Fabric source Home Fashions International to launch furniture line 

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/24/2008 2:04:00 PM

High Point, N.C. -- China-based textile manufacturer Home Fashions International is about to introduce its own line of upholstered furniture.

HFI said it will enter the upholstery manufacturing business with the launch of Westgate Home Furnishings at the April High Point Market.

David Li, owner and ceo of HFI, a $160 million company based in Shanghai, has named Tom Carter president of Westgate and has hired industry veteran Ken Church to head sales, marketing and customer relations for the upholstery line.

Westgate will introduce its first product at the High Point Market, which opens April 7. The company will show in Market Square, suite 401.

“Our story is very compelling,” said Church. “Furniture retailers are currently searching for a ‘solutions provider’ with an authentic vertical business strategy that will enhance their value proposition and profit margins.”

The company said it will have manufacturing operations in Hickory, N.C. and Jing Jiang, China. HFI recently completed a 110,000-square-foot addition to its Jing Jiang weaving and cut-and-sew campus to house the new enterprise. It is negotiating to acquire facilities in Hickory, officials said.

The initial launch will include 70 skus consisting of 17 sofa groups and an assortment of decorative chairs and accent pieces in various styles. Retail price points will be in the medium to upper-medium range of $699 to $1,299 for sofas.

Carter was vice president of merchandising at upholstery producer Clayton Marcus when Church was president and ceo of the company. Carter also was involved for years in an independent sales group that led sales and merchandising for Mastercraft and Joan Fabrics. For the past three years, Carter has held sales and merchandising posts at American Decorative Fabrics, a division of HFI.

Church, a 38-year industry veteran, most recently was president and ceo of Southern Furniture in Conover, N.C.

(Reported by Gary Evans, senior editor at HTT sister publication Furniture Today.)