Legacy Classic has been a longstanding partner with the Nationwide Marketing Group family. But, this past August at PrimeTime in Orlando, the brand made its debut as an exhibiting partner at PrimeTime. While we were there together at the show, we took the opportunity to sit down with Tahirah Dock Johnson, director of sales operations for Legacy, to talk about the company, the partnership and much more.

Here’s a recap of our conversation:

Independent Thinking: For those who aren’t familiar with Legacy Classic, tell us a little bit about the brand and what you offer?

Tahirah Dock Johnson: Legacy Classic has been in the industry for close to 50 years now. It was founded by a group of gentlemen who stepped away from some other brands. We’ve been a partner of Nationwide, just haven’t been very active and engaged. Under our new leadership and new vision and new branding, it’s a better opportunity for a strengthened partnership and for the members.

It’s exciting, for sure, to have you at the show and see the buzz that your booth is generating. What have our Members been stopping by to see while they’re in your booth?

They are coming to see the rebranding. They’re coming to see the fact that Legacy has opened its doors and change its distribution model and is now welcoming all customers. We’re no longer restricting our distribution. And the comments and how well-received the product has been doing this show, it’s been awesome. It’s been a phenomenal experience.

So an open distribution model is wonderful, but it’s only as good as the products that you offer. And I know that you all have some amazing products, including a really fantastic kids line.

Yes. So, Legacy Kids and Teen is a sustainable group that we’re producing goods that extend the lifetime from kids to college to their first home. The product is stylish and fashionable for a second home, a spare room, a smaller room. The look is clean and the assortment is fresh. It’s a new look.

So it’s something that can grow with the child, from infancy all the way through into adulthood?

Correct. Sustainable, that is the key. It is no longer the cardboard and the paper product. It is the product that the kids cannot tear down and they can grow with them.

You mentioned the expanded distribution model, but let’s talk about it just a little bit more. How does that benefit independent retailers?

We are committed to warehousing 100 percent of our inventory. We have an 800,000-square-foot warehouse distribution center in Lenoir, North Carolina, and all of our collections, including our new e-comm line, Home Outfitters, will be warehoused there. So, you no longer have to be one of the top-tier retailers that have the infrastructure for container products. We are taking orders at all sizes and it is going to be warehoused and shipped from Lenoir.

What has the reception been from members that you’ve talked to about that new approach?

When independent retailers typically approach us, their first question is, “What is your order minimum?” And when our response is, “We have no order minimum,” they’re response to that is “Oh this is great. Let me flip through this catalog.” And so, we submitted and received loads of new customer applications here at PrimeTime.

As we look forward to 2023, what are you expecting to see from the industry, and what can members expect to see from Legacy?

The furniture industry as a whole, it’s going to rebound here soon. Summer times, we’re typically a little slow, and the back end we feel like, for Legacy, between our spring market and the fall October market, the clean new refreshed looks that we have under the rebranding, we’re no longer just Legacy Classic, we’re Legacy Classic and Modern. And so, a lot of the new fresh looks that we have undergoing the classic and the modern look, it’s going to be a breath of fresh air. It’s going to drive a lot more foot traffic and a lot more interest for those who are looking to expand.

This was your first PrimeTime, so what are some of your impressions as a first-timer? What did you think?

The atmosphere is just, it’s tremendous. The people, the other vendors, your members, and the PrimeTime staff themselves, the atmosphere is very, it’s like a hype session here. The PrimeTime employees, they hype up the vendors and they hype up their members and it’s just, it’s a lovefest here. It’s great. The atmosphere’s been great.