Eagle Inds. holding own against import pressure
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 20, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — As one of the few remaining solid- wood furniture producers in the United States, Eagle Inds. is looking to boost its value to dealers while maintaining its domestic presence.
It's a strategy Eagle has had in place for the past 27 years and one the company plans to continue pushing even as it faces continued pressure from imports.
The company, which is based here and produces 100% of its product mix domestically, originally specialized in solid-oak home entertainment, home office and dining furniture. About four years ago, it varied its mix to include poplar and birch solids, and expanded its mix of finishes to include options with exotic names such as Caribbean Rum, European ivory and Havana gold. Today, it has 17 finish options including the four original oak versions and some painted and dark stains.
James Bond, vice president of logistics, sales and marketing for Eagle, said the product mix now is split about 50-50 between oak and other woods.
Earlier this year at the Tupelo Furniture Market, the company launched American Premiere, a 60-SKU home office, home entertainment and kitchen furniture line made with poplar solids. The line is at the top end of Eagle's offerings, with pieces that include 90-inch entertainment walls retailing from $2,499 to $2,999.
At both Tupelo and Las Vegas, the line was well received by dealers who liked the finishes, including hand-applied glazed options such as European ivory, European coffee and European gold. The line also has more design details on moldings, door fronts and back panels than some existing collections.
At the High Point Market, which opens Saturday, the company's 212 Center Point showroom will feature a new solid-oak version of American Premiere that will double the line to 120 SKUs.
The company also is expanding its Adler collection of solid poplar and oak TV carts to include wall entertainment units. It showed some of the line in Las Vegas but will have all 25 SKUs in High Point, including an eight-foot entertainment wall that retails around $999.
These and other lines give the company a good-better-best story, with Adler at the entry level and American Premiere at the top. Among its other lines are the cottage/coastal-inspired Coastal and the more contemporary Savannah.
Within its 650,000 square feet of production facilities, Eagle has areas devoted to each line to ensure quality remains consistent. The operation includes some 17 buildings on 22 acres, an impressive size for any facility in North America or Asia. The facilities and the adjoining administrative offices employ some 470 workers.
The company also operates its own transportation division, which boasts 75 trailers and has 28 drivers.
But Eagle had a humble beginning, originating as a kitchen cabinet producer that founder Herb Holtzman started in his garage in Southern California in the early 1980s. The company moved production from Bakersfield, Calif., to Bowling Green, Ky., in 1992.
Holtzman sold the company to Prestige Wood Products in 2006. He returned to the company as a designer in February. Another of the company's original three employees, Amado Rivas, remains with Eagle as vice president of operations.
Today, the company's line includes mostly home entertainment and some home office and kitchen furniture. It had sold imported tables and chairs and domestically produced buffet/hutch units for several years, but exited the categories in the 1990s because of competition and runaway growth that became difficult to manage.
“Our solid product was growing at such a pace and we wanted to concentrate on what we could do and what we could control,” Bond said, noting that the Eagle transportation service also helps it control the flow of both finished goods and parts to its dealers.
Today, home entertainment represents about 70% of the company's nearly $40 million in sales, while home office represents about 20%. Kitchen islands and hutches represent about 10% of sales.
This fall, Eagle plans to get back into the dining business by launching a line of tables and chairs sourced in Malaysia and buffet/hutch units made in Bowling Green.
Bond said that, eventually, the company would like to see home entertainment represent roughly 50% of sales, with home office and dining each representing 25%.
He added that despite continued competition from imports, he is optimistic about the company's future with a mainly domestic line. He also said he believes the company's proximity to the market helps it respond quickly in delivering products and parts. Lead times on made-to-order products are about three to four weeks, down from five to six weeks seven years ago.
“My general feeling is that they have grown quite a bit over the years in terms of updating their looks and finishes in a diversity of product,” said Greg Boll, a buyer for Harrisburg, Pa.-based Just Cabinets, which carries Eagle products. “They have been a flexible company to work with and I would say their product always tends to be a great value.”
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Eagle Inds. holding own against import pressure
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