Robert Frank Coviello, founder and owner of HTI Buying Group based in Rochester, N.H., died on Nov. 11 after an 11-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
According to his obituary in the Foster’s Daily Democrat, Coviello founded HTI Buying Group in 1998, offering independent kitchenware and tabletop specialty retailers the opportunity to buy products and programs from member vendors on a corporate discount plan. He was also a co-founder and partner of the former Gallery of Gifts and Kitchen Etc. He received numerous awards and accolades over his more-than-40-year career in the retail and housewares industries, and was well-respected within the industry.
Coviello is survived by his wife, Anne, and son, Michael James Coviello and family.
Coviello, 71, attended college at University of Connecticut and the University of Madrid in Spain. In December 1966, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served as a Machine Accounting Specialist as part of the Adjutant General Data Processing Division (62nd DPU) Headquarters, United States Armed Forces Southern Command from May 1967 to November 1968. Coviello’s hobbies included travel, food and wine, and marlin fishing.