David Gebhart’s 44-year home furnishings career has spanned every segment of the industry — from department store buyer to global product developer and business owner. After founding Global Views in 1996 with partners Frederick Rayner and Lois Del Negro, the company grew into a premier resource for furniture retailers, specialty shops, e-commerce and interior designers. The partners sold Global Views to Surya in April 2023; Gebhart retired this May. We caught up with him from his villa in Italy, where he now lives with partner Rayner.
What was your original vision for Global Views, and how did that evolve?
We started out, first of all, just to make a living. But the driving force behind the company was that we wanted to create a decorative accents company that was very meaningful in the industry. It was really all about timing. At that time, there were a few good decorative industries, but they all had a specific look in 1996 – either Arteriors or Great City Traders. It was all very traditional. Beautiful quality, but very traditional. I wanted to create something that would set people back on their heels a bit. A lot of people got it, but a lot of people didn’t. It had traditional classic shapes and designs, but twisted in a kind of way, unique to Global Views.
Was there a particular product or collection that put the company on the map?
I think it was the totality of the collection at the beginning. I don’t think people thought we could put together such an extensive collection. We launched at the Dallas Market in January 1997, and we got a lot of people’s attention very quickly, which I am very proud of. It allowed us to make money in our first full year of existence.
How did your role in the company change over time?
These import businesses are complex. I couldn’t just think about product or design or visual merchandising. I had to start thinking about the cost of a container coming across the ocean, the duties, the customer types that were coming or not coming, the growth opportunities. I had to wear so many hats that I didn’t have a single focus. I relished it. I was challenged by it. I wanted to make it successful.
All three of us had to contribute. All three of us wore multiple hats. Lois took care of financial and banking issues, and Frederick oversaw people and human resources. He was a cultural ambassador for the company when it came to food, drink and hospitality.
Global Views’ showroom hospitality is legendary in the industry. What was the thinking behind that?
Frederick was a caterer for 14 years for high-end clientele in Texas. He can cook practically anything and has a repertoire of interesting recipes. People were always anxious to come in [to the showroom] and see what he was preparing. Until the very end of our involvement with the company, he was still doing the food.
A friend came up with a cocktail recipe. It was called Hibiscus Tea, but it was really vodka, brewed hibiscus tea and flowers. You boil it and let it steep like tea, then add vodka. At some of the bigger shows, Frederick was making up to 30 gallons of this hibiscus mix. Customers would line up outside the kitchen door waiting for the servers to come out with it.
One of the desserts he did was a chocolate nut pudding in plastic cups with real whipped cream. It was so rich, you couldn’t eat more than one, even though they were small.
Our hospitality became a very important thing for us and our salespeople to promote. We just stood back and [appreciated the admiration we received].
You’ve seen some significant changes in the home accents industry. What do you think has been the biggest change in how people furnish their homes?
It’s got to be the most overused word — eclectic. Eclecticism made everyone stop and relook at not only what products they were bringing to market, but how that product mixed with what was in the collection. How do we make it fresh and exciting? We would keep our bestsellers front and forward and mix in new things. It evolved into a beautiful mix of materials and functionality that made it desirable.
Can the end consumer do that better now?
Oh, yes. People are no longer looking at “suites” of furniture. They are looking for things that go together in a unique way and express individual personalities. [This concept] was everywhere — from TV design shows to magazines to coffee table books. The advertising in shelter books started educating consumers that they had to look at their interiors under a different lens.
Do you think we are post-trend now?
In some ways we are. It’s been overdone. I study different trend companies — not to say anything negative about any of them — but when it comes to the color palette that’s on trend, it’s the rainbow. You don’t get a clear direction.
The thing that we always did differently was if we believed that a color was good and would sell to our wholesale buyers, we’d go after that color in such a big way. People would go into our showroom and say, ‘Global Views really believes in turquoise this season.’ We replicated it everywhere — in our product photography, in our trade publication advertising. It’s like a trend, but a trend to the maximal — you do something in such a way that people will stop and notice it. They may not want to buy it, but they will notice it.
If you get too pulled in so many different directions, it doesn’t work anymore. It was easier back then when you didn’t have to work so hard to create something even more unique than what your competitors in the industry were doing.
What do you like most about the home décor industry? And is there anything that irritates you?
I think there’s a lot of awfully good people in this industry. I’ve made so many lifetime friends, our relationships will go on forever. So, the people are really an important part of it.
The most enjoyable aspect was always challenging myself and my team to come up with something that hadn’t been done yet. That got harder to do as the years went by because everyone was doing everything. It was hard to be unique and different because everyone was. It was completely contrary to the way we started.
One thing that always bothered me was that factory owners all around the world had no guilt or compunction about taking someone’s original ideas. I know I am not the only business owner to say that. The internet has made everything so accessible that everyone can see what you’re doing even before you’ve launched it. It’s easier to take an idea from a concept that already exists rather than come up with something on your own to begin with.
What advice would you give to young product designers entering the industry now?
Dig deep. Don’t take the easy path. Take the path you didn’t know existed until you dreamed it up. Don’t just do more of the same because more of the same will not benefit you personally or the company you are doing product development for. It’s getting harder and harder to flip that magic switch, so that everyone is scratching their heads and saying, ‘Where did THAT come from?’
How does it feel to leave the company you started 25 years ago?
It’s bittersweet. Once you sell a business it is no longer yours to do with as you desire. So, it can become a little bit frustrating as you watch things change and evolve, in directions both that you like a lot and don’t like a lot. It’s been really hard not to beat yourself up for the fact that you’re not involved. But a change of scenery has certainly helped with that, picking up and moving our lives across the continent, away from all the people that worked with for us before. It’s really nice to have a severed break. I need to let it go and know that it’s in good hands and has a good steward. [Global Views owner Satya] Tiwari will do the best he can to keep it growing and evolving.
How do you envision retirement: Complete relaxation and separation from conventional ideas of “work,” or do you plan to continue working in some way?
For me, in this exact moment, it is a new challenge of trying to finalize this amazing property that we live on in Italy. It’s a mindbender how to make it happen, make it work. It’s a lot of creative outlets for my mind. I need to find more of them.
I want to teach myself how to sketch and draw better than I ever have. I’ve had so many extremely talented people working with me over the years who could draw beautifully. I can draw well enough, but nothing as good as the pros I’ve been so fortunate to work with all these years. I’ll get there — that is a promise I’ve made to myself.
Just for fun:
Have you always wanted to live in Italy?
I have done business in Italy all the way back to my Bombay days, when I discovered a mirror company — 164,000 Florence mirrors from this one little factory. I always had a strong affinity for this place. Our agent and interpreter became the Global Views agent. He is still the agent for Global Views today.
Favorite Italian meal: Steak Fiorentina. I don’t really care for pasta. I love what they can do with a beautiful piece of meat.
Favorite Italian custom: Every time you run into someone you know well, there’s a very warm hand holding and the two-cheek kiss. I’d not experienced that before being here.
Best spot in Italy that no one else knows about: I have to say right here where we are living, Bagni di Lucca. It means ‘baths’ in Italian. It’s always been known for the healing power of thermal waters. There are a lot of expats here. We have met so many lovely people. I think this is an undiscovered place.
Favorite gelato place: In Lucca, there is a lovely [gelato store] owner, she lights up the minute we walk into the store. Favorite flavor? I’m pretty basic: I love that dark, rich chocolate and the really milky one. Pistachio is really special, too. It sure tastes amazing.
