Amelia Home to sell Chinese imports from Coe
By Ray Allegrezza -- Furniture Today, May 7, 2007
Guangdong, China — Vertically integrated Chinese manufacturer Coe Ltd. has established a U.S.-based marketing subsidiary called Amelia Home to sell container-direct case goods and upholstery in North America.
Industry veteran John Wampler has joined Amelia Home as president, according to Coe Chairman Charles Leung.
Wampler most recently was president of the Forbidden City division of importer Lifestyle Enterprise, and earlier was president of case goods suppliers Progressive Furniture and Pulaski Furniture.
Coe has distributed its wares in the United States on an OEM basis and also is the parent of another marketing division, Urban Classics, which focuses on lifestyle looks. Leung said the launch of Amelia Home underscores the changing nature of the home furnishings arena.
"We're entering a new era in our industry that provides tremendous opportunities for well-capitalized, asset-based, Asian-based manufacturers to serve the growing needs of retailers seeking to source direct," he said.
Coe has more than 5,000 employees and 3 million square feet of manufacturing space, and owns timberland, logging operations, sawmills, veneer mills and drying operations. Its 50 factories produce bedroom, dining room, occasional, entertainment, accent furniture, metal furniture, resin furniture and upholstery in fabric and leather covers, and have the capacity to turn out 1,000 containers per month.
Wampler said Amelia Home has secured a showroom on the seventh floor of the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point. It will use that space to show more than 300 SKUs in case goods and upholstery at the October market.
Introductions will fall into promotional to medium price points. The lion's share of the line will feature traditional and transitional looks, according to Wampler.
"Urban Classics, our sister company, has the contemporary and Gen X looks covered," he said.
As part of Coe, Amelia Home has multiple warehouses in China, which will allow retailers to mix containers. Finished goods will ship FOB from the Yan Tian port.
"Thanks to the vision of Charles Leung, who earned a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University, we're focused on innovation in design, function and technology," Wampler said. "Our goal is to blend low-cost production with high-quality innovation, which puts us, the retailer and the consumer in a winning position."
