John-Richard promotes Maitland Smith to exec role

Home décor manufacturer John-Richard announced that Antony Maitland Smith has been promoted to the new position of vice president of John-Richard Asia.

While retaining his responsibilities as general manager of John-Richard Vietnam, in this new position Maitland Smith will be responsible for improving the company’s supply chain between Asia and the U.S. as well as developing new initiatives including direct distribution to countries within the Asia Pacific Region.

“I am thrilled to have someone of Antony’s caliber and experience to entrust with this important initiative. Antony has already demonstrated his leadership capabilities while running the Vietnam operation for the past 3 ½ years,” states Alan Galbraith, CEO of John-Richard. ” He, along with other new executive staff to be announced shortly, will be tasked with executing the strategies to grow the company by building on the firm foundation already in place.”

John-Richard has begun the initial stages of a significant expansion in Vietnam to enable the company to service its increased business which was already growing at a healthy pace prior to the post pandemic boost seen by most furniture manufacturers and retailers.

The company has owned a manufacturing facility in Vietnam since 2006 and outgrew the existing facilities. The company also plans to grow its other manufacturing hubs in China and India where further factory expansions are planned. Maitland Smith will lead the effort in the region to plan for growth and to ensure that the company is leveraging its proprietary design and manufacturing skills throughout its supplier base.

The establishment of a comprehensive distribution system for Asia as well as other continents outside the Americas is also planned once additional space and capacity are in place.

Maitland Smith has extensive experience in the furniture industry in Southeast Asia, and has held increasingly senior positions at other high-end companies including Maitland Smith, Theodore Alexander and, most recently Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture.