Thomas Russell

Will launch line in October

HIGH POINT — High-end accent and occasional furniture specialist John-Richard expects to open a new factory in Vietnam by July and launch product made there by the High Point October market.

The 37,000-square-foot plant is the company’s first factory in Asia. It will be in Ho Chi Minh City, an area already well populated with furniture makers and suppliers.

The facility will start out with 50 to 60 employees and initially will produce samples for the October market. Its initial production capacity will be about 10 containers per month of accent and occasional furniture and mirrors made exclusively for John-Richard.

President Alan Galbraith did not give the cost of the project, but said the factory will be in an existing building that will be outfitted with furniture making and finishing equipment.

There also is land to expand, he said.

The company will continue to source from other facilities in Vietnam, including Rochdale Spears, a high-end case goods manufacturer also in the Ho Chi Minh City area. It also will continue to source product from China, India and Indonesia.

The Vietnam plant will allow the company to produce sophisticated finishes and also provide growth opportunities in new avenues such as the contract and hospitality industry, Galbraith said.

“There are whole avenues of business we are not even touching … that we will have the ability to do once we control the supply chain,” he said. “It will start out small, and we will add (production capabilities) as the volume increases.”

He said the company chose Vietnam largely because of its business-friendly environment. It also has a skilled and affordable labor force that makes it a good fit for the ar-tistic and detailed pieces in the John-Richard line.
“Vietnam is a very easy country to do business with,” Galbraith said. “There is an amazing skill set there for the various types of products we would be interested in.”

Chairman and CEO Alex Malouf said, “These are exciting times at John-Richard, and the new Vietnam operation is another step in our company’s strategic plan of expansion and positioning of John-Richard as the resource for luxury home furnishings.”

John-Richard’s High Point showroom is in space S-1 of 200 Steele. It is featuring some new pieces from Vietnam, including about 20 from the Rochdale Spears plant, Galbraith said.