Helping our neighbors & the world
Testing & learning to move ahead
What makes us successful is the courage and creativity of every team member.
At our recent Coffee Talk, I shared a little about some of the current disruption that our industry is facing in the market. And while I can’t predict what will happen in the market over the coming months, there is one thing I know to be true. Glen Raven ® has the best team in the industry. We are known for our operational excellence, and for taking care of our customers, meeting them wherever they are.
Glen Raven has lived through disruptions throughout its entire existence. What has made us successful during these challenges is the steadfastness, courage and creativity of every single team member.
I remember fifteen years ago, just after I’d been asked to lead what would become Material Solutions Group. It was a challenging time for many businesses, but we had a passionate team who cared deeply about our customers. Instead of focusing only on what was right in front of us, the team chose to look at the big picture, aggressively redirecting resources to the markets that would give us the greatest chances of success—and thanks to their creativity and commitment, it paid off.
Despite market challenges, we’re currently seeing a lot of success across the business, and I want to celebrate the stories of teams who are demonstrating both courage and creativity through thoughtful operational improvements, brand and technology upgrades and the piloting of new in-home services. These stories are examples of what can happen when we trust ourselves and our teams to get creative about the challenges in front of us, then go all-in on doing it right.
The hard work of these teams, and others, is what continuous improvement looks like in practice—and it’s those improvements that will keep us competitive and strong for the long haul.
Leib
Oehmig, CEO
The Sunbrella brand was back on full display at High Point Market in April, including a brand new window feature in Showplace in collaboration with Rowe furniture—a highly sought-after location. This highvisibility display prominently featured a brand new collaboration with Block Shop, an LA-based textile and design studio that focuses on handmade textile production. By blending the handcrafted design of Block Shop with the performance of Sunbrella, a unique opportunity has been created in the market. “People are really drawn to this collection”, said Jason Burgess, Market Manager for Indoor Manufacturing. “The designs are very different and very eye-catching, which made a big impact at Market.”
Rowe was the first to debut the collection on furniture frames, but the early adoption has already created momentum for the collaboration—with 25 new placements driven by that display alone.
Rowe wasn’t the only showroom turning heads with Sunbrella. “In the CR Laine showroom, it was a ‘sea of Sunbrella,” Burgess continued. “In terms of activations, it has been one of our busiest markets to date and we’re seeing that pay off in interest and placements.” CR Laine, Universal and Rowe all featured the Sunbrella Stain Bar, an interactive moment with our Care Team that showed customers just how easy it is to clean Sunbrella. We look forward to continuing to innovate at Fall High Point Market in October.
Glen Raven ® ventured into new territory this year when it launched a pilot program of an onsite service for outdoor furniture cleaning. “It all started with research and the insight that people weren’t enjoying their outdoor spaces because they got dirty. Cleaning outdoor furniture is a frustrating chore,” said Steve Pawl, Chief Marketing Officer. “With our Sunbrella market equity and awareness, we realized there was an opportunity to interact with our customers more often than when they buy the furniture. We saw a ‘white space’ opportunity and decided to pilot the service.”
The first step was finding a partner who could help fulfill the service at ‘Sunbrella standards.’ “We found that partner in Zerorez ® ,” said Steve.“They are a national company with a strong Raleigh presence. This allowed us to pilot close to home, but gives us the option to expand in the future.”
Sunbrella Cleaning Service, powered by Zerorez, launched in April, just in time for patio season.
The team opted to pilot the solution in the Raleigh market so they could test quickly near Sunbrella's corporate office. This helped the team
evaluate what was working and see firsthand what was happening in the market. Beth Hathcock, Marketing Director, Window Business, helped lead the go-to-market strategy and began by partnering with a digital marketing agency that specializes in lead generation to get the word out and build demand among the target audience.
“We did the homework on the opportunity, but ultimately the pilot allowed us to quickly get something into the market to see how consumers responded and how things worked, making adjustments as we go along ...without having to lock in every detail as you would before a major investment,” said Steve.
For more than 70 years, Glen Raven Logistics ™ has inspired confidence and trust among its customers— and it recently got a logo refresh that will propel the brand into the future.
“GRL customers have great confidence in our services and our people,” said Lindsay Shakarjian, Marketing Director.
“We wanted a look that reflects that strength—one that honors our experience and positions us to reach new customers and markets.”
The refreshed logo maintains a strong connection to the Glen Raven ® brand, as well as the legacy GRL identity. With a nod to the iconic Raven, updated letter form and fresh navy and green color palette, the logo
As one of the leaders of this pilot, Beth took the time to answer questions about the experience and to offer advice to other Glen Raven ® teams who are considering piloting something new:
Tell us about the process of launching something so new.
Doing the homework upfront is critical. You need to understand the market, competitive offering, the target consumer, where to find the target consumer, what price they are willing to pay, and the reasons they would purchase this service, so you can launch successfully. We did a lot of research up front that would help us be successful and understand what would move people to book a cleaning service.
conveys confidence, strength and movement.
“We can’t wait to see this refreshed look on the road,” said Dan Cox, General Manager. “It remains true to our heritage and who we are, but with a modern look that will position us for growth and even greater visibility.”
The changes went live on the website and digital marketing materials in mid-July, and customers will see the updated logo on trucks and marketing materials in the coming months.
What was the biggest challenge you encountered along the way?
Launching into a category that seemed to be nonexistent was challenging. We are introducing potential customers to a service they didn’t know they needed yet. Pricing was a big factor and we’ve optimized along the way, based on their feedback. Testing and learning is what helped us understand what would trigger a someone to book the service and we were able to make adjustments to the marketing campaigns accordingly.
