How to Buy a Generational Brand with $20m in Sales | Philip Hussey Interview
Open on YouTube ↗Philip Hussey is a Chenmark GVP (General Vice President) who became CEO of Thomas Moser, a legendary Maine-based high-end furniture manufacturer founded in 1972, roughly 11 months before this episode was recorded. Chenmark — the perpetual-hold, no-outside-investors small business acquirer co-founded by Trish, Palmer, and James Higgins — acquired Thomas Moser in 2024 after Philip sourced the deal through a personal outreach to the founder's family while simultaneously a second-degree network connection linked Chenmark to the Moser advisory board. The business does approximately $20m in revenue across four retail locations (Maine, Boston, DC, San Francisco) and an institutional contract business, but operates at only ~5% EBITDA margins despite an iconic brand — the core thesis is that the brand is worth far more than the business's current earnings suggest. The deal was structured as cash at close plus seller debt plus an earnout, with no SBA financing. Philip's operational plan centers on eliminating discounting to restore premium pricing, automating manual back-office processes to free up staff for high-touch customer experiences, optimizing working capital (faster final payment collection, right-sizing lumber inventory), and expanding the craftsman training program. The central tension is that the business is asset-heavy, geographically constrained for talent, and defined by slow handcrafted production — making operational efficiency gains difficult without diluting the very quality and authenticity the brand rests on.
Deal facts
- multiple
- traditional EBITDA multiple (not disclosed)
- sde ebitda
- ~$1m EBITDA (implied: ~5% margin on ~$20m revenue)
- revenue
- ~$20m
- financing structure
- cash at close + seller debt + earnout (no SBA)
- notes
- Chenmark acquisition; earnout tied to incremental value creation for the selling family; no outside investors; long-term hold with no exit underwriting
Why this business
Philip grew up in Maine in a family manufacturing business and had known about Thomas Moser his entire life. He never stopped searching for Maine businesses while running Chenmark's Cape Cod landscaping company. He reached out personally because of a tangential family connection (had sailed with one of the Moser grandsons), and simultaneously a second-degree connection linked the Moser advisory board to Chenmark founder Trish Higgins. The brand was iconic, the craftsmen were irreplaceable, and the gap between the brand's prestige and its thin margins suggested significant upside.
What's working
- World-class product quality — craftsmen sign every piece, average tenure is 15 years, a third of the workforce has been there over 25 years
- Iconic, multi-decade brand with proven loyalty among luxury residential and institutional buyers (Harvard, Yale, New York Public Library, Steve Jobs)
- Vertically integrated manufacturing gives full quality control and deep customer relationships
- Contract business (25% of revenue) generates higher contribution margins than residential
- Catalog-driven inbound sales and high-touch phone/design-center model drives conversion for high-ticket items
- Chenmark's long-term hold orientation and access to a larger balance sheet enables working capital optimization (e.g., collecting final payments earlier, reducing excess lumber inventory, improved credit card processing)
- Launched a seconds program online to serve customers who want product immediately
- New weekly pickup shipper cut shipping time in half
- Opened a training center (in Tom Moser's former workshop) led by a 40-year employee to train the next generation of cabinet makers
What's hard
- Thin margins (~5% EBITDA on $20m revenue) despite an exceptional brand — the business had leaned heavily on discounting since 2008
- Backend processes are 'as handmade as our furniture' — manual payment collection, manual data entry, lack of automation constraining customer experience
- Manufacturing capacity is fixed and hard to flex up or down; unlike asset-light retailers, craftsmen must be kept employed regardless of order flow
- 12-to-18-week lead times create customer friction; during COVID wait times exceeded 30 weeks
- High-mix, low-volume production makes supply chain optimization difficult
- Philip is not a craftsman and must earn credibility in a brand where craft is everything
- Talent pool for new craftsmen is geographically constrained to central Maine
- It takes years to train a craftsman to full competence, limiting how quickly capacity can be added
Notable quotes
Tom believed our furniture should last longer than the life of the tree that it came from.
The brand was worth more than the business and how can we tap into that to go drive value for everybody at the company.
Our backend processes are as handmade as our furniture.
I view my job as not to mess that up.
Tom's big statement was, 'I'm not Thomas Moser. You all are.' Talking to the craftsman.
When you step into run a business, you should do it in a way that's authentic to yourself and not try to be somebody else. Because when you try to be somebody else, you'll fail.