Foremost Group, the parent of outdoor brand Veranda Classics, has been a company that keeps quiet and lets the brands speak for themselves.
Jim Sica, executive vice president of Foremost Inc., says the company flies under the radar and is larger than most people think.
“We’re a multi-hundred-million-dollar business involved with furniture on all kinds of levels, from indoor furniture to custom kitchens and bathrooms,” he said. “Overall, we’re doing quite well, with our club business continuing to be strong. We really nurtured that for a long time regarding outdoor, and that’s helped us through some leaner times with the specialty business, which is no longer what it used to be.”
He explains that there are so many places you can buy outdoor furniture today, and it’s been an uncomfortable period for a lot of retailers.
“Since Covid and everyone choking with inventory, there’s been a pullback on the buying,” he said. “Things have changed a lot in terms of design and what people are buying. I suspect that once everyone gets their floors reset they will go back to looking at their business as fashion-oriented and recognize a lot of the changes that have taken place over the years. There’s a strong desire for people to go and get good service and see a cutting-edge product, which is something specialty retailers have done well in the past.”
In the meantime, he says there have been legacy brands — what he calls premium lifestyle retailers — who have “taken the bait” in terms of the viability of outdoor, and they’re experimenting with new materials and styles. Sica adds that it will be hard for specialty retailers to catch up, but he believes it will happen soon.
One way that Foremost is trying to help retailers is by addressing a largely ignored price point: the middle.
“The upper end keeps getting replenished with new product, and the upper end seems to be doing quite well,” Sica said. “I think the design business is probably at an all-time high and that’s indicative of consumers wanting that product. The real aspirational price points seem to be doing very well with that and creating a nice business for the design community.”
On the low end, big-box stores and e-commerce retailers have carved out a niche in the promotional price range and taken a large share of that business. But the middle price point, which Sica said is the value price point, is important.
“That’s what I’m focusing on right now for specialty for the upcoming July Casual Market,” he said. “It’s an underserved customer. It may require the purchase of containers, but it’s a good margin opportunity, which we all need in this industry, and it’s always in high demand by the consumer.”
The company is prepared to serve this category with its non-tariff factories in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, where they have been for many years now.
“We’re going to introduce four collections in July, and that’s going to be the focus — how do you design something that’s the right look for every customer?” Sica said.
At the 2025 July show, the company brought new wicker sets, including the “truly modular” set, Sculptura. Sica says the line, which consists of seven pieces, can be configured in numerous ways. The company will expand this collection at the July market later this year.
Foremost is also expanding on its Neuwood materials. Neuwood is a bio-synthetic wood derived from biomolecular research and engineering. It looks, feels and behaves uncannily like wood, but it’s actually plastic. However, it remedies the maintenance problems associated with teak outdoor furnishings and mitigates the environmental issues associated with the outdoor industry.
Sica says the company has invested a great amount of time, money and research in making sure Neuwood is top of its class.
Looking ahead, Foremost’s unique capabilities will allow Veranda to start offering outdoor kitchens, according to Sica.
“We have a huge indoor kitchen business, so we know how to make them,” he said. “It’s just a matter of scaling it for the outdoors and figuring out what pieces we offer. I hope to introduce outdoor kitchens at the upcoming July Casual Market. I continue to maintain that we’re still one of the most exciting industries there is. It’s still a product that’s fun, and there’s always a market for it. I keep waiting for everyone to be on the same page and get back to the glory days because there’s a lot of business to be done.”
