The upholstery world is agitated. The High Point Market Fall edition kicks off today. The furniture fair that takes place twice a year in North Carolina usually receives 75,000 visitors. A hot topic during the current edition, which closes on October 23rd, is the transitional phase that the market is in due to the trade war between the USA and China. The battle of duties is causing a lack of demand from within the USA, that is leading manufacturers towards leather, so that they may fill the void left.
A half a billion opportunity
As reported by furntituretoday.com via the statements made by the participants of High Point, some of the main furniture producers in China are focusing their attention on markets other than the US one, leaving US companies (as well as European ones) free to operate. The void left by Eastern companies is worth between 400 and 600 million USD. The situation meets that of a phase in which leather on international market is in a downward trend thus causing a higher demand of sofas and accessories for furniture that are made with the material. “We see an opportunity to earn market share in both the upholstery segment and the textile one”, explains Steve Lush, president of Kuka Home North America, the US branch of Chinese upholstery manufacturer Kuka, via the pages of online news sources FurnitureToday.
An entire collection made of leather
Among the main exhibitors at the fair is Leather Italia USA, company based out of Leland (North Carolina) that was founded in 1997. That same year, the company presented at High Point a collection made of 4 models coming from Tuscany. These few days, Leather Italia USA is showcasning its new luxury (“Lusso”) collection, one that is made of 10 sofas with modern lines paired with armchairs, all of which are made of leather”. “Many important clients told us we are doing good work, putting together tradition and innovation, as they wanted contemporary products able to capture the interest of Millennials – explains the brand’s vice-president of sales Zachary Shilen to furnituretoday.com -. These products have been developed with the goal of supplying the same high-quality products, while remaining close to current trends and aiming at the interest of Millennials’ buyers”.
Read also
Eastern rumours: Natuzzi to relocate Natuzzi Editions manufacturing to Romania allegedly
How much is produced and where. What market and preference trends are present. Around the world of upholstery, in collaboration with CSIL
