Consulting & Research Services

The consulting and research side of our firm conducts industry analysis which focuses on consumer products companies. We publish various manufacturing, retail, distribution, strategy and demographic reports. In addition, we regularly consult company management teams and their investors and provide litigation and expert witness testimony services to a diverse set of clients.

Driven by Founding Partner Jerry Epperson’s respected insight and long-term commitment to the furniture and mattress industries, our firm provides industry specific knowledge to clients involved with mergers, acquisitions, private placements, public offerings, debt refinancing and strategic planning. Our professionals enjoy close relationships across a broad spectrum of companies that uniquely enable us to add value in identifying buyers, citing industry trends and forecasting growth prospects.

Research Publications

Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd. publishes the Furnishings Digest, a monthly research piece dating back to 1974 that is distributed by paid subscription to furniture manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and other industry participants. Our research is also provided to various furniture associations, trade press organizations, and other interested parties such as the International Trade Administration and the Federal Reserve Bank’s Board of Governors. A free monthly e-newsletter gives insight into industry trends and is distributed to thousands worldwide.

The proprietary nature of the Furnishings Digest, with its exclusive surveys and data interpretation, keeps Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd. close to the industry, including but not limited to, daily dialogues with industry leaders in both the public and private sectors. Data is coordinated with industry associations and governmental sources to maintain the accuracy and integrity of our research.

Special Furnishings Digest studies in various industry sectors, characteristics and topics along with economics and demographic research keep our firm in front of the industry and its investors by scrutinizing and presenting data that is very difficult, if not impossible, for others to attain in the marketplace. While our demographic studies were established to help analyze the furniture business, we have found them to be highly beneficial to clients across the entire consumer sector.  We try to look “behind the numbers” and determine which macroeconomic factors, industry trends and intangibles will drive both the industry and individual company results.

With our research publications, we attempt to make a real difference within the industry. In addition to writing a bi-weekly column in Furniture Today, the industry’s leading business weekly with 22,000 readers, Jerry Epperson is a member of the Economic Forecast Panel of the International Sleep Products Association, a board member of the Furniture Library, a member of the American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation and a regular columnist for the National Home Furnishings Association’s trade journals.

Consulting

Whereas many research analysts must initiate calls with companies, top management teams regularly seek us out to discuss industry issues and statistics that are not available elsewhere. Our distinctive approach to research has enabled us to provide an unparalleled quality of tailored strategic and financial consulting services to management teams and investors searching for a competitive advantage. We offer rare data points and a unique business perspective, shaped by over 125 years of aggregate experience.

We have known many of today’s top executives on a personal level long before they gained their current positions at their respective companies. In many cases, we worked with the companies for years before they went public, and have known multiple generations of owners/managers of family-controlled firms. Our clients have found it comforting that we can relate current deals and business cycles with past historical events on a macroeconomic, industry and company level. Committed to thinking about strategy and long range planning alongside numerous public and private companies, the partners at Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd. have earned a strong reputation based on confidentiality, trust and professionalism.

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Testimony

We regularly provide advice and/or assistance in preparing and providing testimony for use by our clients and their attorneys as they prepare for and defend against actual or threatened corporate and personal litigation.