The other day a Sales Rep walked in......

[drcollie]

....and asked if he could show me the lines of product he carried. As he began pulling out his catalogs to put on the desk I asked him one simple question "Where is this line made?" He replied 'in China", and I said "There is no need to pull out your catalogs then, I'm not interested in buying ANY Chinese-made product from any producer with the current political climate being what it is." He was an older gentleman and he paused a bit, then started putting his catalogs away and he said "Good for you, I applaud that, honestly I do. I need to find another line to Rep, because I think yours is the right call". Then he left.

Most furniture companies based in the USA have either pulled out of China or are in the process of doing so. There is a major shift in production to Vietnam, India, and the Philippines, as wells as some ramping up in South America.

Made in USA costs more. We don't have workers that will labor for $ 2 an hour, We have Social Security and Medicare, and most all have Health Insurance where they work. There is Unemployment available in the event of layoffs. All that raises the price to produce goods and comes to the consumer as a higher price. But with that also comes quality in the build, and domestic producers stand behind their product more than offshore imports - and you can get parts for things if they fail. 80% of our lines in The Keeping Room are made in the USA, 15% are made offshore, and only 5% are made in China - we will be phasing that out to zero.

I just bought a new John Deere Lawn Tractor to mow my yard this week, to replace a 12 year old one. Certainly there were cheaper ones around, but none are made better. Right there on the production plate it says "Built in Horicon, Wisconsin, USA". I like that. I will pay more for that.