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Thread: Bradington Young current leather manifest

  1. #11
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
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    563

    Default Re: Bradington Young current leather manifest

    Back cushions sewn on?? Is that so they can save on leather cost by creating bare spots and hiding them?

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Re: Bradington Young current leather manifest

    Yes, it saves money by sewing them onto the back. Also on that model, they 3-piece the front of the back cushions, again to save money. The problem with sewn-on cushions is people tear them all the time when moving the sofa around. There's a natural tendency to pull on the back cushion to move the sofa, it's just something everyone does. Give a really good pull on it and the leather tears, (so does fabric) and not at the seam, but about 2 to 3" from it. Now the cover is ruined. This is why you don't move 200 lb sofas by tugging on cushions.

    The leather is the most costly component of the whole sofa, so many companies try to economize by doing things like this, piece-sewn cushions, making panel sizes smaller to get more yield out of a hide, skip the welt trim (which uses quite a bit of leather) and move towards a topstitch for closures or very cleverly set nails in between the stitches, that sort of thing. While the average sofa buyer will never pay attention to any of this, for me its glaring because I know these are shortcuts. However a B-Y sofa is less costly than a Hancock and Moore, so they make their goal of offering real leather on a less pricey product. You pay less, you get less.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by drcollie; 07-07-2020 at 08:14 PM.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: Bradington Young current leather manifest

    So we bought the BY Richardson sofa and chair from Duane in summer 2017 and really like it. It’s not our HM pieces but my wife loves it so, so do I! Our pieces do not have sewn on back cushions. Duane reminded me of moving it because the cushions were sewn on but through discussion and checking BY had changed to removable cushions. Did they go back to sewn on. Attaching a picture of ours.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by 5stringbean; 07-08-2020 at 01:24 PM. Reason: Adjusting photo

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,890

    Default Re: Bradington Young current leather manifest

    GOOD! They changed the design then, I am really glad to hear that. Of course, they did not notify me of that. Guess they had too many complaints about torn covers, that's a big plus to have them removable.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    18

    Default Re: Bradington Young current leather manifest

    Good to know about the changes. The short cuts on the BY sofa as you indicated on the diagram are a huge turn off. I really want a tight back sofa that will look good and fits like a glove for someone vertically challenged. Right now the French curve is the front runner.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Re: Bradington Young current leather manifest

    As I am fond of saying "Every maker knows the right way to build a sofa, but consumers demand cheaper prices so manufacturers are forced into taking shortcuts to get to a price point." I don't knock Bradington Young products in general because they are solid performers and I have been a dealer for them for going on 30 years now. However, their marketing strategy is to arrive at a price point that is affordable to middle-class America. They are not aiming at the higher end of the market, nor chasing the decorator market. In order to bring costs down you either target your labor pool (pay less per hour), your materials, or your production time to build. I think they manage that balance very well, actually, especially in the motion furniture. However, for those in the know, the shortcuts are glaring and this gets down to workmanship and the art of the build - not longevity or durability in use. You can get a heck of a sofa from B-Y for $ 2K, but it's not going to compare to the one from Hancock and Moore for $ 4K.

    Jack Glasheen and Jimmy Moore, who founded Hancock and Moore were both senior management at Classic Leather under Thomas Shores, who started Classic Leather in 1966. Classic Leather Company at the time was the leader in the field of USA-made high-quality leather furniture, they dominated the industry. As the story as it was told to me, is that one day Tom Shores came to Jack (his # 2 man) and said he wanted to use a less expensive nail in production, that he no longer wanted to use solid brass and instead go to a steel nail with brass color because it would help cut production costs. Jack objected, and apparently was reminded that he was an employee, and the Shores was the owner and makes the calls. Well, that made Jack and Jimmy set off to form their own company using every penny they had to start up, with a total of seven employees. Then Jack hit the road to sell the line and Jimmy took care of all production. It didn't take them long to become # 1 and their mantra has always been "We don't take shortcuts, we build it right, every time, and we hire only the best workers in the industry.". Because they have always been privately held (unlike Bradington Young, a division of Hooker Furniture which is publicly traded), they had no shareholders to have to be beholden to. They poured their profits back into the company, were always thrifty with fixed costs (the factories and executive offices are NOT fancy) and they dominate the leather upholstery industry today. While Jack and Jimmy retired in 2017 and sold the company to Century Furniture, Hancock and Moore still doesn't take shortcuts and they don't apologize for the price they have to charge.

    My wife came to my store yesterday because we are looking to replace our two, 20-year-old Leathercraft "Robinson 2670" sofas in the family room, and move those to the basement. Leathercraft is built like H&M, but they are a much smaller operation that has had quality control issues in the past which is why I no longer carry them - too hit and miss. Of course, my wife can pick out anything she wants and after trying all the sofas I have in the store she said "I would like to get two of the Hancock and Moore French Curve sofas in the Hyde Park Cognac leather". I agreed because that's my favorite sofa in the current lineup as well, so I think your choice is good of course!
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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