Hershel Alpert - BA, Colby College
Hershel Alpert is the Charlton Executive-in-Residence. Mr. Alpert is currently the Principal of Alpert Consulting and is a consultant to the President of Serta International Mattress Company. He is the former President/CEO of Alperts Furniture, a 150,000 square foot furniture warehouse and showroom facility which was located in Seekonk, Massachusetts, three miles from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The showroom produced substantially more dollars per square foot than stores of its size and was amongst the most productive in the industry.
From 1964-1972, Mr. Alpert was President of Arlan's Furniture with stores in Massachusetts, New York State and Florida. From 1972-1985, Mr. Alpert was President of Alperts Furniture Warehouse and Showroom, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Cinema Corporation (formerly Harcourt General Corp.) with 15 stores in New York, Ohio, Florida and Massachusetts.
Alperts was a highly systemic company and was fully computerized since 1972 and had radio frequency bar coding since 1990. Its sales system was P.O.S. and it employed computer aided design systems for its sales associates. All systems were created internally.
Mr. Alpert was President and Chairman of the National Home Furnishing Association (NHFA), founded in 1919 and is the leading trade association, with 3,000 members having over 10,000 stores, serving the specific needs of home furnishings retailers. NHFA provides essential information, government representation, professional education and training, and business and operating tools to its members, in addition to providing industry-wide leadership on key issues affecting retailers. Mr. Alpert also serves on the boards of the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the United WayFund (New Bedford area) and was a member of the City of New Bedford Industrial Development Financing Authority. He currently serves on the City of New Bedford Airport Commission.
Mr. Alpert is an authority and expert on the furniture business and retailing and has been quoted in a variety of business publications including: Inc. Magazine, Furniture Today, and the Boston Business Journal. Mr. Alpert holds a BA degree in Business from Colby College where he was awarded the Congdon Medal as the outstanding senior of his class.
