Smith Brothers Of Berne

What Smith Brothers Of Berne does

Smith Brothers of Berne, Inc. is a private, family-owned manufacturer of custom upholstered furniture founded in 1926 and headquartered in Berne, Indiana. The company operates approximately 500,000 square feet of production space across two factories and employs more than 400 workers, producing 1,800+ finished upholstered pieces weekly. Its catalog spans multiple stationary series (2000, 3000, 5000, 8000, 9000), the motorized SB Motion recliner line, and the SB Dining case-goods collection, with a "Build Your Own" made-to-order customization system and a proprietary Clarity fabric program supporting configuration depth across fabric, leather, finish, and dimensional options.

The business model is wholesale-to-dealer: the company sells exclusively through an authorized dealer network rather than direct to consumers, with dealers responsible for showroom merchandising, order capture, local delivery, and after-sale service. Pricing is mid-market to upper-mid custom upholstery, with per-piece prices typically in the $1,500-$5,000+ range depending on series, mechanism, and material. Revenue is not publicly disclosed as the firm is privately held and family-controlled, with Steve Lehman serving as President since 1985. The Century-mark brand heritage, vertical integration under one Midwestern footprint, and exclusive-dealer distribution are the structural pillars of the operating model.

Operationally, the firm is a traditional craft manufacturer with no disclosed AI/ML, software, or data-platform capabilities. Recent strategic activity has centered on category and product-line expansion (Spring 2026 introductions, SB Motion and SB Dining extensions, Build Your Own configurator, Clarity fabric) rather than digital transformation, geographic expansion, or M&A. The result is a stable, category-deep competitor serving the independent furniture dealer channel with a long-tenured leadership and brand positioning, more analogous to a niche industrial incumbent than a venture-backed or technology-led growth company.

Name

Smith Brothers Of Berne

Legal name

Smith Brothers of Berne, Inc.

Website

https://smithbrothersfurniture.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Smith Brothers of Berne is a private, family-owned custom upholstered furniture manufacturer founded in 1926, serving independent furniture dealers across North America from two factories in Berne, Indiana, with 400+ employees and multiple seating and dining lines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Upholstered Furniture Manufacturing

NAICS

Upholstered Household Furniture Manufacturing (337121)

SIC

Household Furniture (2510)

akta.pro primary industry

Living Room Furniture Retail (Sofas, Sectionals, Recliners, Coffee/Side Tables, TV Consoles) (CRAIAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dining Room Furniture Retail (Dining Tables, Chairs, Bar Stools, Buffets/Sideboards) (CRAIAAAB)

Keywords

• Custom upholstered furniture
• Made-to-order sofas
• Modular sectional furniture
• Motorized recliner furniture
• American-made residential furniture

Headquarters

HQ city

Berne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Upholstery Sales: Smith Brothers manufactures custom upholstered furniture including sofas, sectionals, chairs, and ottomans. Products are sold through an authorized dealer network to end consumers. The company produces over 1,800 pieces of upholstery weekly across multiple product series with extensive customization options for fabrics, leathers, and structural components.
2. Dining Furniture: SB Dining collection includes dining chairs, side chairs, arm chairs, counter stools, and bar stools in multiple collections (D100-D109) sold through the same dealer network.
3. SB Motion (Motorized Furniture): Motorized recliners, glider recliners, and modular motion sectionals with headrest options. Includes M100-M104 collections featuring motorized mechanisms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Smith Brothers of Berne manufactures made-to-order custom upholstered residential furniture, including sofas, sectionals, chairs, ottomans, recliners, and dining seating, sold exclusively through a network of authorized dealers across the United States. Customers configure products across multiple series (2000, 3000, 5000, 8000, 9000) with choices of fabrics, leathers, arms, backs, bases, legs, and sizes, plus the proprietary Clarity stain-resistant fabric line and SB Motion motorized recliner and SB Dining sub-brands.

