HIGH POINT MARKET: Lacquer Craft USA makes market debut

Introducing six bedroom and dining room collections

Tom Russell -- Furniture Today, April 27, 2009

HIGH POINT —

The Cortona bedroom by Lacquer Craft USA is made with olive ash burl veneers and has Tuscan-inspired design elements. A four piece bedroom is targeted to retail at $1,899.

The collections come in traditional, transitional and contemporary footprints. Four-piece bedrooms retail from $1,299 to $1,899, while table and four-chair dining sets retail in the $599 to $799 range.

The pieces, on display this week at the Lacquer Craft showroom at 115 S. Hamilton St., will be produced in the company's factories in Dongguan and Jiashan, China.

"They have been very well received, said President and CEO Randy Chrisley, who came to Lacquer Craft USA from sister company Universal. "There hasn't been one (group) that someone hasn't committed to."

In addition to the traditional bed, dresser, mirror, nightstand and table and chair combinations, different collections have add-on pieces such as wall beds and bar servers with drawer and wine bottle storage.

The groups were developed by Darren York, vice president of product development, who came to the company from Klaussner Home Furnishings. Currently he, Chrisley and an assistant are the only three employees.

Chrisley said the goal is to keep the organization small - with no more than five employees anticipated - to keep costs down. Customer service will be Web based, with issues reported to the company online and communicated directly to the factory.

The model is different from the model of sister companies Universal and Legacy Classic, which are owned by Samson and have a U.S.-based customer service staff as well as warehousing in both China and the United States.

Instead of being warehoused, Lacquer Craft USA goods will be produced directly from orders, which is one main reason the company requires a two-container minimum order. Unlike the sister companies, Lacquer Craft USA also will have no rep force.

"With this, there are no reps to go call on them, and there is no inventory," said Lacquer Craft Mfg. President Mohamad Amini. "It is a different business model altogether."

The company also uses different designers than those companies. For those reasons, Amini does not believe the company will compete directly with either Universal or Legacy Classic.

"It is different designers and different features," Amini said. "There is no compromise on quality. It is just a different business model and customer base."

However, he believes that business model is timely, particularly for retailers who don't have the ability to source directly from a company like Lacquer Craft, one of China's largest wood producers.

The new goods, he said, are expected to hit dealer floors by Labor Day.