Viewpoint Leather Works

[aaron]

As indicated above, the website is now just a parked page. The Utah company is defunct as of 2010. It may be a familiar story of a defunct U.S. brand being picked up by a Chinese company or importer that wants to trade on the former owner's reputation. But as with many furniture lines, if in fact this piece was manufactured after the apparent demise of the Utah company, it would appear that the "Viewpoint" you dealt with in the 1990's was a very different company with a very different product.

If you take the time to read the forum, you will find that Duane is interested in quality furniture, and trades on honest information. And if you go to a typical furniture store these days, unfortunately you will see a lot of low quality furniture from China, no small amount of it sold under the brands of companies that have reduced or eliminated their domestic production. There are many importers with U.S. addresses that do no domestic production.

[Matthew]

The Utah company is defunct as of 2010. It may be a familiar story of a defunct U.S. brand being picked up by a Chinese company or importer that wants to trade on the former owner's reputation.

I believe Viewpoint is still around, they just changed their name to "USA Premium Leather".

[aaron]

I believe Viewpoint is still around, they just changed their name to "USA Premium Leather".

New company, same address? Whatever the continuity may be in terms of management, ownership, property line (and I know nothing about any continuity as it's not part of the free listing on the Utah corporate listings website), there's usually considerably more going on than a change of name when the corporate entity changes as well. Most often it's a change of ownership. Sometimes it's somebody picking up the remnants of a bankruptcy or out-of-business company.

[Matthew]

New company, same address? Whatever the continuity may be in terms of management, ownership, property line (and I know nothing about any continuity as it's not part of the free listing on the Utah corporate listings website), there's usually considerably more going on than a change of name when the corporate entity changes as well. Most often it's a change of ownership. Sometimes it's somebody picking up the remnants of a bankruptcy or out-of-business company.

Ownership was the same at the time of the switch. Now (or, at least as of 2010 when the owner died) the son of the original owner is running the company: http://www.furnituretoday.com/articl...dies_at_77.php

I don't know the reasons for the name change, nor do I do what else changed at that time (their build quality certainly may have changed). My main point was that they appear to still be a USA manufacturer. I don't know much about them aside from what I've seen in furniture stores around here, but quality seems "ok" (seems to be hardwood frames but with screwed corner blocks instead of doweled and drop-in 8-way units) based off what the sales rep understood (basically, take it for what it's worth).

[aaron]

There may have been an advantage to the heirs through inheriting the assets of the corporation and starting a "new" business, as opposed to inheriting the existing corporation.

I don't know why they make this so hard to find - if it were my site it would be front-and-center - but on the "About Us" age they state, "Note: that all USA Premium Leather Furniture products are made in North Carolina or Utah."