Furniture Wars!

I'm currently reading The Furniture Wars, by Micheal Dugan (2009) and to give you an idea of what the book is about the subtitle is "How America Lost A Fifty Billion Dollar Industry". Of course they are talking about the massive exodus of production to China and collapse of most American furniture production.

One passage I want to share since we have a lot of Hancock and Moore fans here on the forum (myself included) is a section under the chapter "The Asian Invasion" entitled "Focused Specialists" on page 405. Dugan writes:

Focused niche players - such as Jack Glasheen at Hancock and Moore, John Bray at Vanguard, the Audi family at Stickley, Jay Reardon at Hickory Chair and Don McCreary at McCreary Modern - also managed to hold their own in the face of the Asian Tsunami. They did so because:

* Were entrepreneurial in spirit with strong leaders who were relentless in staying in touch with consumers.

* Stayed within their niches. If they decided to after another, they did so carefully with a separate organization, The model at this was Eliot Wood.

* Were not so big that they lost focus.

* Avoided alienating their dealers and generated substantial loyalty, especially against the big companies.

* Had a passion for their companies and inspired their workers and managers to share in that passion.

I find the book very interesting to read and Dugan thinks the American Furniture industry is finished for the most part and cannot recover, but will perish. That so much damage has been done and will continue to be done by cheap Chinese labor that mainstream American furniture production cannot survive. He says the very cheap furniture will survive because it avoids the freight cost from China - I can see that. He also says the custom upholstery market will continue because it takes too long to get special orders from China. I agree with that as well.

I'm a bit more bullish on the American Furniture Industry overall. Dugan put this book to press before the backlash against Chinese goods (lead paint in Mattel toys, bad drywall for homes, pet food tampering and on and so forth), and in the past two years I have seen a massive resistance to products made in China, even by younger shoppers. If that trend continues, and consumers are willing to pay a little more for that MADE IN THE USA label and quality, then maybe our furniture industry won't collapse - though there will continue to be parts made in China that go into the USA-made furniture.

Interesting times. I won't carry, or even look at lines that are made in China. I tell ever sales rep that he/she is wasting their time, don't even pull out the book. I've met a lot of people that make furniture in the factories and small shops. They have pride in workmanship, and I intend to support them fully as they're my countrymen, and the USA furniture industry is worth saving (waving an itty-bitty American flag).

Hi Duane,

Interesting post. I also stay clear of Chinese made furniture. Part of the problem is the attitude of the American manufacturers to the end consumer. Like you said, they do not even feel that the end consumer is their customer. Well, I'm sorry, but I feel that the manufacturer should still show some interest in the end customer even if the customer is buying the product from the dealer.

There is one manufacturer in Martinsville, Virgnia by the name of American of Martinsville. They make the Barcalounger recliner, a once famous American made brand now past its prime. They have no contact information of any kind on their website www.Barcalounger.com. No mailing address, no phone number, no e-mail address. Does that inspire confidence in a prospective customer? I was initially interested in one of their products, but was so turned off by the manufacturer's deliberate and willful evasiveness of not listing any contact information, that I lost all interest.

These are the most difficult economic times I have ever seen. Assuming that there is not a complete societal breakdown, the only way any business is going to survive is by providing the best service and product. If American manufacturers want to take the attitude of dodging the end consumer, they will pay a price for that just like the possible sale that Barcalounger lost from me.

Hi Robert,

The reason you don't see that contact information is (believe it or not) in the furniture industry YOU are not their customer. The dealer is the manufacturer's customer, and you are the dealer's customer. So they purposely don't put contact information on websites, and you will find very few ever answer an email inquiry as well. Its not arrogance, or a lack of caring - its the system that has evolved in a manufacture/dealer/consumer network not unlike that of a car manufacturer.

