Emerson sourcing from India, Vietnam
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, June 28, 2004
High Point — Accent and occasional furniture specialist Emerson et Cie has begun sourcing from factories in India and Vietnam.
Three factories in India will produce marble for tabletops, and metal and brass for accessories and accent pieces. Each is located within a day's drive of Delhi.
The company will make occasional tables in a former Theodore Alexander plant in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
About 40% of Emerson et Cie's current business comes out of Italy and Spain, with the rest from China and the Philippines.
Company officials toured India earlier this year, seeking plants to make wood occasional and accent furniture, but found products there too rustic to suit its typical European styling.
"There are a lot of people that are looking for that rustic, carved look that is 200 years old," said Mark Smith, Emerson et Cie's vice president of marketing. "I am looking for more of a European quality and technique that just isn't there (in India) yet."
The metal and brass produced in India was a better match for the company's highly refined style, and the marble has inlay features suitable for its cocktail tables, entry tables and dining tables.
The metal work complemented the styles it sought for table bases, umbrella stands, candle stands and other accessories, Smith said.
He noted much of the marble inlay and mosaic patterns produced in India today is similar to the artistry he saw in the Taj Mahal.
Having produced products for Theodore Alexander, the Vietnam plant has a track record with wood, particularly in distressing and high-quality veneers. The plant will produce cocktail tables and chests and some upholstered leather chairs designed exclusively for Emerson et Cie, Smith said.
Because they do not currently export to the United States, the three India plants also will be an exclusive source to Emerson et Cie.
"All of them will have a sophistication that is very salable and very in line with who we are and where the marketplace is," Smith said.
The Vietnam and India plants are working on prototypes expected to turn up in the company's High Point showroom at the October market.
