By Joanne Friedrick, Research Editor
HIGH POINT — Key furniture sources battled a multitude of businesses challenges in 2020, most brought about by the pandemic, which in many cases adversely impacted U.S. furniture shipments.
Several key players — La-Z-Boy, Hooker, Samson, Flexsteel, Ethan Allen, Bassett, Rock House Farm, Klaussner and Natuzzi — registered double-digit declines in shipments vs. 2019. Among the universe of companies listed, there was an overall reduction of about 1%.
Instability and uncertainty were significant themes throughout the year, with publicly traded companies citing within their annual reports shortages of workers and materials, coupled with unprecedented demand swings and ongoing supply chain issues.
A reduced workforce in the second quarter of 2020 was one of the mitigating factors that producers experienced, with Bassett noting that hundreds of workers were furloughed, and even with employees coming back, the company was still working below its full capacity.
Hooker Furnishings also highlighted this issue, saying its domestic upholstery division struggled to maintain consistent staffing and to hire skilled workers to deal with what soon became a backlog of orders. La-Z-Boy also furloughed about 70 percent of its workforce.
Demand for product see-sawed during the year, falling off dramatically as retailers shuttered their doors and consequently canceled orders, but then rising again as some stores reopened or developed online options to accommodate stay-at-home consumers eagerly looking for furnishings to update their spaces.
At issue, however, was the ability to meet that demand with the slower-than-expected return to production both domestically and internationally, which was tied into supply chain woes.
Everything from raw materials to components to finished goods had been, as Natuzzi described it, “limited and discontinuous.” The company also noted the concerning impact of higher costs from third-party shippers.
To address the shipping constraints that it dealt with in 2020, Samson Holding saw promise in the construction of its new upholstery factory in Vietnam and the addition of three U.S. production lines, hoping to alleviate the problem.
Among those key sources that did see positive results in 2020 were major players Ashley, Dorel, Sauder and Manwah, as well as some smaller domestic companies such as Gat Creek, Carolina Leather and Monte LeConte.
Hong Kong-based Manwah, which registered one of the highest percentage increase among those listed, also continues to reduce the percentage of shipments to the United States, dropping from around 52% of sales in the mid-2000s to just 27% in 2020.
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July 19, 2021 at 05:09PM
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Key US furniture sources weather turbulent year - Furniture Today
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