SoMo Home adds stationary line amid Chapter 11 restructuring

By James Calloway

SoMo Home brought new stationary upholstery product to the October 2026 High Point Market, its first market with new product on that side, after Matt Harrison joined as executive consultant less than two months following Southern Motion’s Chapter 11 filing.

The appointment came less than one year after Hong Kong-based Man Wah bought Southern Motion and Fusion Furniture in December 2025. In the structure described by Harrison, SoMo Home comprises the rebranded Southern Motion upholstery specialist and sister company Fusion Furniture.

Harrison previously served as president of Kuka Home North America and executive vice president of sales for North America, after holding executive sales and management roles at Kuka Motion, Man Wah and Avanti Furniture, according to the Home News Now interview.

“Honestly, we had a great market,” Harrison said. “From being owned by a private equity company, to being bought by Man Wah, to filing Chapter 11, every customer I had a chance to talk to was encouraging and supportive of our future.”

Harrison said customers understood the company would build on its existing team and viewed Man Wah’s financial backing as strengthening their commitment.

What does Chapter 11 change at the factory?

Chapter 11 (court-supervised bankruptcy restructuring) has not settled SoMo Home’s operating footprint in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Harrison described three live actions:

• Harrison said SoMo Home is in talks with its landlord to renegotiate leases or buy the facilities it occupies.
• He said the company has looked at several other nearby buildings if those talks fail to produce a favorable result.
• Harrison expects an announcement about the company’s future home soon, although he gave no date.

None of those options constituted a disclosed lease or purchase agreement, and the interview gave no terms for either. Harrison acknowledged both inherited operating problems and issues stemming from the filing. He said the company was working through them one by one, improving old processes and using advanced machinery to become leaner and more efficient.

He used Kuka as a precedent: when he became president six years earlier, Kuka had gone through three presidents in three years. Harrison said customers backed the team he built, and Kuka took off after a couple of years. He presented that experience, rather than a guaranteed forecast, as the reason for expecting stability at SoMo Home.

How is Man Wah changing production?

Harrison said: “The parent company has shipped state-of-the-art machinery from Asia to Pontotoc to make SoMo Home as vertically integrated as possible.”

Harrison said the disclosed scope covers more in-house work (production steps handled internally), from pouring foam to laser-cutting fabric and leather. He added that Man Wah’s commitment went beyond the December 2025 purchase price and supported SoMo Home’s goal of returning to special-order (made-to-specification), made-in-the-USA production. He did not disclose the machinery count, investment value or commissioning schedule.

What did the October market introduce?

The stationary launch was led by Rich Favata, who joined about eight months earlier and had previously worked with Harrison. Harrison said Favata’s team was creating new palettes and refreshing classic styles with updated cover combinations for the October market.

The new Grand Living category combined fresh styles, greater size and scale, and aggressive price points, which Harrison said drew strong interest on the showroom floor.

Across stationary and motion seating, Harrison positioned special orders at those price points as SoMo Home’s competitive advantage. Retailers also saw motion products in development, including cleaner styles with the size and scale that Harrison said imports struggle to deliver because of container limits.

What are Revive and the dealer packages?

Revive, SoMo Home’s in-stock warehouse program, pairs stationary groups in 100% top-grain leather with a broad assortment of leather and fabric motion ready to ship immediately. Harrison said the company plans to expand the offering from one market to the next.

Dealer packages form another stated growth category. They combine stationary and motion with special-order options in three footprints (floor-area configurations) and arrive with point-of-purchase materials (in-store selling support), hangtags and signage. Harrison said customers reacted well and cited strong buy-in from the dealer base, without giving an order or revenue figure.

The interview did not quantify that buy-in, so the reported enthusiasm remains a management assessment rather than a disclosed order commitment.

Who is leading the sales operation?

Harrison’s sales leadership now includes Joelle Kuhlman as executive vice president of North American sales, a recent hire whose experience he linked to customer trust and stability. Rich Favata and Harrison also work together on the stationary range.

He said the Mississippi team had stayed with the company through the transition. SoMo Home also marks its 30th year in business, with Harrison describing Pontotoc’s record as building furniture for the American market and the new ownership as a foundation for another 30 years.

Neither the interview nor the company statements supplied factory headcount, order volumes, capacity utilisation, lease economics or the value of Man Wah’s equipment shipments.

For SoMo Home’s dealer and sourcing customers, the immediate decision is whether to place special-order volume with Pontotoc while the lease outcome and operating footprint remain unsettled.

October showroom support and Man Wah’s machinery deliveries are not secured supply commitments. Buyers still need the future-home announcement, confirmed production scope and delivery terms before treating current capacity as stable.