Furniture Today has named Bob’s Discount Furniture Buyer, Christine Santostefano, a 40 Under 40 in their recent People Issue.
At 34, Christine has been on a fast track at Bob’s growing from an entry level position of merchandising operations associate in 2019, to leading one of the most dynamic departments in merchandising as the Home Décor Buyer.
Most notably, Christine has spearheaded the first Bob’s marketplace, featuring home décor items, which debuted at Bob’s flagship experience location in Somerville, Massachusetts last fall. Bob’s is now testing smaller home décor vignettes in a few other store locations.
“Christine has more than earned this recognition from Furniture Today,” said Tracy Paccione, Vice President of Merchandising. “In her role at Bob’s, Christine drives success by anticipating market trends and developing forward-thinking strategies for Bob’s that propel the business ahead.”
As the Home Décor Buyer at Bob’s, Christine manages a wide range of categories including occasional chairs, rugs, lighting, wall décor, tabletop accessories, trees and floral, decorative pillows, top of bed, and small accent furniture.
“My focus is on continuously introducing fresh styles and trend-forward designs while ensuring great value to our customers,” shared Christine.
Christine said some of her major achievements since starting with Bob’s have been building Bob’s decorative pillow business and Bob’s top of bed category.
“Bob’s already offers an amazing assortment of pillows with our sofas, so I had to be creative in choosing decorative pillows in unique colors, shapes, and sizes to entice guests,” she said. “Last season I brought in novelty holiday decorative pillows in a candy-cane shape and a gingerbread cookie shape; they which were both fun and popular!”
In recent years, Bob’s experienced success with its Sofia living room collections and Christine shared that she brought that trend to home décor by introducing Sofia top of bed as a cash and carry stocked program – something Bob’s previously did not carry outside of the DTC program. The program quickly became a best-seller and exceeded expectations.
“I’ve always had a passion for product development, which has been a key driver in my career progression. I take pride in creating high-performance products that deliver exceptional value to our customers,” she shared. “Staying on top of the latest styles, color trends, and consumer preferences has been essential, along with building and maintaining strong partnerships with vendors. These experiences have all played a significant role in helping me grow into my current position.”
Additionally, Christine notes her eye for design and spotting trends have contributed to her expansion of Bob’s home décor offerings. She credits her mentors Carol Glaser, Bob’s Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, and Tracy Paccione, for giving her runway and trust in bringing her visions for new products to life.
“Carol and Tracy are always super supportive and love to see what I’m coming up with,” said Christine. “Color is one area that I can try new things and when it works, the trend can be brought into larger categories, which they welcome and encourage.”
“Christine is an incredibly talented merchant with an eye for trend-right products and the skill to negotiate them at a value for our customers,” said Carol. “She excels at introducing fun and unique items and pulling them together in a way that our customers just love. Her keen sense of style, dedication to excellence, and strong vendor relationships make her an invaluable asset to our team.”
Before coming to Bob’s, Christine held the position of account manager for apparel and skincare manufacturers. Switching from sales to buying was a significant career change, shared Christine.
“Finding the position at Bob’s that offered me the opportunity to explore and grow in product development is really what drove my decision to make a career shift,” she shared.
With this 40 Under 40 recognition, Christine has proven she is flourishing on this side of the business and growing alongside Bob’s, which is now the nation’s seventh largest furniture company.
Christine said with all the creativity she brings to her position and new items she tries, one of the most important factors is to remain true to Bob’s commitment to offer value without compromise in every category.
“One of my proudest accomplishments is making sure Bob’s value statement goes across all categories, especially home décor,” said Christine.
With more to accomplish in smaller home décor categories, Christine said, “I am grateful for this recognition, happy in my current role, and looking forward to continuing to grow and develop with Bob’s.”
