A Profile of the Furniture Manufacturing Industry, Second Edition by Susan M. Walcott

Author:Susan M. Walcott [Susan M. Walcott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Business Expert Press
Published: 2020-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

HNI

The world’s second-largest office furniture maker (after Steelcase, below), HNI is headquartered in Iowa. The company’s products are principally designed, built, and sold by and for the domestic U.S. market, a marketing feature for its domestic appeal.

Klaussner

Klaussner Home Furnishings was established in 1963 to make furniture for mobile homes at an affordable price with the competitive advantage of speedy delivery within 1 to 2 weeks. In 1979 it was purchased by Mr. Klaussner, a German furniture maker who owned another company in his home country. The German firm was recently sold to several American managers of the U.S. firm. Its distinction remains providing value for price furniture at high speed, including U.S.-made customized pieces deliverable in 3 weeks or less. To achieve these ends, like Ethan Allen, the company strives for vertical integration (in-house control of all stages) and numerous national and international cooperative arrangements. Ten allied manufacturing facilities (including their foam manufacturer for upholstery and mattresses), a warehouse and distribution center, and company headquarters are in Asheboro, North Carolina, next door to High Point. Cutting of leather, fabric coverings, and wood pieces takes place in another facility several miles away, connected by a major highway. In order to offer a full product line, Klaussner imports leather, upholstery, bedroom, dining room, occasional, and memory foam bedding, to supplement its local foam facility and offer a wide range of fabrics and other material choices spanning a large range of price points. Its North Carolina headquarters coordinates production, warehouse, distribution, and service functions, along with maintaining a showroom in the two major furniture market centers of east coast High Point and west coast Las Vegas. As part of its global expansion, Klaussner opened a showroom in Shanghai, joining U.S. furniture companies such as Baker, Ethan Allen, Century, and Stanley to exhibit in China and appeal to that export country’s booming domestic market for foreign prestige goods.

The variety of diversified price level products was a survival response from the recessionary collapse of almost half of Klaussner’s customers. Clearly, a broader range and number of purchasers was needed, as suppliers also disappeared and Chinese plants diminished. Offerings now include an “Essentials” line that competes with Ashley, a mid-range Klaussner line, the higher-price “Distinctions” line, a range of motion furniture in different price levels for different customers, and a “Comfort Design” line that competes with companies such as Bernhardt and Lexington (high-end North Carolina case goods firms). At the less-expensive end, Klaussner calculates that it can make and ship as far as the Mid-western states at a price comparable to and speed better than shipments from China. The highest growth mid-level sector sells for several hundred dollars less than their competition, according to Klaussner, principally due to their supply chain control and ongoing lean manufacturing transition.

As part of its recovery from the recession, Klaussner contracted with a lean manufacturing consulting group to study their business system inventory flow and begin a leaner process, implemented with the assistance of a production specialist over the past year and continuing.

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