The strategy has not always been an easy one for the company.
“The environment that we’ve had to compete in at our price points over the last few years has been like being in the eye of the hurricane,” Bassett said. “We’ve been at the center of the storm, and it’s made it extremely difficult for all of us.”
Bassett points to several factors to the company’s success, including the fact that it continually invests in its factories with upgrades to equipment and by making other capital expenditures.
“We’ve made a conscious decision on the path for our company, and part of that is to make sure our plants are capable of doing what we need them to do,” he said.
Stickley, known for its collector’s furniture—most notably its Mission and Arts & Crafts lines—boasts more than 90 percent domestic production.
Last year, the company caused a few ripples in the industry with its opening of a 187,000-square-foot plant in Vietnam.
The company currently produces its Antiquities by Stickley in the factory, and the balance of the company’s line remains at the Stickley facility in Manlius, N.Y.
In addition to maintaining its Mission and Arts & Crafts collections domestically, the company’s licensed reproduction Colonial Williamsburg is manufactured in New York.
Stanley’s current business model has it producing 70 percent of its product in four plants in Stanleytown, Va., Martinsville, Va., Robbinsville, N.C., and Lexington, N.C., and the balance being sourced from about a dozen factories in China, Eastern Europe and the Philippines.
“We try to make what makes sense here,” said Phil Haney, executive vice president. “The larger pieces that would cost too much to ship over are perfect in our factories.”
The company, which stuck its toe into the importing arena in 2002, started slow with accent pieces and a variety of occasional tables.
So far, the strategy is working.
The company has continued to post increases in its business. Haney said by blending the imported goods with its domestic product Stanley can maintain more control over the look, feel and design integrity of a collection.
So how and why do the few domestic producers still exist?
Vaughan-Bassett’s Bassett said two key components keep his business humming—product that retailers can have delivered in 10 days and the gross margin return on investment that the product nets.
“Our customers don’t have to warehouse the product because they can get it so fast,” he said. “Our dealers tell us our GMROI is the highest on their floors.”
Moving forward, the company plans to stick with its domestic strategy. It is, afterall, what’s kept the company in business for this long.
“We’re entrenched,” Bassett said. “When we go through product, we stay focused on what we’re doing, and that we’ve decided, is to distinguish ourselves as the best manufacturer in our category. There are hundreds and hundreds of importers our there, but very few domestic manufacturers in our price range.” HFB
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