LOS ANGELES, California — The China made Marcovaldo line is using a branded strategy  to build sales in what has been an industry wide ‘no name’ China import business in the USA, according to the principal Joseph Moran. 

The 100 man company is looking at $100 million in sales within five years and Moran expects to market the Marcovaldo brand worldwide after he and his wife Shani finish the rollout in the USA. “We’re selling in Germany and we expect the 10-15 percent annual growth in this business to continue. We’re too big to stay under the radar any longer,” he said.

Marcovaldo and Brooks are owned by Joseph and Shani Moran who married in 2008. He is originally from Tehran and then settled in Israel where he established the Renby wholesale/retail brand on Herzl Street in the 40’s. Moran’s father had a high end fabric store in Tehran, which sold top European brands. “The Shah was his customer,” Joseph said. The family left Iran in 1962. Joseph moved to the States after spending time in Europe. Shani is from Johannesburg where her father is in the diamond mining industry. She learned her marketing skills from dad in his dealings with the global jewelry trade in Africa, Antwerp and Israel.   Shani and Joseph Moran

Moran has always searched out the best values in the world for fabrics but right now it is still China, he said. However, “the prices are moving up in China and we’re now looking for other sources in other countries right now,” he explained.

The Moran’s are making extensive use of the web for the Marcovaldo marketing which is promoting worldwide sales, they said. “Marcovaldo is shipping sample books worldwide from the inquiries developed by the website. Each fabric collection is backed by 500-1,000 sample books for the two collections per year in December and June.” Showtime in High Point is their current exhibition format but they expect to be showing the line in European shows in the near future.

The Marcovaldo line was established in 2005 and is priced from $5-$15 in middle to upper price points with an average selling price of $8. It serves the jobber, retailer, better manufacturer and the hospitality and government market. Brooks predated Marcovaldo in 1998. Brooks, at $2-$6 per yard, with an average selling price of $3-$4 a yard is a higher turnover line less sku’s more depth than Brooks. 

Marcovaldo also includes an extensive line of trim, with 10,000 sku’s, also from China, Joseph said. For Brooks, trimming lines are simpler in their design with only four to five collections. The fabrics are primarily microsuedes, chenilles and vinyls. “We’re moving into polyester linen looks with Brooks,” Shani said. The line is well entrenched with the North Carolina and Tupelo, Miss. Furniture industry, she said.

Shani is developing the Marcovaldo image with a series of advertisements pitching the latest African Dawn inspired collections with a European designed, ‘French Revolution’ collection to follow this December. The second collection of African inspired fabrics, ‘African Earth’ in linen polyester and rayon will feature linen looks and velvets, ‘Monarch 40%poly 60% cotton and  Royalty’ velvets in 100 percent cotton is $11-1$14. There is also a reversible linen and chenille line named ‘Sahara’ and a ‘Twilight’ velvet chenille mix. The new trim line is called ‘Kimberly’ and features crystal embellishments, like jewelry. “There is something for everyone in the Marcovaldo line,” Joseph says.  

Both lines are backed up by a 12 man office in China which handles administration and quality control for both companies. Ribenks is the parent company which was started in 1986 by Joseph Moran for container distribution of fabrics. He started to purchase from Germany and later he bought goods from Belgium and shipped these to Poland, Ukraine and Russia under the Molino Company, his European distribution arm. He also worked through home weavers where he bought the yarn and sold fabric as a wholesaler into Eastern Europe. When Eastern Europe collapsed in 1998, he started distribution into the USA through Brooks.

There is a 70,000 square foot warehouse in Commerce, CA. Both lines offer ½ piece minimums per color with an up charge but most of the business is piece driven. Brooks, the more commercial brand, is primarily for the furniture and pillow trade in the US, Canada and Mexico, while Marcovaldo is important for fabric stores in major metro markets, Joseph said. Both lines are stocked in the warehouse for immediate delivery FOB Los Angeles. Ribenks, Moran’s oldest company, was established in 1986 and sells containers only to Central and South America, Eastern and Western Europe.