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Up-and-Coming Importers: Orie Fritts, Tradespan

By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, March 7, 2004

New opportunities
Two-way trade

COLUMBUS, Ind. — If you told Orie Fritts 30 years ago that he would land a career as a furniture importer, he would not have believed it.

After all, he got his start in highly technical fields, working in both manufacturing and electronics for Emerson Electric and leading the aerospace and applied technology divisions of Arvin Inds. In line with his career path, he received a master's degree in science and technology from Antioch University in 1988.

"At that point, I wouldn't have dreamed of it," Fritts said of a future in home furnishings.

Today, he is president and CEO of case goods importer Tradespan International. With about $15 million in annual sales volume, Tradespan imports product for retailers and acts as an agent for various manufacturers.

Looking back, Fritts realizes that his early experience, particularly the overseas elements, paved the way for his success in furniture.

In the late 1960s and early '70s, he had the opportunity to visit an Arvin component buying office in Japan and a company plant that employed 6,000 in Taiwan.

He first visited China in 1981, when he was still with Arvin. As the company started doing business there, he would develop many of the contacts he has to this day.

His impression at the time was that the country had huge market potential as both a producer and consumer of goods.

"You could see this monster building over there in China," Fritts said. "It was clear they had the population, and if they ever got their government situation straightened out, it was this huge market with all kinds of needs and capabilities. They have the same kinds of materials and minerals as the U.S., just five times more people."

Fritts worked as group vice president of Arvin's Applied Technology Group from early 1969 to late 1983. From January 1984 to December 1985, he was senior vice president of marketing and business development of Arvin subsidiary System Research Laboratories.

In early 1986, he purchased a company in Chicago called Maxtex International Corp., which had offices in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. As president and CEO, he developed contacts in those countries and oversaw the company's test equipment and material handling systems divisions as well as an international trading company.

In early 1989, he returned to Columbus, Ind., to form his own company, Tradespan International.

He originally started out in an investment banking and consulting role, helping his Korean, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Chinese contacts locate acquisition candidates in the United States.

Along with helping the companies acquire assets, Tradespan also helped them find agents to sell what were primarily castings and forging products.

New opportunities

Fritts got into the furniture business through his introduction to Sidex, a Yugoslavian-based casual dining and case goods importer. At the time, the Bosnian war had destroyed many of that company's chair-producing plants, a situation that led it to seek alternate sourcing locations in China.

Coincidentally, Fritts' brother went to church with a Sidex marketing manager who knew Fritts had a lot of contacts in China. After meeting the people at Sidex, Fritts helped launch four joint ventures to produce colonial-style birch chairs for Sidex.

Fritts then approached Ohio-based Bell Furniture Inds. to source a similar product in oak. Bell not only agreed to that, it also involved Tradespan in its entire line, which included full dining room sets.

Working on a retainer basis, Tradespan concentrated its initial work for Bell in northern China, where it had the most contacts. Eventually, it moved into the south, establishing a network of quality control employees in both regions.

Fritts credits Bell with helping Tradespan build the infrastructure necessary to make the company what it is today.

But the partnership with Bell didn't last forever. In the spring of 1999, a tornado damaged Bell's 240,000-square-foot Loveland, Ohio, distribution facility. In August 2000, Bell filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A month later Bell's assets were sold to Heath Home Furnishings, which operates Bell as a subsidiary of Stratford.

Former Bell President and CEO Phil Bell said Tradespan and Fritts were instrumental in helping Bell expand its sourcing network in China.

"He was very comfortable with the culture and knew a lot of people over there," Bell said.

Two-way trade

Today, Fritts is more active in China than ever. Just over five years ago, he made about four trips there a year. In the past four years he has made eight to 10 trips, which have him living there for about half the year.

Those trips, he said, are important in helping him maintain contact with key business partners. That in turn, helps him maintain and grow the business.

"I try to spend as much time there as I can," he said. "You can't run it from too far away."

Not so ironically, Fritts has grown his company by selling many of his same Asian contacts lumber, veneer and bonded leather products.

As much as he likes the import business, he believes the reverse strategy will help his company grow in the future. Based on China's population and emerging middle class, he sees plenty of opportunity for U.S. firms.

"Everybody is forecasting China to become the biggest world economy," he said. "Companies need to find a way to get in there and sell them product, not just look at it as a manufacturing basket."

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