In memory of Simon Kaplan, chairman and CEO of Crest Furniture

A man remembered as one who was a great motivator, who spent time on the development of his people, Simon Kaplan worked and lived his passion every day for the Dayton, N.J.-based Crest Furniture and its employees, coming in to work the day before he died on Jan. 12.

Kaplan, a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient, founded the New Jersey-based furniture group with a single store in the early 1970s. As of 2021, it had grown to 20 stores, including Value City Furniture and Ashley HomeStores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

He once said he lived his life by slogans, and a visitor to his office at Crest Furniture could see some of those slogans hanging on the walls: “Lead from the front;” “Never let power go to your head;” “Remain humble, develop your team;” and “Hang tough; never, never give up.”

Those slogans are part of the message of Maj. Dick Winters, who commanded the US Army regiment immortalized as the Band of Brothers during World War II.

Winters’ book on management combined with the writings of W. Edwards Deming, the quality management expert credited with restoration of postwar Japan, are major concepts in Kaplan’s life. In fact, Kaplan told Furniture Today in 2013, “Deming changed my life.”

“I fell in love with his philosophy,” he said. “I adjusted my thinking as to what retail should be. Deming became the foundation for my business. The basic precept is that you must strive for continuous improvement.”

Over months and years, Kaplan and his employees developed the core values for the company and the company mission statement: “Building Solutions for Customers by Working Together.” As Kaplan put it:

“We want to be the best-run furniture company around.”

Another driving force for Kaplan was his experiences in World War II. He served in the Army infantry and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge by a mortar shell. “The war changed my life,” he told Furniture Today. “You never doubted the value of life after being in a war.”

He kept WWII veterans on the payroll for many years because, as he once said, they don’t quit early or give up easily.

Beginning a legacy

After being discharged from the Army and graduating from college, Kaplan couldn’t find a job in his chosen field of mechanical engineering, so he opened a business, selling house to house. His father, a Russian immigrant, and his uncle, who came from Poland, joined him as partners.

After the Newark riots of 1967, the partners decided outside sales were too dangerous and leased a storefront in Bayonne.

Kress Furniture became Crest Furniture. His father decided to retire in a few years, and the business remained with Kaplan and his uncle, Larry Young, who died in 2013.

In 2013, Kaplan told Furniture Today that, along with the war and Deming, his marriage is the third leg on his stool in considering his life values. “I love my wife, and it’s lasted a long time, thank God. I think it’s been a good one.”

Annett Kaplan worked with her husband at Crest Furniture until shortly before she passed away in May 2018. Their offices were a distance apart in the building, he once said  with a chuckle, to insure their marriage. “Annett is wonderful at creating the aesthetic of the store,” he said. “She has a wonderful eye for color, she’s a perfectionist.”

Honors bestowed

Kaplan’s generosity, both personal and corporate, is well-known throughout the industry. He’s been honored by the Metropolitan Furnishings Assn. of New Jersey, the Furniture Marketing Group and the Greater N.Y. Home Furnishings Assn. And one very honor that he considered very special was receiving the “employee of the year” award from his own employees.

In 2011, some 400 industry leaders and guests gathered to pay tribute to Kaplan during an inaugural City of Hope dinner cruise around Manhattan. The Cruise for Hope raised $170,000 for the City of Hope for research and treatment programs for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Then in October 2018, Ashley Furniture Inds. presented Crest Furniture’s Simon Kaplan with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its showroom in High Point in recognition of his many years of service to the furniture industry and those with whom he has worked.

In 2019, the National Home Furnishings Industry’s chapter of the Anti-Defamation League honored three industry leaders, among them Kaplan, by then chairman and CEO of Crest Furniture. Kaplan was honored with the ADL’s Lifetime Achievement Award, created to recognize those who have demonstrated love, compassion and sensitivity for mankind, through contributions of time, energy and efforts with their commitment to spreading the message of ADL among friends, colleagues and the community.

Reflecting in his later years on the three driving forces in his life, Kaplan told Furniture Today that like the WWII veterans he employed, he would never give up.

“I plan to work until the day I die,” he says firmly, “as long as my mind is there. I would never want to be a detriment to my company, but I plan to work.” And he did.

— with excerpts from Furniture Today’s 2013 Masters of the Game

Remembering Simon Kaplan

Mike Herschel, FMG

Simon Kaplan has been a mentor for 20 years. He was president of the group when I was hired in 2000. He formed a hiring committee, and I was lucky enough to be selected at that time. He was president of the group for my first five or six years. I learned a lot from Simon. He was not shy in sharing his experiences.

I have to say a lot of people look at his longevity, the way he was always energetic, the way he wanted to learn better ways of doing things. He went to every educational seminar that we ever offered and many more.

John D. Bassett III, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture

Like many others in the industry, I knew Simon for years, and it was always pleasant to have a conversation with him. He started with almost nothing and built a wonderful and very successful furniture company. Simon had friends everywhere and cultivated an environment in which everyone enjoyed working and doing business. He’ll certainly be missed.

Kim Yost, Mega Group

I had just turned 60, and I had been traveling to Simon’s office twice per year for a lot of years from Canada. I was feeling a little melancholy and wondered if I was going to retire. Simon has just turned 90.

I was sitting in his office, and I said I didn’t know if I should retire; I had been working since my early teens in the industry. He said, “Let me give you some advice. You’re 60 years old, and I’m 90 years old. You have 30 years to make something of yourself. This is a good news story.” I said, “Thank you for that.”

He told me I had three whole decades to make something of myself; what a mindset! A lot of people, when they hit 60, they hang up the skates and move on to that next chapter. Simon looked at me and said that’s not for you. I find that says so much about Simon. He and his partner Sidney both worked past their 90s.

Simon became a hero, and we all have to have heroes. He was an inspiration and was our beacon of hope inasmuch as people keep going. Age is not a factor, it’s about mindset. I think he was a hero in many people’s hearts and minds.

When you’ve been on the planet 98 years and built a store after World War II, I think there are endless things that could be said about Simon. We all need heroes in life.

Batman’s a hero; Superman’s a hero; Wonder Woman’s a hero. In my life, Simon was my Superman, and he was a great inspiration for me.

I spoke to him every Sunday. No matter what time zone I was in, I always called him, and we would talk about business and sales and marketing. I’m going to miss calling him on Sundays. 

Ron Wanek, Ashley Furniture Inds.

Simon has always been a great educator and mentor to his employees. He’s someone that I’ve learned from. He’s excellent at using storytelling to help explain the ‘why.’ If people don’t understand the ‘why,’ they won’t get things done. — from Ashley’s special event to honor Simon Kaplan in October 2018