JLA Home moving into decorative fabric business
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, April 14, 2005
Fremont, Calif. — China-based home textiles producer JLA Home plans to open a decorative fabrics mill to serve the jobber and furniture manufacturing channels.
George Kerr, who was senior vice president for manufactured products at American Century Home Fabric, has joined JLA Home, partly to oversee the development of the new products.
The decorative fabrics center will occupy a new three-building, 300,000-square-foot campus in Hangzhou, China. Kerr also will develop a U.S. design team. The company is based in Fremont, Calif., and has other North American offices in Atlanta, Bentonville, Ark., and Toronto. It also is looking for office and warehouse space in the High Point area.
"What attracted me to JLA Home is that they have a unique business model," Kerr said. "Compared to other Chinese companies, they deliver what they promise. They're already at about $150 million sales in the U.S. and last year they were named International Vendor of the Year by Wal-Mart."
Upholstery fabrics in the line will include chenilles and flat-woven jacquard constructions at price points of about $3.95 to $6.95 for roll goods. The company also is offering cut-and-sew services for upholstery, Kerr said.
JLA's new division will launch its first line in July or October, said Edmund Lin, principal of the company.
Kerr is the executive vice president of JLA's manufactured product division, and also is president of the decorative fabrics division, where he is responsible for product development in jacquards and dobbies.
Jin said decorative fabrics are "a natural extension for us, and we hope to build it to a sizable business in three to five years."
JLA now produces bedding, bath, window coverings, home accessories and decorative pillows. The development of furniture cut-and-sew kits will be a big part of Kerr's responsibilities.
"We are a design-driven house with a portion of the business focused in promotions," Jin said. "We want to build a design team. We are a low-cost producer."
In China, more than 50 factories produce solely for JLA, Kerr said.
JLA has purchased a building in Roswell, Ga., and will open a showroom there this month. It also is looking for an office and distribution center in the High Point area as well as a New York showroom.
The New York showroom is especially important, Jin explained, since the company has signed a licensing agreement with Natori, a leading intimate apparel design company, for a home furnishings collection. The collection is scheduled to be in stores in fall 2006, Jin said.
"The showroom needs to be large, and to accommodate our expansion," Jin related. "A licensing program can be a $30 million to $40 million business."
| Acknowledgements | ||
| Susan M. Andrews contributed to this story. | ||
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