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I have decided to drop the McKinley Leather Furniture lineup from my store, effective today. I will no longer take orders for their product. I have one piece left on the floor that I am going to discount 20 %. See VENDOR CLASSIFIEDs here in the forum for photo and price.
Duane,Quote:
Originally Posted by drcollie
First of all thank you for all of your post regarding furniture brands, quality, price, etc... Very informative for a consumer who only has been to the big box stores I.E. Value City, Kittles, and Ashley.
I was looking to pull the trigger on Mckinley Leather furniture based on some of your previous comments (http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...a-4204-92-quot)
Can you specify your reasoning for dropping this line?
Hesitant to purchase if they are no longer meeting your standards. Thanks!
I'd be interested in hearing the reasons too as I read about them from your High Point Market fall '15 post. You had mentioned the daughter is now running the company after her father passed away, trying to keep it trucking along, yada, yada, correct?Quote:
Originally Posted by drcollie
There were several reasons why I dropped the line, it's a cumulative effect. Most of these are not quality issues, but rather management and policy.
1) Unable to meet promise dates on projected delivery dates, often by months (my customers don't like excuses, they want their orders)
2) Outdated, obsolete web site that I was told would be re-worked and never was. (my customers need good shopping tools, such as available leather photos, etc.)
3) They would speak direct to my customers who called them and commit action or pricing to them without redirecting the customer to me, causing significant issues (the cardinal sin in dealer/supplier relationships)
4) Their "Clearance" section on their web site caused problems and confusion to a degree that was no longer tolerable.
5) Sloppy trim workmanship on some pieces.
6) Confusing price structure on their promotional items.
I am not aware of the Father passing away, Lori has been running the company for several years already. They are a friendly and polite company, and I like them personally. As a business partner I am perhaps spoiled by the professionalism and execution that Hancock and Moore does, and I set a high standard for other suppliers that many are unable to achieve. When a supplier's actions causes you to work harder to keep your customer base happy, they are not a good fit for your business.
Ok, now that you've outlined those specific reasons, it makes sense. I'm actually wondering just how long some of the more personally detrimental to you items on that list were allowed to go on, even after notifying them of the conflict it's causing?
Their "Clearance" section on their website was causing confusion? Were they direct selling, or attempting to direct sell their own products at deep discounts in addition to selling thru dealers? That's a tricky balancing act for any company to attempt & only a few end up successfully doing both.
I hadn't taken a look at their site, because I joined the forum after you had made this decision. However, I did read that review of their product linked to in this thread. I won't ask you to reaffirm your previously stated opinion that McKinley was in between H&M and B&Y, they're closer to H&M's quality at a 15-20% difference in price, since you no longer carry the line & I'm set pretty firm on my B&Y 543-25 chair...it's all moot.
Just interesting to hear. It's sad that a company that can build just a great product can't seem to get it together elsewhere...
Just thought I would weigh in on this forum, from McKinley Leather's point of view, direct answers to the reasons for dropping McKinley above:
1. The Keeping Room sold McKinley Leather for 1 year - 2015. During that time, there was one order that took 4 months to ship out, due to a leather being out of stock from both our factory & the tannery. Not an excuse,but the only reason the order could not be processed. Unfortunately, leathers are produced overseas - Europe, South America & Asia. If the domestic distributor does not already have a leather in the pipeline, then it takes 12-16 weeks to get delivered. When that occurs, the only option is to re-select from one of the many other choices that ARE in our inventory. It's a difficult situation for all parties involved, the manufacturer, the retailer & the consumer. Luckily we ship 95% of our orders within 4 weeks of receipt. When we do experience delays, we contact the dealer ourselves and keep them informed. I wish we could be 100%, but that's not realistic for me or for my competitors. Lucky that is a VERY small percentage.
2. Outdated, obsolete website: McKinley has been updating our website for the past 2 years and completely revamping the site over the next 6 months. We ARE a small, boutique operation that have invested in our product development & quality and also published a new catalog mid-2017. Smaller guys like us have a hard time budgeting our time and our dollars, making trade-offs daily.
3. Speaking to consumers: We spoke to one of The Keeping Room's customers and did NOT divulge any pricing, as we have no idea what prices our dealers are charging an individual. Being a small company, we have prided ourselves on being accessible to customers (both dealers and consumers) to discuss leather & style options. This customer was struggling between two different leathers and we gave them the facts about both. The consumer did not tell us the retailer he was shopping and we did not feel that we divulged sensitive info.
4. Clearance section: At the time that The Keeping Room was a dealer, we would quote retailers AND consumers for items in our Factory Outlet. We thought that was fair because the items in our Outlet one of three things: Discontinued products, retired High Point showroom samples, or Factory mistakes; Retailers would get a deeper discount than consumers. There was also another occurrence that swayed Mr. Collie's decision against McKinley. Since we no longer quoted prices to consumers for Factory Outlet items(based on Duane's displeasure of our that practice), we referred them to retailers for pricing. One the occasion that we referred a customer to him, his customer decided to purchase. By the time he entered the order with McKinley another retailer had purchased the same item. The items in our Factory Outlet are always there on a First Come, First Serve basis. My BIG mistake was that the other retailer ended up cancelling his order with us because his customer's credit card was declined. I then called back Duane to let him know the piece was available after all, if he wanted to re-contact his customer. That was stupid on my part & he let me know it right away - a call of that caliber would reduce his credibility with his customer. I had not thought of that, we have always remained entirely transparent. My scruples certainly set me up for failure.
5. Sloppy trim workmanship: I'm unaware of quality issues that The Keeping Room experienced when they purchased McKinley Leather. We have always strived to build furniture that we would be proud to use in our own homes. That is not to say that we have never had a customer complaint or recommendation of a way to do something better. We try to respond & learn from suggestions. Any quality shortcomings are not due to an intentional effort to cut corners to save money. We use quality materials - all top grain luxury leathers and sturdy hardwood frames.
6. Confusing price structure on promo items: I am not aware of issues with promotional pricing. We do have qualifications for promotions, like most other manufacturers.
It is true that not all business models are compatible. McKinley Leather is not a $40 million company; we have limited resources, so are forced to put money into our marketing resources slowly. That is not a reflection of our integrity or on our quality. We sincerely endeavor to build only the highest quality leather furniture.