CULP MERGES UPHOLSTERY, MATTRESS TICKING DIVISIONS
April 24, 2025
Robert Culp IV
HIGH POINT, N.C. (April 24, 2025) – Culp, Inc. (NYSE: CULP), says it will combine its two stand-alone operating divisions, Culp Upholstery Fabrics and Culp Home Fashions, into a single, integrated business.
Culp had 2024 fiscal year sales of $225 million.
The integration of the upholstery and mattress ticking divisions was in part the result of the changes in the tariff landscape.
As an initial step in this integration, Culp, a 50-year-old company, will close the leased facility operated by its upholstery fabrics division in Burlington, North Carolina, and transition the production and distribution activities there to a shared management model within the Culp owned facility in Stokesdale, North Carolina, currently operated by its mattress fabric division.
As part of the integration, Mary Beth Hunsberger, formerly President of the Culp Upholstery Fabrics division, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Culp, Inc., and Tommy Bruno, formerly President of the Culp Home Fashions division, will now serve as Culp, Inc.’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Culp says it expects to generate annualized efficiency improvements and cost reduction benefits of approximately $3 million after completion of the Burlington facility closure and other integration initiatives with the potential for additional savings going forward. This is incremental to the approximately $10 to $11 million in annualized savings and operating improvements expected from the recent completion of Culp’s cost restructuring plan announced in May of 2024, which was focused primarily on the mattress fabrics division. That restructuring project included the consolidation of sewn cover operations, outsourcing of certain knitting and damask weaving production, and closure of the company’s manufacturing facility in Canada. Culp transferred those operations and the associated equipment to its Stokesdale, North Carolina, facility. The final step in that project, the sale of Culp’s Canadian facility, is currently expected to close shortly. Culp says it intends to use the cash proceeds to retire outstanding borrowings as part of its broader plan to improve financial flexibility and position the business for long-term success.
“It became apparent that our two core businesses have evolved to a point where we can be more efficient and better serve our customers if we combine into one CULP-branded business,” said Iv Culp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Culp. “We see a variety of opportunities to create synergies through a more centralized and cross-functional operating model coupled with a unified management team focused on the home furnishings industry holistically and unencumbered by product, customer, or market-specific boundaries.”
“This is a substantial undertaking that involves some facility consolidation, equipment relocation, and other operational adjustments, but no curtailment of production levels. Most importantly, it affects people and naturally involves some employment loss.”
Culp continued, “In addition to cost synergies, our new model also gives us more flexibility to adjust our supply chain and cost base as conditions warrant. We believe our current manufacturing platform and supply chain optionality across the U.S., Haiti/Dominican Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and China is a differentiator for our business, especially as many in our industry seek alternatives to navigate the tariff landscape.”
The newly integrated Culp, Inc. will maintain its headquarters in High Point, North Carolina.
Culp had 2024 fiscal year sales of $225 million.
The integration of the upholstery and mattress ticking divisions was in part the result of the changes in the tariff landscape.
As an initial step in this integration, Culp, a 50-year-old company, will close the leased facility operated by its upholstery fabrics division in Burlington, North Carolina, and transition the production and distribution activities there to a shared management model within the Culp owned facility in Stokesdale, North Carolina, currently operated by its mattress fabric division.
As part of the integration, Mary Beth Hunsberger, formerly President of the Culp Upholstery Fabrics division, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Culp, Inc., and Tommy Bruno, formerly President of the Culp Home Fashions division, will now serve as Culp, Inc.’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Culp says it expects to generate annualized efficiency improvements and cost reduction benefits of approximately $3 million after completion of the Burlington facility closure and other integration initiatives with the potential for additional savings going forward. This is incremental to the approximately $10 to $11 million in annualized savings and operating improvements expected from the recent completion of Culp’s cost restructuring plan announced in May of 2024, which was focused primarily on the mattress fabrics division. That restructuring project included the consolidation of sewn cover operations, outsourcing of certain knitting and damask weaving production, and closure of the company’s manufacturing facility in Canada. Culp transferred those operations and the associated equipment to its Stokesdale, North Carolina, facility. The final step in that project, the sale of Culp’s Canadian facility, is currently expected to close shortly. Culp says it intends to use the cash proceeds to retire outstanding borrowings as part of its broader plan to improve financial flexibility and position the business for long-term success.
“It became apparent that our two core businesses have evolved to a point where we can be more efficient and better serve our customers if we combine into one CULP-branded business,” said Iv Culp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Culp. “We see a variety of opportunities to create synergies through a more centralized and cross-functional operating model coupled with a unified management team focused on the home furnishings industry holistically and unencumbered by product, customer, or market-specific boundaries.”
“This is a substantial undertaking that involves some facility consolidation, equipment relocation, and other operational adjustments, but no curtailment of production levels. Most importantly, it affects people and naturally involves some employment loss.”
Culp continued, “In addition to cost synergies, our new model also gives us more flexibility to adjust our supply chain and cost base as conditions warrant. We believe our current manufacturing platform and supply chain optionality across the U.S., Haiti/Dominican Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and China is a differentiator for our business, especially as many in our industry seek alternatives to navigate the tariff landscape.”
The newly integrated Culp, Inc. will maintain its headquarters in High Point, North Carolina.