Import strategies: So many to choose from!
Jerry Epperson -- Furniture Today, November 11, 2002
I visited "Jack's Place" the other day, a not-so-modest 400,000-square-foot building just south of Riverside, Calif. The grand opening of Magnussen Home's new distribution center was fun and informative. They brought in every employee that could travel from Canadian headquarters in New Hamburg, Ontario, and sales headquarters in High Point. The state-of-the-art facility has 104 loading docks. After the opening and tours, everyone was bused to Disneyland. Keeping the Mickey Mouse theme going, I spoke at dinner.
By the way, the Jack is Jack Waheed, a longtime Magnussen man who has run all the previous California distribution centers. Magnussen Home, the renamed Magnussen Presidential, was founded in 1931 and made occasional furniture until it closed its plants in 1986. An import program that began in 1982 has grown dramatically, creating the need for a West Coast distribution center.
The company now promises seven-day delivery of its wood furniture anywhere in Canada and the United States. That's a bold promise but it should be well received by retailers.
As our industry evolves from domestic to global sourcing, we see a number of strategies emerging. Domestic producers often rely on imported components, such as carved or inlaid veneered parts or cut-and-sewn covers for upholstery.
This is why a West Coast dock snafu is big trouble. Yes, it would keep out some imports from the Pacific Rim, but it also would keep many U.S. factories from getting needed parts.
Asian manufacturers also are developing new strategies. Some have acquired or developed a U.S. sales organization to sell directly to retailers, like Universal, Fine Furniture Design, DeCoro and others.
Some domestic manufacturers have launched separate entities that sell only imported goods under a new name, like DMI's Wynwood or Standard's Grand Designs. Others have used imports to complement and, in many cases, replace North American lines, like Pulaski, Magnussen and others.
Brands that once used their consumer identity to shield domestic production are nearly all integrating imports into their lines, like Ethan Allen, Thomasville, Bassett and others. Lane, of course, made the transition to wood imports more dramatically than most.
Some offer many options almost seamlessly, like Ashley, which will ship domestic and imported goods from their U.S. warehouses or sell you foreign-made goods directly in containers.
These combinations are turning retailers into financiers as they calculate the time-discounted value of money, figure out their GMROI, and look at currency fluctuations, not just price.
We believe the "low-hanging fruit" already has been harvested by the imports. Yet we continue to see new marketing strategies almost every week. You need to study how these changes can help you.
