02/25/2004
I have a close friend that worked at a Ethan Allen factory, Before they close the place he was order to help pack every thing in to crates and ship it all to China! I just seen Ethan Allen new TV Spot it made me very ill! If this country doesn't have the jobs how are to buy it????? if they want us to buy China and still pay as if it made in the USA? Three hundred people no jobs so Ethan Allen can have a BIGGER profit ! look at the labels were was it made????
Reply from Russell at Furniture World Magazine
5/18/2004 8:43:52 AM
ÊWe've been publishing FURNITURE WORLD since 1870 and have developed relationships with many US furniture factories... a couple of whom refused over the last 10 years to do any importing (except perhaps some component parts). These factories, primarily family owned, small town operations who took pride in their operations. Their employees were their friends and co-workers. Many working for generations in the same plant. What happened and continues to happen, of course is that these factories have either faced bankruptcy or been forced to close down US operations in favor of importing their furniture from China and elsewhere... especially in the last five years. At first these factories advertised "Made In America." Yes, US consumers would rather by American made products, but in general, they don't want to pay a lot more for them or get inferior quality for the same price. The furniture industry is fragmented and competitive. Many factories make similar products. Chinese factory workers might earn less than $1 per hour, and get no major benefits. They often live in dormitory settings at factories and work much longer hours than their US counterparts. Environmental and EPA and OSHA type requirements here raise costs here... and building new factories is much more expensive. Once overseas manufacturers learned (or we taught them) to make furniture that meets the US consumer's expectations... the low wage rates, more modern factories and lower operating costs there (plus perhaps the favorable exchange rate) made the demise of the US furniture manufacturing industry almost inevitable (except for some niche categories). If UVW furniture company can sell a Chinese made bedroom set for $1,000 and XYZ furniture must charge $1,500, then XYZ furniture will face lower volumes, reduced margins and be forced to cut back on investment in all sorts of areas as well as in customer service and product quality. Ethan Allen works for their stockholders, but even small family owned factories have had to make the same difficult decision. It is a decision shaped by US policy concerning trade/ free markets and consumer preferences for the best value. I suppose that you could say that Ethan Allen is GREEDY for wanting to remain competitive and stay in business... US consumers are GREEDY for wanting to get the best furniture at the lowest price... and US factory workers are GREEDY for wanting to keep their jobs at the expense of needy Chinese factory workers. I wouldn't want to say this, but I would say that the US furniture industry isn't coming back home anytime soon.ÊÊ
Reply from Dr. Winston O'Boogie
8/31/2004 4:34:51 PM
I agree entirely to your reply Russ! It seems that American consumers want their cake, eat it, and at the lowest price possible!!
Example: Wal-Mart, everyone complains that Wal-Mart destroyed small town America, but who is shopping there?! If consumers want "cheap" prices, than they can't expect American companies to keep said consumers'; brother, sister, cousin, uncle employed here in America and pay them $20.00 per hour plus benefits!
(also, I must point out that the grammer and word placement of the original post was positively horrible!!)
Reply from Tony
8/31/2004 7:57:46 PM
Russ, I am an independent rep and an avid reader and just wanted to let you know that your response to this person was your best work ever. Like a lot of people in this industry, I am conflicted about the loss of jobs, factory closing's etc. . I myself recently resigned from a large domestic manufacturer and now rep. for a company that imports 100% of their product (they recently closed the last of their domestic operations. It was a difficult decision but I have bills to pay. Thanks for a great job. Tony Coleman
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