Contract Resource Group Inc., a Spokane-based commercial furniture dealer and interior services company, has started an ownership transition.

Contract Resource Group founders Duane and Ginny Wilson have agreed to sell the business to Fernando Jauretche, who assumed the role of company CEO on Oct. 1. Jauretche declines to discuss terms of the transaction except for a stipulation that the Wilsons stay on to help with the transition.

Jauretche previously worked for furniture design and manufacturer Kimball Office Inc. as market manager in the San Francisco area.

Duane Wilson, outgoing president of the business, says the couple aren’t retiring now but are slowly “winding down” their business interests. Wilson says they didn’t have children or employees interested in taking over the business, so they turned to Kimball, one of their suppliers.

“We’ve been working with them for quite a while trying to do some type of a succession plan. We’re building our succession plan now with Fernando,” Wilson says, adding that he’ll continue to be involved in the business as chief operations officer. “I will be kind of overseeing operations, just general business, supporting Fernando, and making the transition smooth.”

The Wilsons founded Contract Resource Group in 1990. Located at 811 E. Sprague, the company operates a 5,000-square-foot showroom and has 14 employees, Jauretche says.

Jauretche says he shares the Wilsons’ values and dreams for the business.

“I thought it was important that we stay a local business. I moved my family here,” he says. “The vision that Duane and Ginny had, to be embedded in the community and servicing local customers, I’m carrying on that vision by relocating here and I hope to invest in the local community.”

Contract Resource Group caters exclusively to commercial clients, he says, acting as an intermediary between custom furniture manufacturers and customers in a variety of industries.

Jauretche says he intends to integrate his personal interest in technology into the business.

“We’re kind of in an old-school industry,” he says. “I feel like there are certain efficiencies that additional technology can bring to us.”

Jauretche declines to disclose revenue or gross sales for Contract Resource Group.

As he helps Contract Resource Group to grow, Jauretche says his experience in market management will help him keep an eye on trends.

“With my background as a Kimball market manager, I really spent a lot of time on strategy and how we could help dealers grow when I was with Kimball,” he says. “A lot of that has to do with staying on top of the latest trends in the workplace and workplace strategy. We try to stay on top of what employers are doing and how they’re outfitting their offices.”

Kimball, based in Jasper, Ind., had a 470,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Post Falls that closed in 2015. The site currently is owned and occupied by Memphis, Tenn.-based hard-goods distribution company Orgill Inc.