The furniture company’s headquarters wears its heart on its wall.
Photographer: Ben Brewer/BloombergRoom & Board Is a Rare Company. It Doesn’t Have to Be.
Adopting an ESOP — Employee Stock Ownership Plan — is working for the Minnesota-based furniture retailer. And with a few reforms, it could work for a lot of other companies too.
When Room & Board founder and chairman John Gabbert hit his late 60s, he knew it was time to start thinking about what should happen to his furniture company when he was no longer around.
He and the executive team examined every possibility — going public, selling to a group of minority owners or a strategic buyer or private equity firm. What Gabbert knew for sure was that he wanted a buyer who would maintain the status quo, allowing the company to grow at the steady pace that had long been its hallmark. The problem? “We found that didn’t exist,” Gabbert says. Every interested party wanted to change the model to chase faster growth and more profits.