IKEA

[Miesian Corners]

Because the furniture made in NC looks horrible.

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No man, the furniture you see in stores in NC is horrible. Baker and Henredon make some really cool stuff, it's just that our market is too conservative for it to sell well here. It also costs a small fortune, even at the outlet.

[teshadoh]

It depends on one's style - I prefer mission style / arts & craft furniture. Of course, I would consider upstate NY to be home to one of the best furniture makers - Stickley.

[monsoon]

Because the furniture made in NC looks horrible.

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That only proves that you must not know much about the NC furniture industry. You will find NC furniture for sale in every city in the USA and almost all countries in the world. You would be greatly surprised at the attendence of the twice yearly furniture show in HighPoint. That is if you could get in.

Or that you really have unusual taste in furniture.

[cinco]

word. todd oldham's lay-z-boy designs are nice. an apparent focus on a more modern direction by the NC company.

also, does anyone know if there is a furniture museum in NC? if not, i think this would be a great idea for the greensboro/highpoint area.

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

That only proves that you must not know much about the NC furniture industry.  You will find NC furniture for sale in every city in the USA and almost all countries in the world.  You would be greatly surprised at the attendence of the twice yearly furniture show in HighPoint.  That is if you could get in. 

Or that you really have unusual taste in furniture.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The furniture industry in general has hit a plateau in design. It's just constantly recycled ideas which has gotten old. Of course, the main focus of NC furniture companies is traditional design. Not everyone likes that whether the entire country does or not. Some people are rebels, ya know.

Also- In this global economy it is difficult to buy anything that has no connection to foreign markets. For example, you can buy NC furniture made from Ukrainian wood. Someone is being put out of work from the sale of that wood. IKEA at least tries to put something back into the countries that serve them. Most companies do nothing except take.

[monsoon]

Hmm, not sure what you mean by traditional. And the NC furniture industry manufactures furniture for lines that are not even sold in the USA but are popular in Europe, the Middle East, etc. Its not all about the stuff you can buy here in the eastern USA.

This is from one manafucturer, Century who is known for high end contemporary. If you want to see more of their stuff, get a copy of Architectural Digest.

Lane is another.

There are many more but these are a couple of examples that I am familar with. When you get down to it, people prefer to purchase furniture that is going to last.

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

monsoon, there are two types of furniture design -- traditional and contemporary. Traditional would be design like Queen Anne style or Shaker style. Contemporary is the Phillip Starke designed furniture. Traditional design is the most popular style in the Western world. Most antique pieces fall under this category. And pretty much all abstract designs are considered contemporary. NC furniture companies do focus largely on traditional pieces because it makes the most money. Both Lane and Century design traditional and contemporary. They aren't considered the very essence of contemporary design (again, that would be people like Starke or Robert Schultz) and the majority of what they sell is still considered traditional.

BTW- The pictures show a mixture of traditional and contemporary design. And the contemporary pieces are ones that originated in other design houses. My point is NC is known largely for its manufacturing of furniture NOT its contributions to design. At least it hasn't for a very long time....

[monsoon]

My point is NC is known largely for its manufacturing of furniture NOT its contributions to design. At least it hasn't for a very long time....

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I don't disagree with you at at all. But the design of furniture wasn't my point and I suspect there are not many furniture designers in the Hickory & High Point area. But many many designers do travel here to show off their designs that are manufactured in NC. That is what the very large NC Furniture shows are all about. NC's strength is in its technology of manufacturing those designs.

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

I don't disagree with you at at all.

[dubone]

in many ways this is huge shame. i didn't really know much about high point furniture, or local textile manufacturers, etc. I knew about them in general, but didn't know how to practically shop to purchase from them. I just assumed that the furniture stores around would have nc furniture, and local department stores would have nc linens and towells.

The more i think of it, the more i realise that we probably bought a large percentage of imported goods, that if we had driven and tried a little more, we could have gotten much better quality local goods.

the last time, i was just married, so my budget was low... but next time i'll have more to spend.

Back to general terms... i'd bet a huge percentage of people moving here from elsewhere, just do what they've always done... go to chain stores and buy what they need or want, and never consider that a vast supply of quality US furniture is just an hour's drive away.

Maybe the chamber of commerce or something could do an ad campaign for it. almost like the "visit the state you're in" campaign...

[monsoon]

I think the problems are unfortunately bigger than the Chamber of Commerce. Not that I am trying to beat up on anyone, but I recommend a reading of the earlier posts in this thread that put IKEA in the same light as someone who can walk on water. And the people here are well educated for the most part and should be more "in the know" about this things. Forget even trying with the average consumer to change attitudes.

IKEA will be one of the first to put manufacturing in China, that is if they haven't already done so. How many people have bought stuff at say Rooms to Go?

[dubone]

are there "made in" labels on furniture? i look tonight. we bought most of our stuff from a company called "carolina sofa", which i think was bought by sofa express. I assumed it was nc stuff, but then i was worried about how to pay for it, so wasn't too concerned about macroeconomics.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

where is the highest quality furniture found?

[monsoon]

where is the highest quality furniture found?

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What is your definition of quality? Solid Wood?, Dove & Tail construction (i.e. no nails), Finish, type of wood, etc.

Its not always to safe to assume the best stuff has the best prices, but that has a lot to do with it. Much of the stuff you find in coming in from China isn't much better than what you see from IKEA. Its mostly softwood surrounded by hardwood veneers. The finished is usually stained because it hides the low quality of the wood being used and this is followed by a quick spray of lacquer or even worse, some kind of water based finish. A great deal of the lower end and even midpriced furniture is constructed this way.

