Al Williams and Jason Smith accepts their Dealer of the Year Award at the 2024 BrandSource Convention.
Clinton Appliance and Furniture Receives Dealer of the Year Award
YSN Staff
Back in 1952, the business that would one day become a BrandSource Dealer of the Year began as a service station that sold tires and appliances.
Now an appliance and furniture retailer, Clinton Appliance and Furniture of Clinton, N.C. was named the 2024 BrandSource Dealer of the Year for the South Atlantic Region at the BrandSource National Convention & EXPO, held Aug. 25-28 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas.
From the beginning, owners L.M. Horne and J.A. Williams made continuous adjustments — adding on to their building, changing the focus and goosing the product mix. Eventually they turned to furniture and appliances and added a second location, which they called Clinton Appliance & Furniture Company. That location is where the business still stands today.
Passing the Baton
The owners’ sons, Dwight Horne and Al Williams, purchased the business from their fathers in 1985, consolidated the operation and used the original location as a warehouse. More changes followed, and in 2021 Horne retired and VP Jason Smith took his place as a co-owner.
Clinton Appliance & Furniture joined BrandSource in 1997 and has embraced the group’s events and benefits. The business has a low-price guarantee in every department, and proudly asserts its “treat you like family” attitude. Now in its 67th year, the company has grown to 22 employees.
“Since 1997, the BrandSource buying group has helped our company be more competitive in the appliance market through the ability to keep costs down and more in line with big box competitors,” Horne and Williams said in a joint statement. “BrandSource has allowed us to transcend our local market to create lasting and valuable business relationships that enrich our company’s ability to give our customers a worthwhile buying experience.”
The BrandSource Dealer of the Year awards are presented annually to members who have demonstrated a continued commitment to excellence in the retail industry and to their fellow BrandSource dealers. The winners, who are selected by the members within each of the group’s 14 regions, also show their support of BrandSource and its vendor partners by attending regional meetings and national events such as the annual Convention and Summit.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
