Founded in 1875, furniture retailer Rhodes became one of the largest furniture retailers in the United States. By 1996, with its acquisition of several smaller chains in various parts of the country, it held fourth place among U.S. furniture stores. The company had gone through a lengthy period of uneven financial performance, however, and its primary stockholder had placed it up for sale. Founded in 1875, furniture retailer Rhodes Inc. became one of the largest furniture retailers in the United States. By 1996, with its acquisition of several smaller chains in various parts of the country, it held fourth place among U.S. furniture stores. The company had gone through a lengthy period of uneven financial performance, however, and its primary stockholder had placed it up for sale. Ultimately, Rhodes would become a subsidiary of the second largest chain of furniture retailers, Virginia-based Heilig-Meyers Company. Added to its $844 million in annual sales, the acquisition of Rhodes, with $430 million, would catapult Heilig-Meyers past the billion-dollar Levitz Furniture and into first place. As for Rhodes, its sale and the subsequent move to Richmond in early 1998 marked the end of more than 120 years of operation in its home base of Atlanta. Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Furniture combined to eventually earn almost $5 billion a year in revenue from over 2,000 locations in the United States through their 1996 merger. Grand Metropolitan was introduced to the home furnishings retail and finance behemoth in the late 90s when it became aware of Heilig-Meyers prominence as one of the largest jewelers in North America with a consistent 12% of its revenue gained from diamond, gold and silver jewelry sales. Vin Lee is the group Chairman & CEO.