Why do they do this? Well for one reason, it streamlines the lines of communication. Many customers believe that by going to the manufacturer, they can get to 'the source' and have the best information available to them, and get better advice than going to the retail dealer. But point of fact, the opposite is usually true. If you call a company like Barcalounger you'll be routed to a customer service rep, who is there to service the dealer network. Your experience will not be positive, because that person is trained to talk to dealers all day long, and we make fast calls to them using Ack numbers, determining in-stock status of items, order completion dates, dropped covers, shipping manifests and all sorts of things that YOU as a consumer don't get involved with. A consumer asks questions like "Whats the best material to use on this piece, and how can I see some samples?" or "Which sofa do you like better, the Andrews or the Matthews and which is the most comfortable?" The truth is, most those customer service reps have no clue because that's not their job, and many of them have no hands on experience with the particular models or covers, to them its mainly numbers and pictures in a book. Its the job of the retail dealer to answer that because its what we do and we physically work with the pieces and covers every day.

Another reason the customer service reps are likely to be cool and standoffish is because a consumer will call both the dealer and them and then compare answers. If there is a difference in the answer, the consumer calls the dealer back and says "Well you said this - but Barcalounger said that, and I believe them because they're the factory"...guess what happens next? Most the time, the dealer is correct and hes now being accused of misinformation (lying if you want to call it that). So the dealer calls the CEO of the company and raises hell. The Customer Service Rep is called on the carpet and in danger of losing their job so they become very reluctant to say anything to consumers that call in because of that. Again, the dealers are the customer of the manufacturer and that relationship takes precedence over that of the consumer.

One of my pet peeves is when I've been working with a customer on an order, giving them all the information/service they need and then they decide to call direct to the factory or maker. (Think of it as going to your doctor for a medical condition and halfway through the treatment the patient decides they want to talk to the junior nurse on duty when the doctor is available.) Once a consumer starts working both sides of the fence I tell them that I am no longer willing to advise them as they have elected to take a different path and I'm not going to get caught up in he said/she said. At that point they can elect to talk to the factory or to me as the dealer, but not both of us (or they can go to another store for their purchase). It causes a rash of problems.

The real key is to find a dealer in the product you like and stay with them. They will get you all the information you need if they're on their game, and go to bat for you if any problems arise. As in any industry, some do it better than others, and if a dealer is non-responsive then select another who will give you the level of service you expect and deserve.

Hi Duane,

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I agree with you in the main.

I was indeed trying to go direct to the source because I felt that in my case only the manufacturer could help me.

I wanted to sit in the actual Barcalounger Berkley recliner model before I bought it. Buying seat furniture is like buying shoes. There is no substitute for actually trying them for size, fit and comfort. I am unable to make the leap of faith of buying seat furniture without trying it. I did that once before and as a result I have some very expensive Hickory White upholstered furniture in my living room in which the seats are too deep and my feet do not touch the floor. Thank goodness, it is only used when we have company over, which these days is maybe once a year.

I thought that a manufacturer might be able to tell me which dealer might have the Barcalounger Berkely model in which I was interested on the floor. After all, wouldn't the manufacturer know what models were shipped to what dealers? Certainly I could not expect a dealer to refer me to another competitor dealer to try out the chair.

By the way, this case applies to the Hancock & Moore Ritz model that we talked about in your store as well. While I certainly do not expect you or any other dealer to have every model on the floor, had I had the opportunity to actually see and sit in the Ritz model somewhere, there is a good chance I would have bought it. Would that not have benefitted the manufacturer?

I agree that the best thing that the end consumer can do is find a good dealer. That is how the system is set up and how it works.

But consider this. Before a customer shells out close to $2,000.00 of hard earned money for a recliner, is it unreasonable for him to want to actually sit in and try the actual model that he is going to purchase? Is it unreasonable for the end user to expect a manufacturer to help him in this regard? I cannot believe that the answer to either of these rhetorical questions could be anything but a resounding no. If the answer is otherwise, such a mindset may explain, in part, why the American furniture manufacturing industry is in its present death spiral.

Here's what you want to do in that case, contact the local Barcalounger Sales Rep for you area, because they are the only ones that will know what store has what product on the floor. At the factory, they won't have that information. Most good sales reps just know it from traveling to their accounts and remembering what is on the floor at their dealers. I wish we had a greater level of computerized sophistication, but this industry as a whole has nothing more fancy than a website at most makers, and perhaps a dealer lookup database. That's the primary reasons I started this forum, to put out more information on product than the makers do. Over time, this will build into a pretty powerful database for those that are looking for more photos, or more opinions, etc.