The really good stuff uses complete hardwood, (i.e. oak, cherry, birch, mahagony) sometimes a veneer if it is an exotic or rare wood, and the wood is dyed instead of stained which highlights the quality of the wood instead of hiding it. This is followed by several hand applied coats of sprayed lacquer, or if it is really highend, french polished shellac. (not a finish that you want if you have kids). You can find this type of furniture in the stores, but it is not as common as it once was because it typically is not mass produced. You can find a number of smaller furniture places in NC however that make furniture this way. Expect to pay a great deal for it and you can find it in the smaller artsy shops such as Noda or more commonly in Asheville.

[murderingmouth]

IKEA will be one of the first to put manufacturing in China, that is if they haven't already done so.  How many people have bought stuff at say Rooms to Go?

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I'm not worrying too much about Chinese labor these days - I'd actually like the offshoring of US jobs to accelerate a little so that we reach equilibrium that much faster and the trade deficit receds a bit.

I've read a few front-line reports about the labor market there. Larger wetsren companies are having an extremely hard time finding a profitable workforce in the past few quarters, and wage inflation in eastern China is the fastest in the world right now.

My inner macroeconomist predicts that within 10 years US firms currently basing their ops in China will be moving to Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia because Chinese labor is too expensive - and even then it might not squeeze much additional savings, as just about all east Asian markts are experiencing incredibly tight labor markets. Already, capital expenditures in China are outstripping wage increases because labor prices are going up so fast. China-bashing is really in vogue, but I think it's a bit overdone, and that the invisible hand is quickly working its wonders on the wage and jobs front.

Anyone making spooky sounds about cheap African labor, however, should think twice. China might not be a political utopia, but it's a billion times more stable than the vast majority of African countries (which are the only other places where wages would be more competitive right now), and few multinations will be willing to inject *too* much capital into those states, with the possible exception of mineral or ag dollars (which in the end aren't very labor-intensive sectors).

So to return to topic: let's get IKEA and Wal-Mart and Gap together and share a big group hug! Come on, hug with me!

MM

[SwedeHeart]

I defense of IKEA: I am an American living in Sweden, which is part of the European Union. It is impossible for IKEA to use slave labor. The union laws here are pretty stiff and if the company should violate those laws, the fine would be so high the company might as well shut down.

It also violates the fair trade rules of the European Union. This is not the USA, Folks. Sweden is a small country roughly the size and shape of CA, with the same size population as New York city! What a company makes and how they make it is, by law, open to the public - all business information is. They would not be able to hide such a violation.

I plan to move to NC with my family in a year's time. I hope there is an IKEA nearby. Actually, I found this forum looking for the location of one in NC, because when we move there, I want to furnish at least the children's rooms with IKEA furniture and other things. They make great kid stuff that lasts and lasts.

I come from a family of woodworkers, and since I know how much time and work goes into handcrafting furniture, I'm grateful for places like IKEA because kids are hell on furniture. I'll save the showcase stuff for when my kids are grown.

[SwedeHeart]

IKEA will be one of the first to put manufacturing in China, that is if they haven't already done so.  How many people have bought stuff at say Rooms to Go?

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IKEA is already in China, monsoon. Here is a quote from a recent article on fair trade and business practices in China:

" Yet there are exceptions to the twin-track approach, which somewhat undermine this argument. IKEA has imported its labour and environmental standards to China in their entirety. The company

[bryson662001]

I think Charlott could support an Ikea. It doesn't matter where...People will drive 50 miles to shop there. Even the largest metros don't have more than 1 except NY-3, LA-3, Philly-2. The problem is that Charlott is competing with similer sized citys all over the world. They only open so many stores every year.

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/11840499.htm

the furniture industry is dying rapidly in NC and the US. It is definitely worth thinking about if buying furniture...

[appatone]

That's interesting Dubone. I was driving through Lenior yesterday and saw all of the Charlotte news vans. I was wondering what was going on.

[dubone]

although most of the furniture i bought was made in the usa... i am feeling a bit guilty that i never thought about it at the time. when we lose our historic industries, we lose part of our culture. Think about the centuries old traditions in europe, like swiss watches, french wine, dutch tulips, etc... textiles are global and there is no turning back from that... but furniture is a fine art/craft, and it will be a huge shame if it were die out from the foothills/piedmont of nc.

[skysdalimit]

I don't think it will ever die. NC furniture will always be a household name.

[dubone]

um... fieldcrest towels say "made in china".

[graydog]

"Why would anyone want to buy cardboard box furniture when north carolina is the best place in the country to get affordable, well put together furniture? Not to mention when you buy furniture made in NC, you are supporting those manufacturing jobs that we are losing at a rapid pace."

Because the furniture made in NC looks horrible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen!

Ikea tried to develop an abandoned strip mall in the middle of an industrial area off I-93 in Somerville, MA for years. The city opposed it at every turn. It was crazy.

Now I know we're supposed to stay on topic, but...

We love our Ikea pieces. I can't imagine throwing them away anytime soon. Some people might call their stuff cheap, but you should see them go ga-ga over it until they know where we got it.

Ikea has a lot going for it. For example, the philosophy of designing everything to fit flat in a box unassembled saves consumers money. Shipping is less because you're not shipping air.

Do we really need Ikea in Charlotte? Well I can think of better things to spend my money on than furniture. My kids for starters.

[A2]

I wanted to make someones day so here goes:

Charlotte is DEFINATELY getting an IKEA. I spoke with the wife of one of IKEA's upper mangement players in Philly and Charlotte is now officially on the list of cities for an IKEA expansion.

So far it has not been officially posted on their web site, but the timetable for site selection is to far out to put it on the site right now.

Just know in less than probably 3 years we will be shopping at an IKEA

A2