Decorize reduces board size

The Decorize board March 10 approved a resolution to decrease its membership and accepted the resignations of James Parsons, executive vice president of product development, and Michael Sandel, vice president of product development, as directors. Both will remain in their other roles with the home furnishings company.

The move was done to ensure a balanced representation of insider and outsider directors on the board, said Decorize CEO Steve Crowder.

“As a publicly traded company, you want to make sure that you have an objective board and not too many insiders on it,” he said. “For a small, publicly traded company, I would prefer to have a balance toward the independent side.”

Crowder remains the only inside member of the board. Other directors are Steven Fox, CEO of Quest Capital Alliance; Rick Chalker, retired vice president of Hallmark Cards’ tax and customs division; and Marwan Atalla, president of NEST U.S.A.

Crowder said the company is in the process of searching for an independent outside director for the board.

On March 7, Quest Capital Alliance exercised its common stock purchase warrants and bought 1.8 million shares of Decorize stock at 20 cents each, for a total purchase price of $361,428.

Decorize was founded in 2000 and specializes in providing home furnishing supplies from the Far East. Some of the company’s 3,000 retail accounts include La-Z-Boy, Hancock Fabrics, Neiman Marcus and Sears.

Decorize shares (AMEX: DCZ) closed Tuesday at 38 cents, compared to a 52-week range of 32 cents to 81 cents.