Methodology for this project
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, March 7, 2004
In this report, Furniture/Today identifies some of the major North American importers bringing in product from China and other countries in the Asian/Pacific Rim.
It is a daunting task given that there are legions of companies that import furniture from around the world. To help accomplish this task, we decided to stay focused on companies that exclusively design, market and help Asian sourcing partners distribute product to the U.S. consumer.
In particular, we wanted to avoid listing companies that do any domestic manufacturing. If they do any related work, it is limited to light assembly, finishing and repair most likely handled in their warehouse operations.
We have purposely left off domestic manufacturers such as Pulaski, Thomasville, Lane and others that import a large portion of their total shipments. We also have chosen to not include retailers that import direct or the divisions of U.S. manufacturers that serve as the importing arms of those companies.
The list is meant to serve as a resource to our readers in helping identify some of the key importers and the type work they do. Some major names, such as occasional importer Butler Specialty and case goods importer Powell Co. chose not to participate in our survey and have purposely been left off.
With 50 names, we realize this list just scratches the surface in terms of the number of "pure-play" importers out there. But we hope it encourages other companies to step forward to be included in future listings.
Finally, we hope this list and the accompanying charts, graphics and stories help you understand the growing role these businesses play in our ever-changing industry.
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