Richloom's Carlson directing China office
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, April 18, 2005
Richloom Fabrics Group is ramping up its commitment to the furniture industry by sending one of its best and brightest sales executives to China.
Jay Carlson, who has been in sales for Richloom for six years, will be the manager of the company's China operations effective May 1. He will oversee sourcing, sales, quality control and everything related to the operation of an overseas trading office.
"We already have a fairly large office over there," Carlson said, "and this will give us the opportunity to really take that office to a new level."
The Shanghai office is already staffed with a dozen Chinese nationals, and Carlson will be hiring additional personnel.
Carlson's relocation is part of Richloom's strategy to increase its value to the furniture industry. After all, quality is the No. 1 issue with fabrics from China, and whoever figures out the solution first will stand to get the lion's share of the market.
"It's a great investment to make, and the timing is just right, because our business is so strong," said David Titlebaum, vice president of sales, furniture division. "It's the right move at the right time and we know we have the right person for the job."
In his position as retail sales and marketing manager, Carlson has been dealing with such department stores and furniture retailers as Federated, May Co., J.C. Penney, Dillard's, Havertys, Berkshire Hathaway divisions, Value City, Rooms To Go, Rhodes, Levitz, Raymour & Flanigan, Rent-A-Center and Aaron Rents.
Although some domestic fabric vendors have been slow to recognize the need to diversify their manufacturing bases, Richloom is not among them. The company has been selling top-of-bed and other decorative textiles direct from China for years, learning the ins-and-outs of doing business in the Far East and fine-tuning its understanding of cultural differences that can spoil the outcome if they are ignored.
"We are really encouraging our customers — and their customers — to use us for sourcing and now we will have this showroom in China, and even greater opportunities for sourcing, sales and marketing," Titlebaum said. "That's where Jay's added value comes into play."
During his career at Richloom, Carlson has covered a wide range of territories and served customers ranging from the mainstream to the upper end of the market.
Carlson said his calendar is already filled with visits from customers during May, by which time the company's Summer Showtime introductions will be ready to show. And as Jim Richman, chairman of Richloom, recently quipped, "Who knows? Someday there may be a Shanghai Showtime."
Richloom already has a domestic weaving mill that supports its upholstery fabric business, but Titlebaum said the additional focus on China won't impact the Berkshire Weaving plant in North Carolina.
"Berkshire continues to play a vital role and proves that with innovations, domestic weaving can remain strong," Titlebaum said. "In fact, Berkshire's business was up 30% in 2004 over 2003. The China strategy will have no effect on the domestic weave plant."
In the meantime, as the furniture manufacturing industry continues to shift to the Far East, having a familiar face and name in the Shanghai office will go a long way to putting Richloom squarely in the catbird seat.
