Tears and smiles for US upholstery industry. In California a big company, running 6 factories with 700 employees, suspended all activities without any relevant notice; in contrast, another enterprise, founded by two Italians, got a valuable financial support to expand their business.
Bankruptcy
In April 2017, JLF Collections, a company created in 1997, took full control over Elite Leather Company, a manufacturer of sofas and couches, founded in California in 1959, which mostly makes use of finished leather coming from China and The Philippines. Thanks to such deal, they therefore created a group running 6 manufacturing plants and employing 700 workers. “Looking at our tradition, we are both keen on innovative technologies matched with artisan skills – pointed out at that time Jeff Lazar, chief executive officer of JLF –; on top of that, we are both committed to sustainability, we look for new design solutions and we always aim at product quality, which must be unique and matchless. Our working together will provide clients with more and more options”. Nice words indeed, not long-lasting though. As reported by Californian press, quoting a letter sent to employees last 5 January, “the main financial supporter of JLF/Elite has taken full control over the company’s management. As a new owner of the enterprise, he has imposed the immediate suspension of manufacturing activities”. The “main financial supporter”, quoted above, is JP Morgan, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company.
Investments
Yet, in the United States, someone else is doing fine. Omnia Italian Design (they design, manufacture and distribute leather furniture), who are about to celebrate their 30th anniversary of production made in the USA, got a financial support by Camano Capital, a private equity company. Omnia announced, with few details though, that “bigger financial assets will enable us to focus our efforts on online and retail sales development strategies”. Omnia (based in Chino, California), is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-quality leather living-rooms in the United States. They expanded their business after launching a product customization service. The company was founded, in 1989, by Salvatore Zolferino and Emilio Nastri, who left Italy and relocated to California to start up a small business manufacturing leather furniture. Peter Zolferino, Salvatore’s son, is currently the president of Omnia: he closely liaises with Louie Nastri, Emilio’s son. All products are manufactured in the United States and are made on demand.
