Jim Telleysh has been named National Sales Manager at Watermark Living, a complete casual furnishings resource created by retailers for retailers.
Telleysh is a casual furniture industry veteran who most recently served as President of Braxton Culler, where he led the company’s strategic direction and operations and is credited with improving productivity, as well as opening new market channels. With some 25 years of experience, he has also worked as Vice President and General Manager of Upholstery for Lexington Home Brands; Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Southern Furniture; and as a Sales and Marketing Manager for Clayton Marcus. At Watermark Living Telleysh’s focus will center on helping traditional full-line furniture stores realize opportunities in the fast-growing outdoor business.
“As a resource that is laser-focused on the needs of retailers in today’s competitive marketplace, I believe Watermark Living is uniquely positioned,” he says. “A subsidiary of Leaders Casual Furniture, a highly successful 19-store, family owned- and -operated chain with 47 years of experience, this brand stands out because it was developed with a retail mindset.”
Indeed, specializing in fashionable and customizable contract-grade products for indoors and out in a broad range of materials, Watermark Living is designed to be a one-stop resource for retailers, providing maximum choice in a minimum footprint. Offerings include upholstered looks encompassing both traditional and deep seating options (they produce their own cushions in-house with an extensive line of trend-right fabrics), as well as dining, lighting and decorative accessories. Products are stocked for fast delivery inside the company’s state-of-the-art, 120,000-square-foot distribution center located in Largo, FL. In-stock items ship in as little as 48 hours and special-order cushions are delivered in under 21 days.
“We eliminate the need for a dealer to stock a lot of inventory,” Telleysh says. “There are no containers to buy, low freight rates and dealers enjoy fast turnaround and easy-to-use programs that are retailer friendly because they have been developed by successful merchants who understand what retailers need in order to increase gross margins and avoid end-of-the-season markdowns.”
The executive is already busy growing the company’s sales force with seasoned representatives armed with experience that mirrors his own. In other words, each new hire he brings into the fold has deep and broad relationships with traditional furniture stores. At the same time, Telleysh intends to elevate Watermark Living’s presence in the interior design community and encourages designers to visit the year-round showroom conveniently located at 205 South Main Street in High Point, before, during and in-between Markets.
“This is not a new company; it’s a rebranded company,” he says, “with a decades-long heritage in importing and the rattan business. On the one hand, rattan as a valued, natural material with a sustainable story is making a comeback, particularly with designers seeking accent and specialty items that can add an organic feel to a space. On the other, Watermark Living is so much more, with products to furnish any environment. Our exclusive designs are extensively tested for UV and salt-water environments and we are leading the way with new materials like PoliSoul™, a poly lumber with the texture and heft of solid wood.”
He sums: “Watermark Living is a natural fit for me and I’m very excited to be a part of a new entity operated by a young, innovative and tech-savvy team of merchants with computer and reporting systems far beyond anything I’ve seen in our industry. They have created a spot-on product line based on their knowledge of exactly what turns on the consumer. Long before they ever bring the products to market, they know what will sell. And that is an approach I expect that dealers will, no doubt, find extremely refreshing.”
