Robin Bruce Broadens Rowe’s Design Reach Introduced in 1998, Robin Bruce gave Rowe a distinct, more design-forward expression, broadened its appeal and helped the company move into higher price points. By 2025, Rowe itself had evolved into a stronger premium brand with a clearer design point of view. Retiring Robin Bruce brought the company’s products, marketing and investment together under one Rowe name—preserving what Robin Bruce contributed while making the overall brand simpler and stronger.
1998–2025
22
23
1999
2006
The Move to Elliston
Virginia manufacturing comes together
By 1999 after decades of growth, Rowe had outgrown the Salem upholstery plant. A $15 million manufacturing facility at the Elliston-Lafayette Industrial Park expansion was announced. Approximately 600 employees were expected to transfer, with plans to add 170 production jobs over the following three years.
Rowe logo, 1990s.
Following the closure of the Poplar Bluff plant, upholstery production was consolidated in Elliston. Together, Elliston and Salem Frame became the backbone of Rowe’s domestic manufacturing, with Salem leading frame and wood production and Elliston completing the upholstery.
24
25
26
28
29
Reinvention for a New Generation Premium Positioning Grows through Quality, Design and Community
2016
Defining a Premium Path Rowe began a deliberate move beyond the middle market, choosing to compete less on scale and more on the qualities that make special-order upholstery personal and distinctive. The company focused on customers who value quality, relevant design, broad customization and personal service. Today, nearly 90% of Rowe’s business is conducted through privately owned businesses, reinforcing a premium position.
30
2017
Building a Relationship with the Design Community Rowe began serving the design trade more intentionally, connecting the brand with a community who valued quality, customization and domestic craftsmanship.
2018
My Rowe Design Builds Community Beginning in Spring 2018, My Rowe Design invited guest designers to interpret Rowe through their own points of view. Designer installations, mixers, brunches and #MyRoweDesign helped turn Market from a product presentation into an ongoing conversation with the design community.
31
33
34
2024
Quality and Design Move Together More than $6 million in plant investment, higher cushioning standards and longer warranties strengthened the product from the inside out. At the same time, a more elevated assortment and design collaborations made Rowe's premium positioning visible—proof that quality and design had to advance together.
35
36
37
38
2025
Rowe Stands with Small Rowe Stands with Small brought the brand closer to independent retailers and design businesses creating distinctive, destination-worthy experiences. Events with Eye for Pretty in California and Obelisk Home in Missouri celebrated the creativity, hospitality, relationships and community investment that make small businesses matter.
39
40
2026
Eighty Years Forward
Rowe's 80th year joined heritage with forward motion. The limited reissue of the 1966 Gondola honored an American design icon, while new categories and collaborations extended the brand beyond traditional upholstery without leaving domestic craft behind.
YEARS OF
Rowe Furniture EST 1946
41
42
43
44