• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, May 27, 2015

Furniture company American Signature has selected The Richards Group to be its agency of record, the companies confirmed Wednesday. 

The Dallas-based indie shop will be responsible for branding strategy, creative, digital, social media and promotions that will launch in 2015. Media duties, not part of the review, continue to be handled by Omnicom's PHD. 

American Signature spent just over $50 million on ads in 2014, according to Kantar, up from $39 million in 2013. American Signature and its sibling brand Value City Furniture have 125 stores in 18 states. 

“We’ve made major improvements to our in-store experiences and expanded our service offerings,” said Scott Binger, executive vice president of marketing for American Signature, Inc. “We need a partner who can help us tell our brand story and build an emotional connection with our guests, while simultaneously drive sales. The Richards Group is the best branding and retail agency in the country and the best agency for the job.” 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the client selected Richards Group after a formal review or if it had an incumbent AOR.