Hancock and Moore leather quality issues

[Lauri]

Hello,
After with a few trips to furniture stores combined with doing significant research on this forum and elsewhere, we decided to go with H and M Austin High Back Sofa and Chair with matching ottomans. We upgraded to aniline leather (Capri) after reading that Town & Country program leathers (especially Document) were prone to chipping finishes and friction wear.
{order placed 2/22/20}
While at the furniture store the Sundance Chair and Ottoman in Portfolio Claret caught our eyes (a market design sample), so those came home with us.


The Austin pieces were delivered on 5/18/20. I pointed out some concerns to the delivery guys who took photos of areas on the sofa and chair for the dealer to address. Several areas where the leather looked dry and flaky, rub marks and small scratches on the sofa, plus a large scar/scrape on the chair. Is this normally how Capri Butternut and Capri Bordeaux would look?


See more photos on my flickr site:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUm6Gzh Photos day delivered

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUm8Pbp Photos of the 6 pieces

With Covid shutdowns and illnesses it took a while for the dealer to get back to us with a reply. She said that those places in the leather were a natural part of the type of leather we chose, however H&M would ship the sofa back to be repaired if we would like them to do so. Since it had taken so long to receive the items and Covid shutdowns were extended, we had no idea how many months we’d be without living room furniture, so decided against return.

As the months have passed additional issues with the sofa and ottoman are making us question if the correct leather was used or if there is a serious quality issue happening.



More photos of the deterioration can be found here:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUmxpb3

This kind of deterioration doesn’t seem possible in 9 months. The sofa is the piece that gets utilized the least. Both of the chairs are my husband’s go-to for watching TV, and we typically do the majority of that in the lower room where the Sundance chair is located. No pets or children are on the furniture. We’ve had very few visitors. No one is allowed to put feet on the ottomans with shoes still on, yet the Capri Butternut is starting to flake exposing light spots. My husband and I are tall, but not obese. I wipe all the pieces off regularly with a damp soft cloth, (occasionally including 1 drop of Ivory in a bottle of water to spray the cloth). I have not yet conditioned them with Leather Solutions that Duane has recommended. Neither of the chairs nor matching ottomans are showing signs of wear. Is there something we’ve missed in maintenance and care? No instructions were received from H and M or the dealer.

I was under the impression that aniline leather was dyed all the way through the hide, yet what is showing is light colored, like a cheap leather.
The H and M site states the following for the leathers coverings on our pieces:

Capri Butternut and Capri Bordeaux
Class 4
Unprotected
Capri is a full top grain aniline leather with a hand rubbed effect and has no protective finish. Capri is made on an excellent selection of South German hides.

Portfolio Claret
Class 3
Protected
Portfolio is a top grain aniline dyed leather with a protective finish. Portfolio has a hand-rubbed finish for a two-tone effect. Portfolio is a slightly heavier weight leather with an excellent hand.

In my early teens my parents purchased a leather sofa, chair and ottoman in a local furniture store. They don’t recall the name brand. They’ve never wiped them down or treated them with anything. My parents, siblings, and our children have always just plopped down on those pieces with no concern. Besides needing interior cushions replaced, they look fantastic for being over 45 years old.

Do I go back to the dealer raising a red flag that the incorrect leather was used or that there is a quality issue? Looking for guidance on how best to handle this situation.


P.S. Sorry about some of the images not being upright. First post here and couldn't find out to align them correctly.