Celebrating ‘Mattress George’–Retailer Art Van lauded senior mattress buyer for his efforts in 2012. Pictured, from left: Bob Price, Art Van senior vice president of merchandising; David Van Elslander, Art Van PureSleep vice president; Bruni; and Kim Yost, Art Van chief executive officer.
Warren, Mich.-based furniture retailer Art Van has named George Bruni, the chain’s veteran bedding buyer, its 2012 Art Van Furniture Buyer of the Year. Bruni leads a four-member team and has been senior buyer for mattresses for 23 years.
Bruni, known as “Mattress George,” earned the honor based on his sales results, profit contribution and exceptional degree of teamwork exhibited during the year, the company said. He is responsible for merchandising the retailer’s 70 mattress departments and freestanding stores, which include Art Van PureSleep and Mattress World. The retailer floors 10 mattress brands.
“Mattresses had the largest percentage of sales growth year to year and drove the largest amount of traffic into our stores,” said Kim Yost, Art Van chief executive officer. “It was a record-breaking year for mattress sales at Art Van and Bruni led our team for sales growth.”
David Van Elslander, Art Van Pure Sleep vice president, added, “Our mattress business is critical to our success. Bruni’s expertise in merchandising our Art Van Pure Sleep business and our Mattress World business is unparalleled.”
