Timeshare Resorts May Be a Good Solution for Some US Furniture Manufacturers
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Home furnishing industry manufacturer, Ethan Allen, is expanding into the timeshare and hotel furniture industry.
After reaching a monthly high in April 2007 of $10.4 billion, US home furniture sales have declined, down by 14 percent in January 2009, year-over-year from 2008. But the creative minds at furniture industry cornerstone, Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc., may have found their solution for declining sales of home furnishings. Ethan Allen is turning to the timeshare industry and the next timeshare unit you buy or rent, may contain furnishings by Danbury, Connecticut based manufacturer, Ethan Allen.
According to The Advocate (Stamford CT), “The manufacturer and retailer of furniture and accessories has started a contract division that will provide furniture for the hospitality, condominium, villa and timeshare markets, in the United States and abroad.”
Furniture industry expert, Ray Allegrezza, editor-in-chief of Greensboro, NC based Furniture Today magazine, says that companies have to look for markets wherever they can and projects that Ethan Allen residential rivals could begin competing as timeshare and hotel furnishing rivals too. Companies mentioned included La-Z-Boy Inc., Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., and Furniture Brands International Inc., as possible competitors for the large timeshare resort and hotel furniture market.
More Good News about Furniture Companies that Serve the Timeshare Resort Industry
The Ethan Allen announcement came on the heels of last week’s North Carolina-based Kellex Corp., announcing that their Valdese, NC offices have met and exceeded their hiring goals. Kellex Corp., is known for manufacturing upholstered commercial furniture for the hospitality, timeshare, and health-care industries.
Despite all the reports of timeshare companies that are failing to meet their goals and releasing weak quarterly reports, stories like this about Ethan Allen and Kellex Corp reminds us that it is not all bad news. Clearly, new timeshare resorts are being furnished and older resorts are being refurnished – the timeshare industry is moving forward with a positive eye on the future.
