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Leather delivery back on track

By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, December 30, 2001

Planning ahead

Overseas deliveries of raw and finished goods to leather upholstery manufacturers are back on track since some temporary disruptions following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. And producers are looking ahead prepared to deal with any residual challenges.

Although some leather upholstery manufacturers have shared stories of dust covers being torn open as shipments are inspected more closely as well as some minor scrapping over container availability, for most part, things have settled down.

"It has been coming through a little slower but no major problems," said Dwight Hardison, vice president of marketing and merchandising for BenchCraft. "Customs is being much more careful, and that is perfectly fine with us."

Depending on the resource, the lead times for finished goods at BenchCraft are running 10 weeks from Italy and 10 to 11 weeks from Asia.

Roy Calcagne, vice president of merchandising for upholstery at Broyhill, said incoming leather shipments were shut down for about two days, but all is now adhering to schedule.

Jeff Baron, president of DeCoro USA, which ships out of China, agreed. "Everything is fine. Right after Sept. 11, there was some difficulty because they closed the ports. ... But deliveries are on time now."

Mark Parris, vice president of sales and marketing for the United States for Canadian-based Coja, however, said he had encountered some delays with tanneries. "There is a lot of crust out there, but we're waiting for shipments. The shipment sizes have gone down because of slower demand."

Parris said Coja has retooled some of its internal schemes to expedite "getting things out the door."

Planning ahead

Clayton Marcus projects out into the future to avoid any hiccups. "We've done a better job of planning, so we've encountered no delays," said Dick Posey, vice president of sales and marketing for Clayton Marcus.

The company projects 120 days out on its imported components to ensure an uninterrupted delivery stream.

Upping the ante on its standard 12-week delivery, Natale pared its Instant Leather quick-ship program to five weeks. "Instant Leather gives us an opportunity to open accounts with every retailer that sells leather," said James Riddle, president of Natale USA. "We plan to expand to independent accounts nationwide."

Calling October "our best shipping month in history," Riddle noted his business is up 50% for the year.

John Sellers, president of Divania USA, said his customers are relying on this Italian producer as if it were an U.S. resource. "We don't have a (U.S.) warehousing program, but they are treating us like we do. They want everything before Christmas."

Divania has enfolded its quick-ship delivery into its core program, featuring eight-week delivery on 10 pre-selected best-selling frames and 20 leathers. For 2002, Divania is pushing to cut its lead-time to three weeks on the water, as compared to three to four weeks now.

Chateau d'Ax, too, is back on track with its deliveries. As for lead times, "normally, 90% of the time, we are five weeks out of the factory (before the water)," said Harry Cierler, director of marketing and sales for the United States.

Currently, "our East Coast deliveries are seven to eight weeks, while our West Coast shipments are eight to nine weeks out." During the slower periods — February, March and April — the producer is four to five weeks out of the factory.

Michael Campbell, president of Campbell Leather Sales, which imports finished goods from Italy, said his flow of merchandise continues to be extremely consistent.

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