Product overview

Smith Brothers of Berne is a custom upholstered furniture manufacturer offering made-to-order residential furniture. The company operates a platform-plus-customization model where customers select from multiple furniture series (2000, 3000, 5000, 8000, 9000) as foundational platforms, then customize through extensive options including fabrics, leathers, cushion types, nailhead finishes, and wood legs. The core product lines include upholstered sofas, sectionals, occasional chairs, recliners, and ottomans across these series, supplemented by sub-brands SB Motion (motorized reclining furniture) and SB Dining (dining chairs and stools). Additional customization offerings include Clarity stain-resistant fabrics, seat cushions, decorative pillows, and various nailhead and wood finish options. The company produces over 1,800 pieces of upholstery weekly at its Indiana facilities and has been in operation since 1926.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 3000 Series Custom Upholstered Furniture A customizable upholstered furniture series featuring modular sectionals, sofas, and chairs with configurable options for legs, arms, backs, and cushions, offered in both fabric and leather.
• 5000 Series Custom Upholstered Furniture A custom upholstered furniture series with multiple base styles, arm options, and back configurations, featuring T-cushion and straight cushion variants for sofas, sectionals, and chairs.
• 8000 Series Custom Upholstered Furniture A high-end upholstered furniture series offering welts, seams, arm styles (sock, panel, track, deco), and back options (semi-attached boxing, loose pillow boxing, loose pillow knife edge) for sofas and sectionals.
• 9000 Series Custom Upholstered Furniture A premium upholstered furniture collection featuring modular sectionals, sofas, and chairs with multiple leg, arm, and back styles, with an optional feather down upgrade.
• 2000 Series Upholstered Ottomans A collection of upholstered ottomans available in multiple shapes (round, square, oval, rectangle), sizes, and styles with options for casters, tufting, nailhead, and leg types.
• SB Motion Motorized Furniture Line A motion furniture line featuring motorized recliners, glider recliners, and modular sectionals with headrest functionality across the M100, M101, M102, M103, and M104 collections.
• SB Dining Collection A dining furniture collection including side chairs, counter stools, arm chairs, and bar stools across the D100 through D109 collections, designed for residential dining spaces.
• New Styles Spring 2026 Collection New residential furniture styles released for Spring 2026, including new 214 and 215 sofa groups, the 1926 large sofa and chair, the 555 swivel glider, the 757 gliding recliner, and new D106–D109 dining collections.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Article: Direct-to-consumer modern furniture brand offering customizable sofas and sectionals online — competes for the same residential custom-upholstery consumer as Smith Brothers but via a digitally native channel rather than dealer showrooms.

Broad incumbents

• Ethan Allen: Vertically integrated U.S. custom furniture maker with company-owned design centers — comparable in custom-build residential positioning and U.S. manufacturing, though broader category scope and owned-retail rather than dealer-only distribution.
• La-Z-Boy: Iconic U.S. upholstered and motion furniture manufacturer with company-owned retail — broader portfolio and significantly larger scale, but overlapping heavily in motion recliners and residential seating through similar dealer/showroom channels.
• Century Furniture: Premium U.S. residential furniture manufacturer (upholstery and case goods) selling through designer and dealer channels — comparable premium positioning and U.S. production, broader product portfolio including case goods.
• Bassett Furniture: U.S. furniture manufacturer with custom upholstery programs and a mix of independent and company-owned retail — comparable U.S. manufacturing heritage and custom-upholstery offering, with broader product range and partial owned retail.

Direct peers

• American Leather: Texas-based manufacturer of custom upholstered furniture (sofas, sectionals, recliners, sleepers) with strong customization — directly comparable in build-to-order residential furniture, premium positioning, and domestic manufacturing.
• Sherrill Furniture: North Carolina-based manufacturer of custom upholstered residential furniture distributed through design trade and dealers — directly comparable in make-to-order upholstery, customization depth, and U.S. production.
• Hancock & Moore: Premium U.S. manufacturer of custom leather and upholstered furniture (sofas, sectionals, chairs) sold through high-end dealers — directly comparable in custom-build positioning, premium materials, and trade-channel distribution.
• Taylor King Furniture: North Carolina-based custom upholstered furniture manufacturer serving the residential trade — directly comparable in custom-build upholstery, dealer channel, and U.S. craft manufacturing.
• Flexsteel Industries: Long-standing U.S. manufacturer of residential upholstered furniture sold through independent dealers — closely comparable in product category (sofas, recliners, sectionals), U.S. manufacturing footprint, and dealer-channel go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smithbrothersfurniture
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smith-brothers-of-berne-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smith Brothers Of Berne