Polish manufacturers, U.S. importers see mutual opportunity

POZNAN, Poland — The growth potential for Polish and other Eastern European furniture manufacturers in the U.S. market comes from two sides.

On one hand, a tumultuous couple of years for Asian sourcing have U.S. importers looking elsewhere for goods in order to manage their exposure to issues such as tariffs and transportation restraints. On the other hand, Polish manufacturers are aggressively expanding capacity to spread their already considerable export capability to new markets.

Along with ready-to-assemble case goods, Polish manufacturers at Meble Polska showed particular strength in upholstery with sectionals, sleepers and sofas, usually with storage function, developed originally for the space-conscious European market. That said, the sector here has plenty to offer in larger scales as well, especially sectionals, currently a strong category at retail in the U.S. market.

A U.S. buyer’s perspective

Johann Abeyesinhe

Lifestyle Solutions showed a couple of Polish-made sleeper sofas at January’s Las Vegas Market, and COO Johann Abeyesinhe came to Meble Polska to check out more potential resources. It was his first in-person visit to Poland, and he liked what he saw at the show, expressing pleasant surprise at the scale of production among several manufacturers here.

He’s looking at potentially moving upholstery product sourced elsewhere to Poland for manufacturing on an OEM basis.

“We aren’t going to bring everything, but we have several items suitable for production here,” Abeyesinhe said. “You choose the items according to the manufacturer’s strengths.”

As far as general impressions go, he was impressed with manufacturers’ flexibility and willingness to adapt their product to the needs of different markets.

“The people I’ve spoken to will look at U.S. standards and change the product to match the U.S. market, particularly regarding comfort level and scale,” he said. “The general quality levels are much better than what I’m finding in China for my kind of product.”

While Abeyesinhe added that Polish manufacturers need an improved fabric selection to get more of his business, he noted that communication is not a problem relative to some source countries: “Everyone I talked to could communicate in English very well.”

Upholstery manufacturer Motiv Home produces goods for both the residential and contract markets. It showed last year at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York and is considering showing at High Point Market in the future.

Jakub Knobloch

“We’re also thinking of sending a few pieces to show in High Point through TATFA,” said Jakub Knobloch. He was referring to the joint presentation at October market, where six Polish companies exhibited accessories, upholstery and occasional in reclaimed woods, as well as a sleeper-sofa maker currently supplying Ikea, in a Design Center showroom under the auspices of TATFA, which supports Polish companies seeking to develop commercial partnerships in North America.

Knobloch believes that with tariffs and transportation times impacting the furniture pipeline from Asia, now is the time to approach the U.S. market.

“There are business conditions in the U.S.A. that might help Eastern European manufacturers products break through into the market,” he said.

A global production model?

Lukasz Szymanski

Vox is a full-line manufacturer that currently has U.S. distribution that includes Wayfair, Perigold, Home Depot and Houzz. It also has its own network of retail stores, primarily in Europe and former Soviet republics, but also India and Mexico, where it has three locations.

“We have three channels: Vox stores and franchises, traditional and e-commerce retail, and OEM business,” said Lukasz Szymanski, export sales director. “While overall the franchises might be the most important strategically, we’re fairly evenly split (among channels) and hope to grow all three.”

Vox has developed a standardized product line that could eventually help the company develop production elsewhere.

“Our components are standardized with the ability to adapt the finished product to numerous styles and configurations with options for case fronts, body construction, hardware, finish and color,” Szymanski said. “We have two plants in Poland, but we could produce the components for our products in many countries.

“As (export) volume increases, we’ll consider producing product closer to markets. We’re looking to convert from traditional production to an assembly process such as the automotive industry. It would be our designs, our product, but we could produce the components with many partners in many countries.”