A familiar face has stepped into the role of vice president of sales at Castelle. Stephanie Pereira, who was in the role for nearly three years with Castelle, recently returned to lead the casual manufacturer’s sales team.
“We’re pleased to welcome Stephanie Pereira to the Castelle team as VP of sales,” said Rory Rehmert, president, Castelle. “With deep industry experience and a strong focus on partnership and growth, she will play a key role in supporting our dealer network and expanding the Castelle brand.”
Pereira was in the VP of sales role at Castelle until 2020, moving on to national sales manager at Sagebrook Home and then senior account manager at WestPoint Home, where she managed the Ralph Lauren account for the home textile maker.
Earlier in her career, Pereira served nearly two decades in the tabletop industry, working with Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton in multiple roles, including national sales director. After that tenure, she also was vice president of sales for Heritage Home Group, working with Lane Venture, Lane and Broyhill.
Pereira said returning to Castelle and the casual industry feels like a homecoming.
“I’m so excited to be back in the industry,” she said. “Based on the industries I’ve been in, this is by far the best. The way other manufacturers treat each other, the respect levels, the camaraderie — everyone is happy when someone is doing well. And when something bad happens to a company, everyone feels it. There’s a different feeling in this industry that I think people outside it don’t understand.”
Pereira said she and Rehmert approach their relationship with sales reps differently, and she believes that better equips them for success.
“Rory and I share a lot of the same philosophies, and we don’t look at sales reps as employees,” she said. “I look at it as I’m their employee — I work for them. Let me do the hard work behind the scenes to make your job easier.”
Pereira said that Castelle’s leadership has fostered an environment of open communication and dialogue that makes all employees feel valued and considered. And that’s something she wants to continue to cultivate as VP of sales.
“We can have conversations, and we don’t have to all agree on something — we still get to voice our opinion,” she said. “Everyone gets to be heard, which is really important and another reason coming back to this company feels like coming home.”
Looking forward, Pereira said she and her team want to continue posting year-over-year double-digit growth. She said they plan to achieve that by working closely with their retail partners while also growing Castelle’s interior design and commercial business.
“We’re really strong with interior designers due to the customization and high quality of our product,” she said. “We want to build on that while gaining more market share in the commercial and hospitality space.”
Pereira said she has seen a lot of positive change not only at Castelle, but in the casual industry overall. And she’s excited to jump in and contribute to that growth going forward.
“It’s such an incredible industry,” she said. “I think things are headed in a really good direction, and I’m so excited to be back and look forward to leading our team.”
