by Bestselling imported and domestically made upholstery frames can be shipped within days from its High Point warehouse
HIGH POINT — The recent expansion of Universal Furniture’s Ready-to-Ship upholstery program highlights the company’s capabilities — and flexibility — with its import and domestic upholstery manufacturing footprint.
Just before the October High Point Market, the company announced it was expanding the program, adding another 18 frames for a total of about 40 pieces that include sofas, chairs and ottomans that can be shipped within days from its High Point distribution center.
The program takes some of its most popular styles that are produced both in its Conover, North Carolina, and Vietnam facilities in specific covers and stocks them in the High Point warehouse.
“Our RTS program is a game-changer for our customers,” said Rick Lovegrove, vice president of upholstery at Universal. “By offering a range of frames already fitted with fabric, we can significantly reduce the delivery time and provide our customers with the immediate gratification they desire and their consumers demand.”
The program also offers 37 motion upholstery styles stocked in both leather and performance fabrics. Designed to look like stationary upholstery, the frames in this part of the program also have a special order component where all leathers and fabrics are interchangeable and available on all styles for a small upcharge, noted Sean O’Connor, president.
The company said that the combination of both domestic and internationally produced frames allows it to meet the needs of customers who prefer American-made products while also serving those who want quick shipments for larger orders produced overseas.
Customers can still receive special-order upholstery in a fabric or leather that they choose, although the lead times for those items are about six to eight weeks.
By promoting its quick-ship capabilities, the company aims to provide the marketplace a solution that helps serve those who want their product more quickly.
“Over the last couple of years, we have come to realize that these are clearly two different businesses, serving those who want custom availability and those who don’t,” O’Connor told Home News Now, noting that the mix of product will continue to evolve and grow on both sides of the business. “We might sell a particular style 75% of the time in a Crypton fabric, so we just stock it in that because we sell so much of it every month. And then we have taken it and said, ‘Let’s work with some fabric mills and come up with some great new cover combinations and put it on some of our bestselling styles to hit price points on the floor.’ … So people can buy it and get it right away just this way. But if you want to buy it and have options on it you also have that custom availability.”
The company added that this flexibility in manufacturing and distribution creates a more streamlined speed-to-market model across all distribution channels in a way that helps it and its customers achieve growth now and in the future.
“We are aggressively tightening our manufacturing supply chain,” added Lovegrove, who joined the company earlier this year. “We have been spending a lot of time on the factory floor on both sides of the world and implementing new initiatives to ensure we can deliver quality and efficiency as we continue to scale these businesses. This is one of the most significant initiatives I have undertaken since joining Universal last spring, and I’m excited to see how this strategy will help us further deliver on our promises to our customers.”
