Pioneering the Path to $2,000,000: Mike Cohen Propels to the Top
Stories from the River
This episode on YouTube: Welcome back to Stories from the River. As we close out 2025, we bring you an exclusive insight into Home Furnishings Expert "Iron" Mike Cohen's success for the year, selling over $2,000,000 for the Cary Crushers in just his 3rd full year with Broad River. Mike has been with Broad River since July 2022. Mike shares his story and his path to success with Head Coach Stacey McCormick (EVP, Retail Performance) in today's episode (our final episode of the year). Mike began his career with The River as a Home Furnishings Associate in Durham in the...
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Celebrating the Promise and Joy of Christmas with Jimmy and Suzi Kallam
Stories from the River
Merry Christmas and welcome back to Stories from the River. We hope you are having a lovely day filled with love, joy, peace, family, and support. Today we wanted to bring you a special holiday episode. Manny Rodrigues, Broad River's President and COO, welcomes his in-laws, Jimmy Kallam and Suzi Kallam, for a heartfelt holiday conversation. Jimmy and Suzi are founders of Tandem Spirituality, a ministry which focuses on supporting pastors, Christian leaders, and anyone seeking connection and guidance. Jimmy shares the origins and purpose of his latest book, Struggling Well with Life,...
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Special Announcement: Broad River Expands into Portland, Maine, in 2026
Stories from the River
This episode on YouTube: Welcome back to Stories from the River. Today, Charlie Malouf and Manny Rodrigues make a very special announcement: Broad River Retail plans to open a new store in Portland, Maine. Internally announced to Memory Makers during a Companywide Town Hall on December 18th, Broad River is expanding into northern New England in 2026. Broad River is proud to bring an an Ashley Store & Outlet to South Portland in the Jetport Plaza shopping center. The 44,900 square feet store will feature a flagship Ashley 7.0 showroom, an Ashley Outlet, an expanded sleep shop,...
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2025 Holiday Town Hall: Growth, Store Remodels, Financial Performance
Stories from the River
This episode on YouTube: Welcome back to Stories from the River. In this episode, Charlie Malouf (CEO) and Tyler Trill (Senior Communications Manager) share highlights from Broad River's Holly Jolly Town Hall held earlier this morning (Thursday, December 18th), an internal companywide event that isn’t publicly available. This was Broad River Retail's final town hall of the year, and it celebrated the major milestone of Broad River’s first successful year in its six-year plan to double in size by 2030. The company is expected to reach its annual revenue goal of $272M, setting the...
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New Broad River Store Set to Open in Spokane, WA - Behind the Scenes with Stacey McCormick
Stories from the River
In today's episode, Head Coach and EVP of Retail Performance, Stacey McCormick, is on location in the Spokane, WA, store during its store opening and setup efforts. Stacey takes our audience behind the scenes while on location from Spokane, Washington. Later this month, in fact this coming Saturday, December 20th, Broad River will open a brand new store in a market over 2500 miles and three time zones away from its headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina. That's right, Spokane is finally happening. We started this year with our word of the year, Pioneer. We end the year...
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Operation Tis the Season: Spreading Holiday Magic to Memory Maker Families at Broad River Retail
Stories from the River
The holiday season is in full stride at Broad River Retail. On this episode on Stories from the River, Heather Greenwood, Broad River's Director of People and Emelyne Henderson, Broad River's Senior Manager of Experience & Events give us a behind-the-scenes look at Operation Tis the Season, a cherished initiative at Broad River Retail. It's a Memory Makers Helping Memory Makers program, in which the community comes together to ensure all of the children have something special to open on Christmas Day. Emelyne heads the organization of the program and ensures that every element, from...
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Broad River Fast Tracks Easley Express and Other Exciting Updates
Stories from the River
Welcome back to Stories from the River. December is here, so Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO and Stories from the River podcast host is back with a laundry list of updates. First, we are happy to announce the opening of a brand new store in Easley, South Carolina. A two-in-one, dual concept Ashley Store & Outlet. Even though new store openings are most definitely kind of a big deal around here, the Easley store seemed to have sprouted out of nowhere, and that's all thanks to our incredible team that works tirelessly behind the scenes. Charlie explains the process and...
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The Secrets of AFI Boot Camp - How to Teach Product Knowledge with Love and Passion
Stories from the River
Welcome back to Stories from the River. Today we continue our journey behind the scenes of the Ashley’s ‘Right to Win' Product Knowledge Boot Camp that was held at the Pineville Flagship Store this October. This time, Heather Greenwood, Broad River's Director of People sits across from Kaylee Kirchner, Ashley's AFI trainer. To start, Kirchner's love and dedication to her craft shine through the episode as she enthusiastically describes what she most enjoys about these trainings (spoiler alert: it's everything!). In all seriousness, Kirchner reveals the origin of the boot camp program, how...
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Elevating Your Game: Behind the Scenes at the AFI Boot Camp at Broad River Retail!
Stories from the River
Welcome back to Stories from the River. In this episode, our guest host and Broad River's Director of People, Heather Greenwood welcomes Kelly Villastrigo, a Million Dollar Memory Maker and Home Furnishings Expert, for a behind-the-scenes look at the AFI Boot Camp training at Broad River Retail’s Pineville flagship store. Villastrigo shares his journey at Broad River, celebrating nearly two years with the company, and highlights what makes Ashley Furniture stand out—particularly the “mom and pop feel” paired with big company resources. They discuss the lessons learned during the boot...
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Inside Ashley 7.0: Showroom Transformation and Design Insights with Sandy Ruhlin
Stories from the River
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and welcome back to Stories from the River. As we conclude the Grand Reopening Celebration Series from last month's Mooresville, North Carolina, Ashley Store, we turn to Manny Rodrigues and his guest for the day, Sandy Ruhlin, Broad River's Home Furnishings Expert and Million Dollar Memory Maker. Ruhlin was around to remember how the store looked years before the remodel, and even though the team at The Lake never stopped winning, she welcomes this new Ashley 7.0 redesign with excitement and joy. The conversation focuses on the impact these new changes have on the...
info_outlineIn this episode of Stories from the River, host Charlie Malouf takes viewers and listeners on a behind-the-scenes journey through Broad River Retail’s 2nd Quarter Companywide Town Hall that took place on Friday, May 16, 2025. He explains the origins and purpose of the quarterly Town Halls, highlighting how they have become a crucial channel for transparent communication and engagement with Memory Makers across the company. Charlie walks through the meticulous planning and collaborative preparation that goes into these events, emphasizing the blend of important companywide updates, recognition of recent promotions, the celebration of new leaders, and shout-outs for outstanding achievements—like high retention rates and major awards for the Company or specific departments. The Town Hall is packed with insights on organizational performance, business goals, and the values that unite everyone at Broad River, all delivered over 113 slides and an engaging live Zoom chat with hundreds of Memory Makers tuning in.
The episode also captures key business highlights and initiatives, such as progress towards sales goals, store remodels and conversions to the Ashley 7.0 format, and the launch of new product lines like Ashley Luxe. Charlie and other leaders discuss continued innovation, operational efficiency, and the company’s growing community impact, including Founders Scholarship awards and charitable giving milestones. There is a special focus on the Company’s major projects like Project Cascade—Broad River’s expansion into Spokane, Washington—and operational successes like record-low return rates in home delivery. The episode wraps up with encouragement for all Memory Makers leading into the busy Memorial Day retail weekend, a reminder about the meaning behind the holiday, and a look ahead to future episodes and possible summer updates from The River.
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