What advice would you give other teams who are piloting brand-new products or services?
Do extensive market research before you start to understand the opportunity and put together the business case. Consider how you might be able to get started with a low investment and by finding the right internal and external partners to execute well. Learn, and don’t be afraid to pivot when things don’t go as planned. It can be intimidating to start something from scratch, but it's so rewarding to see it come to life. Ultimately, it’s giving yourself the permission to try, fail and try again to keep improving.
The Glen Raven ® Material Solutions Group Planning Team recently experienced a huge jump in efficiency with the rollout of Deploy, a software that supports fabric allocation. Until now, the fabric allocation process has been largely manual—customers would place an order, then team members would match up which inventory lots were going to each customer. This process was time-consuming and sometimes left ‘orphaned inventory’ on the table due to poor visibility.
“Utilizing auto allocation software has been discussed for many years, but shifts after COVID really made this project a priority. We had people working long hours to make sure rolls were allocated quickly and we wanted to offer better support and efficiency for the team,” said Eliza Wilhoit, Supply Chain Analyst.
Deploy is an automated, rules-based software that helps automatically match basic customer orders with current inventory. By the time the
team walks into work every morning, most of the allocations are done, leaving the customer service team more time to work on complex orders that require personalized attention.
Since Deploy has gone live:
• The number of manual hours needed for allocations has been cut by 75%
• Decreased costs by reducing ‘orphaned inventory’
“This is an improvement that is going to scale and help us grow the business,” said Director of Planning, David Leonard. “We’re excited about the ways it is opening up time for our customer service team, enabling them to focus on the challenges that will keep us moving ahead.”
John Coates, VP of Global Sourcing, echoed those hopes, noting the perseverance of the team. “I’ve never been prouder of this team. They saw a challenge and took the initiative to bring
an idea that would improve the business. As a leadership team, we always encourage people to bring those ideas forward because they truly do drive us forward.”
The success of this project was driven by the individuals pictured below (left to right): Paige Payne, David Leonard, Wendy Shoffner, John Cheu, Eliza Wilhoit, and others within the Customer Service and IT departments.
Worldwide trade shows and exhibitions give us opportunities to showcase Sunbrella® , GlenGuard ™ , Trivantage ® and other Glen Raven ® brands to the trade. Here are a few of the places we've been and where we're going:
September 9-14, 2025
September 14-17, 2025
RECENT EVENTS
• Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, Queensland, Australia
• Annual Big Rock Tournament, Morehead City, NC
• National Fire Protection Show, Las Vegas, NV
• Casual Market Show, Atlanta, GA
• Performance on Deck Marine Seminar, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• American Society of Safety Professionals Show, Orlando, FL
• Polboat Yachting Festival, Gdynia, Poland
• Wyndham Championship, Greensboro, NC
• Makers Meet Seminar, Burlington, NC
September 16-19, 2025
September 23-25, 2025
In late June, the Alamance County Associates team partnered with Feed the Hunger, a Greensboro organization that works to provide meals and other essential resources to children in need around the globe. Supporting early childhood education is a core part of our community engagement mission—and proper nutrition is a key part of readiness for the classroom.
On June 19, seventy-six associates packed 12,960 meals in two hours—surpassing the original goal of 10,000 meals! Two days later, the extended Gant Family hosted a second packing event during their annual meeting, where 100+ volunteers packed 13,680 meals in just one hour. The meals will be distributed both in the US and internationally.
Glen Raven ® previously partnered with Feed the Hunger in the fall of last year, when the nonprofit provided 10,000 meals for distribution in the Burnsville community. “Feed the Hunger gave the Burnsville community support in a time of need and we were grateful for those efforts,” said Kelly May, Community Relations Manager. “This is one way we can pay that support forward.”
If you volunteered at the pack-a-thon, don’t forget to log those hours in UKG to help us track our impact over the year! Ask for help at volunteerism@glenraven.com.
Volunteers ranged from 5-102 in age—including Catherine Ravenel Gant Powell, pictured here with Feed the Hunger COO Scott Hahn.
With ever-changing schedules, vacations and holidays, summer can be a notoriously challenging time to stay on track with health and wellness. “Many of the best wellness routines are just that—routines,” said Carrie Sheets, Wellness Manager. “With summer schedules, it can be challenging to maintain the same routines you do other times of the year because of all the schedule disruptions.”
For associates looking to stay on track through the hot summer months, here are three tips to keep wellness a priority:
1. Keep moving—even if it looks different than normal. If you are on vacation or out of your usual workout routine, consider what is available to help you get moving. “A walk on the beach or a few laps at the pool with your kids may not be your normal routine, but that movement still makes a big difference,” said Anderson Plant’s Dietitian, Christie Griffin.
2. Set realistic goals. “Don't aim for a ’perfect’ summer,” said Jamie Martin, Dietitian for Glen Raven’s NC locations. “Set achievable goals for fitness, nutrition, and relaxation, starting small and gradually building your efforts. If you only have 5 minutes each morning for a meditation or a quick walk, that’s a great place to start!"
3. Make an appointment with a nutritionist. Adults in NC and SC who are enrolled in our medical plan (including spouses and children who are 18 years or older) can meet with Jamie and Christie virtually or in person for support and education related to diet, exercise, and diabetes care and management. To schedule an appointment, contact Jamie in NC at jamartin@glenraven.com or 336-221-2147 or Christie in SC at cgriffin@glenraven.com or 864-716-4356
Did you know?
Glen Raven’s medical plan provides access to a nutritionist to all participants
