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Fabric buyers still choose China

Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, September 21, 2010

HIGH POINT - U.S. upholstery manufacturers have been talking about buying more fabric from domestic mills, but so far it seems to be more talk than action - even in the face of shipping and labor issues in China, the primary source of imports.
     "In the last year or so, I've heard customers saying they've been trying to buy more American-made product. But when you go to the customers and see what they're actually buying....," said Walter Rothschild, president and CEO of David Rothschild.
     He and executives at several other U.S. fabric mills said the expressed intent by manufacturers to go domestic may eventually lead to orders - but it hasn't yet. "They're trying to switch to American fabrics, but there's certainly not a wholesale switch in my mind," Rothschild said.
     Mike Durham, president and CEO of Se7en, formerly Tietex, said interest in domestic fabrics picked up before the last Showtime fabric show here in June here as upholstered furniture producers began to rethink their fabric sourcing strategies.
     But Durham admitted that it can be hard to determine if the interest is genuine or if the manufacturers "just want to get your samples so they can take them to their Chinese sources. I met a Chinese guy in Hickory yesterday and when he asked me what company I was with, he said, ‘Oh, yes, I have your samples.'
     "I guarantee he didn't go out and get them. He had some of our fine customers as a source. They're saying that they want to be more domestic but at the same time they're allowing us to be knocked off. It's a little bit of a two-faced industry and you can quote me on that," Durham added.
     But he also noted that Se7en is again pursuing sales to upholstery makers that it had previously written off to imports.
     Bob Patton, vice president of domestic fabric source P. Kaufman, said problems with Chinese imports haven't affected the company one way or another. If anything, they have inspired P. Kaufman to sharpen its scheduling and lead times in obtaining the base cloth it imports from China, Portugal and Brazil, so it can keep its own inventories reliable.
     "We try to stock our warehouse in Fort Mill, S.C. We have about 93% of our product line in stock at all times. Having said that, it's the other 7% that will drive you nuts," he said. "If something takes off and we get behind the eight-ball, we have some issues with it."
     Some customers, he said, "just don't understand if you don't have it. I think it's just the times and the pressure of the business. Nobody wants to carry inventory."
     Mike Shelton, president and CEO of Valdese Weavers, said the increasing cost of yarn, chemicals and other components that go into textiles may be having more impact on the industry than any problems specific to China. "That's a worldwide event right now," he said.
     But he indicated there may still be some peripheral gains for Valdese.
     "I do think we're seeing some opportunity created by a variety of logistics and commodity pricing issues in China that have allowed our customers to rethink their strategies. In some cases, they've brought some production back onshore," said Shelton.
     Overall, business seems to be picking up despite the slow economy. He said that despite an inconsistency in orders, there has been "a steady pickup" in the past 18 months. "I know it's not necessarily economic conditions that are doing it for us. It's more market share gains. I think our customers have shown in almost all markets that they're very concerned with consistency of quality, delivery and reliability - things we've offered that have resonated with our customers."
     Likewise, Bob McKinnon, a textile veteran and consultant to Pennsylvania-based Keystone Weaving, said, "We're seeing some improvement. It's not in giant steps but we're seeing some improvement."
     He added, "People are interested in aligning themselves with someone they feel is dependable from a quality and service standpoint."
     Se7en's Durham, whose company is completing its first year in business, said he has seen orders for market samples "come in a big way," which is encouraging. He said customers are gaining confidence that the company will stick around, and that its design, quality and construction are good.
     "If your line does not look good and your product is ugly, nobody wants to buy it no matter where it is from or what price it is," he said. "Cheap does not make it beautiful."

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