Our Story

The Davis Furniture story reflects the "spirit of enterprise" so common in the early development of the furniture industry in High Point, North Carolina. During World War II, John Turner Davis, Sr. recognized what many enterprising High Pointers had already seen during sixty years of furniture manufacturing in the area: starting a family business was a way to establish future prosperity for him and his family.

At the time of his realization, John was working as an upholstery foreman at Tomlinson Furniture, itself an old family business started in the mid 1800s. His eldest daughter, Dorothy Davis Haines was working as a bookkeeper with the new Heritage Furniture Company. This pair had an excellent knowledge of the furniture industry, and so in 1944 the Davis Upholstery Company was founded.

1944

Davis Upholstery Co. is founded by John T. Davis, Sr. with the help of his wife, Hattie Lee Davis, and his daughter, Dorothy Davis Haines, at 1315 South Main Street High Point, NC. Their focus was on upholstery and repair work.

1945

Davis Upholstery Co. moves to 115 East Davis Avenue and expands to include three upholsterers, a sewer, a maintenance man and a finishing area.

1946

John T. Davis, Jr. returns home from serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, marries Frances Honbarrier and joins his father’s company.

1947

Davis Upholstery Co. begins to manufacture chairs and occasional tables.

1953

Davis Upholstery Co. continues to grow with the purchase of a parcel of land at 602 Linden Street. This location would become the company’s headquarters and continues to serve as such today.

1954

Davis Upholstery Co. discovers a new market building furniture for colleges and universities up and down the East Coast. In 1954, Florida State University placed an order for over 800 chairs after testing the quality of the Davis product by tossing a sample chair from a second-story window. The chair survived, and Davis had found a niche.

1961

Davis Upholstery Co. introduces their first ever contract seating program.

1964

Upon the retirement of his father, John T. Davis, Jr. becomes president of the company and renames it Davis Furniture Industries, Inc

1967

Davis Furniture makes a shift towards the contract
market, incorporating more executive chairs into the product offering.

1969

Davis Furniture celebrates its 25th anniversary and releases its first case goods collection.

1973

Davis Furniture opens a showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, IL.

1976

At the start of the New Year in 1976, Danny Davis, the current president, joined his father and older brother, Randy Davis, in the family business.

1977

Davis Furniture begins manufacturing furniture designed by Robert Bernard Associates, starting with the RB Series and RB Cube Series, establishing the company in the modern furniture landscape.

1978

The Davis family hosts a Christmas luncheon for all employees and their families, thus starting an annual tradition. Mr. Davis had a cooker built in the Davis metal plant so that he could smoke BBQ for the event, and the same cooker is still used today.

1979

A new direction in product design and development is led through licensing European designs with the help of Neils Risom, the brother of iconic Danish designer, Jens Risom. Davis approached Dreipunkt Art Collection of Germany and forged a licensing agreement by which the company was to manufacture German products in North America.

1980

Davis Furniture hits primetime television, furnishing J.R. Ewing’s office in the award-winning show, Dallas.

1987

A relationship is started with German designer, Burkhard Vogtherr. The Motion chair, the first Vogtherr design brought to market by Davis, represents a revolutionary shift in thinking about executive office furniture design, ultimately becoming a staple for Davis Furniture for the next 25 years.

1989

Davis Furniture expands its international presence with licensing deals in Germany, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Italy.

1994

In celebration of Davis’ 50th anniversary, Mayor Richard Daley declares June 12th “John T. Davis, Jr. Day” in Chicago. The company employs about 160 employees and approximately 100 sales representatives.

1995

The Zoom table designed by Jürg Spörri is awarded Best of Competition at NeoCon.

1996

Danny Davis becomes president of Davis Furniture.

1997

The Webb chair by Burkhard Vogtherr is introduced at NeoCon. Davis Furniture collaborates with Dupont on the webbing for the chair.

Zeno by Wolfgang C.R. Mezger is introduced at NeoCon, winning the best of NeoCon Gold Award.

2000

Davis Furniture opens a New York showroom in the New York Design Center at 200 Lexington Ave.

2001

Ashley Davis Williams, the family’s fourth generation, joins Davis Furniture.

2003

Brian Davis joins Davis Furniture.

The Aero bench, designed by Lievore Altherr Molina, wins Best of Competition at NeoCon.

2008

Davis Furniture launches their relationship with design team jehs+laub with the release of the Tune table. Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub have designed many of Davis' best-selling products, including the Ginkgo family, the A-Collection, and many more.

2011

The Sketch Chair is introduced, designed through a collaboration between Burkhard Vogtherr and Jonathan Prestwich, thus beginning Davis’ longstanding relationship with Jonathan.

Burkhard had worked alongside and mentored Jonathan for six years prior to Jonathan opening his own studio in London.

2013

Davis Furniture introduces the Elements Collection, a line of office accessories that complement their modern furniture.

2015

Davis Furniture adds powder coating facility to existing metalworking plant, expanding their in-house capabilities.

2019

Davis Furniture celebrates its 75th anniversary, while also opening a showroom in Washington, D.C.

2021

Davis Furniture opens new Corporate Headquarters and manufacturing facility in High Point, NC campus.

We have a saying here at Davis, 'It's all about the product, and the product is about design.' At Davis, with every product we bring to the drawing table...the focus is always about design...the aesthetics of the design...the function of the design...and the value of the design. This is what our customers look to Davis to offer them.

Danny Davis, President