Showtime Becoming More International; U.S. Suppliers Feeling the Pressure
December 16, 2002
High Point — According to the American Furniture Manufacturers Association, 2003 is expected to be a stronger year for home furnishings sales. With uncertainty in the air in terms of terrorism and war, consumers are spending at least some of their disposable income on their homes versus vacations and other activities. A new forecast from AFMA reports that sales will rise next year at least 4.9 percent over 2002, bringing a total of industry shipments in residential furniture to $25.533 billion.
"There was a huge expansion in the housing sector during the January through March quarter of (2002)," said Joseph Logan, AFMA's vice president of financial services. The outlook in the years ahead is very positive."
Broken out of the equation, shipments of upholstered furniture are expected to total $11.309 billion in 2003, up 5.6 percent over 2002.
Suffering, however, are the upper-end upholstery manufacturers. The devaluation of the stock market has pulled trillions of dollars out of the economy. Plus, imports have devalued the furniture market. Thus, many of the home furnishings industry's better-end upholstery vendors have been pulling down their prices in an effort to resuscitate the market.
"China is definitely having an impact on the industry," said Catherine Morsell, associate director of the International Textile Market Association, which puts on Showtime bi-annually in High Point. "It's not something that's going away. It is beneficial for a lot of companies and difficult for many."
"China is driving the prices down and making it harder for better quality American and European goods to sell in the United States," said Gary Inoff, vice president, Bartson Fabrics Inc. (Pinehurst, N.C.)
Said Thomas Muzekari, vice president sales and marketing, for Quaker Fabric Corporation (Fall River, Mass.), "The biggest aggravation with China is the copies, and the lawsuits are expensive. But we have to let them know they can't do that."
He added, "By bringing the fabric here and selling it for less than what we can make it ... well, we just look at it as another competitor. We deal with it by giving our customers the variety, service, and quality they have come to expect from us."
Roger Berkley, president of Weave Corporation, (Hackensack, N.J.) agreed. "China, with the assistance of the U.S. trade policy, has killed much of the U.S. textile industry. As 2005 approaches with the end of quotas, China will terminate all of the U.S. textile industry except highly specialized niche players, like Weave and some of our domestic brethren, and large companies like Quaker who will be global manufacturers with some capacity in a number of places." Berkley added, "To protect our innovative advantage, we have all become very vigilant in defending our copyrights. Those who would steal our intellectual property will face retribution in the form of financial penalties, custom intervention and, if warranted, litigation."
Morsell said that interest by international fabric suppliers wanting to exhibit at Showtime has increased. "We don't have enough space for everyone who wants to show. We're bursting at the seams."
Currently there are approximately 220 exhibitors at Showtime, and Morsell expects at least 20 more to join for the Winter 2003 edition (January 6-9).
Products in leather and suede are important for those companies. "Suedes are having a big impact on the market," said Steiner. "Leather has grown dramatically as a share of the market."
Berkley attributes the climate of the U.S. fabric industry to the following: "The policy of the U.S. government adopted by the Reagan administration and continued through the first Bush administration, and Clinton administration, and the current Bush administration — with the support of Congress — has been to give away the U.S. textile industry to other countries either as an instrument of foreign policy or through sloppy trade negotiations. The admission of China to the WTO has accelerated the trend. While the U.S. markets have been opened to others, their markets remain relatively closed to us. Pakistan, India, China, and others can ship into the U.S at low duty rates, but the rates we encounter exporting to those countries are prohibitive." F&FI
"There was a huge expansion in the housing sector during the January through March quarter of (2002)," said Joseph Logan, AFMA's vice president of financial services. The outlook in the years ahead is very positive."
Broken out of the equation, shipments of upholstered furniture are expected to total $11.309 billion in 2003, up 5.6 percent over 2002.
Suffering, however, are the upper-end upholstery manufacturers. The devaluation of the stock market has pulled trillions of dollars out of the economy. Plus, imports have devalued the furniture market. Thus, many of the home furnishings industry's better-end upholstery vendors have been pulling down their prices in an effort to resuscitate the market.
"China is definitely having an impact on the industry," said Catherine Morsell, associate director of the International Textile Market Association, which puts on Showtime bi-annually in High Point. "It's not something that's going away. It is beneficial for a lot of companies and difficult for many."
"China is driving the prices down and making it harder for better quality American and European goods to sell in the United States," said Gary Inoff, vice president, Bartson Fabrics Inc. (Pinehurst, N.C.)
Said Thomas Muzekari, vice president sales and marketing, for Quaker Fabric Corporation (Fall River, Mass.), "The biggest aggravation with China is the copies, and the lawsuits are expensive. But we have to let them know they can't do that."
He added, "By bringing the fabric here and selling it for less than what we can make it ... well, we just look at it as another competitor. We deal with it by giving our customers the variety, service, and quality they have come to expect from us."
Roger Berkley, president of Weave Corporation, (Hackensack, N.J.) agreed. "China, with the assistance of the U.S. trade policy, has killed much of the U.S. textile industry. As 2005 approaches with the end of quotas, China will terminate all of the U.S. textile industry except highly specialized niche players, like Weave and some of our domestic brethren, and large companies like Quaker who will be global manufacturers with some capacity in a number of places." Berkley added, "To protect our innovative advantage, we have all become very vigilant in defending our copyrights. Those who would steal our intellectual property will face retribution in the form of financial penalties, custom intervention and, if warranted, litigation."
Morsell said that interest by international fabric suppliers wanting to exhibit at Showtime has increased. "We don't have enough space for everyone who wants to show. We're bursting at the seams."
Currently there are approximately 220 exhibitors at Showtime, and Morsell expects at least 20 more to join for the Winter 2003 edition (January 6-9).
Products in leather and suede are important for those companies. "Suedes are having a big impact on the market," said Steiner. "Leather has grown dramatically as a share of the market."
Berkley attributes the climate of the U.S. fabric industry to the following: "The policy of the U.S. government adopted by the Reagan administration and continued through the first Bush administration, and Clinton administration, and the current Bush administration — with the support of Congress — has been to give away the U.S. textile industry to other countries either as an instrument of foreign policy or through sloppy trade negotiations. The admission of China to the WTO has accelerated the trend. While the U.S. markets have been opened to others, their markets remain relatively closed to us. Pakistan, India, China, and others can ship into the U.S at low duty rates, but the rates we encounter exporting to those countries are prohibitive." F&FI