Walt (actually Walter Smithe III), 45, is president and general manager of the company; he and his wife have five kids and live in Barrington Hills. The commercials were being shot at a studio in Northfield and would result in enough footage for dozens of TV ads to appear over the next six months. While their father and grandfather are still actively involved in the day-to-day, the women have taken over the companys marketing, design, advertising and buying effortsand immediately went about altering brand perceptions. [6], One of Walter E. Smithe's most discussed commercials aired in late March 2006. Margie, who used to be a buyer for Smithe, moved to St. Louis with her husband, who worked for Anheuser-Busch's ad agency. Still, the Smithes have had to weather various challenges since joining the company, including the retirement of their uncle, Tim. "If we'd done that with a large agency, it would have been flying people in from New York and storyboards and approvals along the way," he says. The campaign was inspired in part by a partnership with designer/house-flipper Jeff Lewis of the Bravo show Flipping Out. People are buying a look, but they want it to feel curated and personal., Its up to Maureen and Caitie to monitor the market, make sure the showroom reflects current palettes, while staying a few steps ahead of what is currently trending. 74% of employees would recommend working at Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design to a friend and 70% have a positive outlook for the business. To their delight, the reaction to that initial campaign was primarily positive, as has been the case for every commercial they've produced since. The girls got the bedrooms; the three boys shared a room in the basement. No surprise why the quality is so crap. My sisters and I loved being a part of it.. "They were loved," said Colleen Smithe, the youngest daughter of Walter Smithe III. I havent seen the Tile Outlet lady in a while!! "But we've also gotten some really nice feedback from people who are happy to see four working women on their TV.". (He's now semi-retired, having turned the business over to his sons about 10 years ago.). This led to the development of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design. Main Telephone (630) 285-8000. "Instead we did it on the turn of a dime. Get Eric Clark's email address (e*****@smithe.com) and phone number at RocketReach. Compare how recession-proof Walter E. Smithe Furniture is relative to the industry overall. Or "Hardrock, Coco and Joe." When I first came on board, our industry was very much a good old boys club, says Maureen, who regularly travels to marketplaces around the country to buy merchandise. They've relaunched catalogs showcasing their furniture in fully designed spaces. - Timmy: Dressed as an old-time newspaper boy, 10-year-old Timmy appeared in dozens of commercials in the '70s for his uncle's Long Chevrolet dealership in Elmhurst. Im stunned when people watch one of our makeovers and are surprised that Smithe carries so much of what they like, says Caitie. Ellen is very serious about design and had a definite voice in what this modern-rustic-meets-farmhouse collection would be. Building upon the Smithe family legacy is a big responsibility, the sisters said, one they've embraced with fervor. 9615 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60077. We understand that customers see a certain look on, say, Instagram and they want it replicated in their own home, Colleen says. Our dad always put an emphasis on hard work, and it stuck with us.. Rocketreach finds email, phone & social media for 450M+ professionals. officially retires, although he still enjoys visiting showrooms and meeting clients. Darvin is always yelling about discounts. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design advertising has featured everything from parodies of "The Price Is Right" to a 2013 classic in which the Smithe brothers got into a wrestling ring with Billy Corgan. The company makes, sells, and repairs furniture, . Lewis Lazare. Since 1945, we have been Chicago's local source for quality furniture and expert design. By last year, though, each had returned to the company their great-grandfather founded. Lewis Lazare. Sisters Colleen, Meghan, Maureen and Caitie Smithe, from left, say three key words have helped them carry their family-run furniture company into a fourth generation: fresh, young and relevant. Smithe's three sons the Smithe brothers Mark, Tim, and Walter III became executives in the business and were regularly featured in the commercials. Take dress up and glam up a notch with a self-care day at this luxurious spa for kids and tweens. Contact Information. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design is a family-owned furniture retailer, founded right here in Chicago, back in 1945. At that age, it was very exciting to come home and brag that we sold maybe hundreds or thousands of dollars in furniture, Meghan recalls. Were not trying to portray an image that working mothers can pull off everything without something falling through, Maureen says candidly. You can still be a fun premium brand (Virgin, for example) but this is Family Dollar-type schtick. There is no true balance for moms in our situation., We cant be everything all at once, Meghan says. His four daughtersMaureen Megan Clarke Caitie Jisa and Colleen Parkerare now the new faces of this historic Chicago brand a spot he and his brothers held for decades. We don't take that lightly.". 1 Early life; 2 Television; 3 Personal Life; 4 References; . Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 92 reviews left anonymously by employees. Today, they help oversee 10 showrooms, the warehouse and headquarters, working together (generally) perfectly. The Smithe sisters are working to expose the brand to a new customer base Photo credit: Robin Subar. I love the attention I get as a local celebrity," Mark says. Bob's proudly proclaims that it sells cheap garbage, Walter E looks like they're trying to sell you viagra and Penny Mustard radio commercials are justweird.. For example, Meghan had to miss her sons Valentines Day party at school this year, due to work responsibilities. Walter E. Smithe Jr. died peacefully at age 86, his family said in a prepared statement. We are sad to announce that on October 9, 2022 we had to say goodbye to Walter E. Smithe Jr. of Chicago, Illinois. The 86-year-old patriarch of the Smithe family, Walter Edward Smithe Jr., "died . It was an organic transition for each of us, says Colleen, the youngest sister. Through March 16, enjoy savings of up to 20 percent on select rugs (hopscotch, anyone?) One spot was modeled after Apple's weird commercials. During a stint in the Army, Smithe attained the rank of captain and became an expert in the field of computers. Were now getting calls from all over the world., Under Colleen and Meghans direction, Smithe now has a beautiful new lookbook in its marketing toolbox and a stable full of breathtaking photography, as they become the exclusive distributor for Ellen DeGeneres new furniture collection from Thomasville. "It's never gone completely crazy -- no one can say that one commercial will bring customers in -- but we kind of thought it re-established us in the marketplace. This is useful in estimating the financial strength and credit risk of the company. Holly Hunt (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. Visit Website (opens in new window) Walter E. Smithe. The spot showed the brothers at a news conference announcing that they had purchased Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, with plans to rename it Walter E. Smithe Field. No outside agency required. It's partnered with celebrity designers and broadened the mix of products carried in stores, online and in its resurrected catalog to include more current trends and a wider range of price points. They pointed out how affordable the pieces are. What The Walter E. Smithe Daughters Do . Favorite design style: Clean and neutral. That was the extent of his pitchman career. The best commercial -- at least the one viewers relished -- featured this grating kid getting hit in the face with a pie. Lewis teamed up with Smithes merchandising team to create in-store vignettes, and also featured the store on his show. He attended the University of Notre Dame and earned a bachelor 's . The girls have all worked elsewhere before they came to work here, says Walter of his daughters who have had careers ranging from merchandising to advertising. "He'd come up from behind and drop in it on us," Tim says. We learned so much from these relationships, Colleen says. "Staying fresh, young and relevant is how we're going to sustain the brand into the next 75 years. Currently, there are 3 generations involved in the business: Walter Smithe Jr is retired, but regularly visits the showrooms. "It was kind of ingrained in us," Caitie Smithe said. "Staying fresh, young . My hope is to inspire people to slow down enough to talk with a designer and hopefully buy something.. And yet, as they went off to college and moved into the next phase of life, they were never expected to someday return full time. "Still hard for me to imagine.") Over the last 12 years, one by one, Walter's daughters have been hired on at Smithe in an official capacity. Three years later, she recruited Colleen to become advertising director -- a position she accepted without hesitation. "[7] Maria Coons, a marketing teacher at Harper College, has also defended the advertisements, telling a Daily Herald reporter, "Some people who aren't in that [30 to 60 year old] demographic might consider them dorky, but for their target market, they're not. Haute Living is a network of luxury publications with bimonthly regional editions in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. One by one, each sister began working in the family business. From 5 to 8 p.m., select retailers will offer refreshments while highlighting unique designers. Hauldren -- an advertising copywriter who created the character -- first appeared in the ads in 1973. Nothing is left unchanged, Meghan notes. Regarded as top performer within the account and the Agency, as a result of consistent over-delivery, passion to grow the business . Their interactions were zany, their dialogue lighthearted, their catchy jingle -- "you dream it, we build it" -- recognizable throughout the region. ("You should keep that hat on for about three weeks. They seem very pretentious I think. There's a lot of blurred lines, and we have to learn when to defer to each other.". And in between the entertainment were his folksy commercials for Courtesy Motors -- his cars were "honeys" and "sweeties" -- which at one point was the world's largest Ford dealer. Even with little ones underfoot, the Smithe sisters make balancing their family furniture business and their growing broods look effortless. The brothers spend most of their time in the company's Itasca headquarters, which also serves as a warehouse, customer service center and point of departure for the fleet of Smithe trucks. Shop the clearance. I always suggest going with whatever color or colors are most pleasing to you, but some big color trends this spring are oranges, pinks, sage green and pastel blue. (Last year, Walter E. Smithe resurrected the 1950s-era cartoon that was a holiday staple on WGN-Ch. We not only respect this, we embrace it.. [4], In March, 2017, daughters of Walter E. Smithe III became the fourth generation of the Smithe family to be featured in the commercials.[8]. Meghan can recall her pigtails bouncing as she ran through the Walter E. Smithe warehouse as a young girl, pulling sales tags in exchange for a nickel or dime from her grandfather, Walter Smithe Jr. She sounds annoyed that the spill isn't absorbing, like there's some insurance scheme that hinges on being able to stain this white couch. The transition took place over the span of 12 years as key positions became available in the company, starting with Maureen who became a merchandise buyer.

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