Farmer’s Furniture launches expanded leadership academy

Farmers Home Furniture has unveiled renovations at the company’s Dublin-based home office housing an expanded training program for store managers and employees in leadership positions.

The Farmers Academy of Leadership was announced by the employee-owned home furnishing retailer in September. The program, a mix of in-person training and computer simulation, followed by shadowing and working with other managers, doubles Farmers’ training capacity to about 60 employees at a time. 

“We know that there are small towns all over the country that are perfect for Farmers Home Furniture and we want to have the right people in place,” said company President Gabe Selman. “A lot of companies run from small-town America. We make ourselves at home, hire the people there and help them build that business.” 

The program helps teach business management skills, such as running each store’s in-house credit department and inventory control, and focuses heavily on providing high level customer service.  

“Our plan is relational,” Selman said. “We know our customers by name.” 

Selman said the new program currently had nearly 40 people, a mix of new hires and promotions, enrolled. Completion takes between seven and nine months, depending on the employees’ experience level. 

Founded in Soperton in the 1949, Farmers Home Furniture now has more than 260 stores in seven states. The Treutlen County store, founded by Sherwin Glass, was destroyed by Hurricane Helene last year. The company recently broke ground on the new building. Farmers Home Furniture now has about 2,300 employees, with about 300 of them housed in the company’s Dublin corporate offices and distribution center. 

The company, which has been employee owned since 2013, expects more growth on the horizon with hopes to open 10 to 15 new stores each year. 

“We are looking for people that put in the hard work, prepare themselves, and are ready to get in the game,” said Phillip Faircloth, Farmers’ chairman and CEO in a statement announcing the new training program. “We’re looking for people that say ‘Put me in, Coach.'”