Yours is the most common quest of all furniture shoppers, to sit and try out the various models before they buy. I hear it 10x a week, or more. And its not an unreasonable request by any means. But of course, its nearly impossible due to the massive amount of frames offered by the makers and the physical space required to show it. Hancock and Moore alone - just by themselves - has over 1,400 frames! I'm considered a large stocking dealer because I have 22 frames on the floor, not even 2% of what is available. Multiply that by a dozen lines carried and I'd need a store the size of The Washington DC Convention Center.

There is one way to do it, however - but its not easy. If you really wanted to try out the Ritz lounger and were willing to go to Hickory NC, I would set it up so that when one is going through the line we'd schedule for you to go and try it out. You'd get a wild factory tour from Jimmy Moore as well.

On some occasions, I'll order a model in for a customer as floor stock when I have space on my floor. I try to that when I can and they're under no obligation to take it when it arrives, just come try it out.

FYI, Barcalounger Corp. phone number in Martinsburg is 276-638-8801. Call and ask for sales rep in your area and they'll be glad to give you the reps' number to see if there is one for you to try out somewhere.

Thanks Duane. You know your stuff.

Duane,

I am with you. I don’t think the industry is gone for good.

I believe consumers are beginning to drive a return to American manufacturing. Over the last few years, I have shopped for a lot of furniture and I always ask where products are made and try to only buy those made here or in a country that has a favorable trade relationship with the U.S. such as Canada. Through your forum and other sites, I often know where furniture is made but ask anyway just to make a point. When they state that it is Chinese and start the whole song-and-dance about how old the Chinese culture is, I politely tell them I am not interested in anything Chinese and ask to see American furniture.

I think the makers are getting the message because I am beginning to see more Made in USA labels inside of drawers and notations on manufacturers’ web sites. I recently received a mailer from a well known furniture maker now touting some of their products as ‘Made in Vermont’.

I don’t think the industry will ever go back to the way it was but some production may return. Consumer pressure will be one driver but the volatility of shipping is another.

Lately, I’ve read about how difficult it has been to get goods like furniture shipped from Asia to the US because so many container ships were docked after the economic slowdown and are still out of commission. Now, there has been an uptick in demand but because fewer ships are available, it has been difficult and more expensive for importers to get products shipped. A year or so ago, there was the dramatic increase in fuel costs which raised shipping rates. Furniture makers may decide it is beneficial to have a shorter supply chain that they are better able to manage. With a fleet of their own trucks and a US plant, they regain control over these issues.

Then there is also the issue of quality and the percent of products that arrive from overseas damaged or so poorly made that they are unsellable.

For all these reasons, I think there is still hope for a resurgence in American furniture making.

Exactly this reasons you state. Ultimately its in the consumers hands. The folks who run these furniture companies are as patriotic and love the USA as much as everyone else does, they are just catering to the demands of consumers who want cheap goods.

If enough people say 'I want made in USA' (and that is happening right now) and it becomes a trend, then you won't be able to give away the Chinese product and the pendulum will swing back the other way. We sure do need to keep the jobs in this country....

But its going to cost a little more. Americans don't work for .50 an hour...and I don't think any of us expect them to, either.

Hi,
I’ve read about how difficult it has been to get goods like furniture shipped from Asia to the US because so many container ships were docked after the economic slowdown and are still out of commission. Now, there has been an uptick in demand but because fewer ships are available, it has been difficult and more expensive for importers to get products shipped. A year or so ago, there was the dramatic increase in fuel costs which raised shipping rates. Furniture makers may decide it is beneficial to have a shorter supply chain that they are better able to manage. With a fleet of their own trucks and a US plant, they regain control over these issues.

I'd love to read this book, but apparently, it's not available as an e-book. What's up with that?!?

The book is available on Amazon.

I can't post a link, but it's there.

Yes, the forum needs a re-boot, and until I do that you won't be able to post links, for some reason it corrupts the post when you do, its happened before. Aaron let me instructions how to re-boot the server, but I have to be fresh in the morning to tackle that job!

Yes, I found it on Amazon, but not a kindle version. I checked iBooks and it's not there either. I have become quite spoiled by eBooks -- easier to carry around, lighter to hold, no need for reading glasses. I have so many books that the house rule now is if a new book comes in the door, and older one has to leave!

I hope I can get it at the library.