Martin Furniture doubles down in Mexico, unveils 12 new collections
05 April, 2022
Office and entertainment furniture specialist Martin Furniture unveiled 15 new furniture collections at High Point Market this week, 12 of which are sourced from Mexico.
“Mexico is great for our contemporary and simpler pieces,” said Pat Hayes, head of product development. “And it helps keep our costs down.”
The Mexico launches are characterized by light finishes and clean lines. Wire management was a big focus, as well as ramping up the features on its sit-stand desks, which Hayes says are as popular as ever. The 40-year-old business is not a new arrival to Mexico. It’s been making furniture in the country since 2002 when it relocated from San Diego. It now sources 40% of its product from Mexico, with the remainder coming from Asia.
“Mexico is great, but for our more intricate pieces and inlays, we still go with Asia,” said Hayes. “Asia’s better for pieces that need intensive labor.”
Besides cheaper freight, another thing Hayes values about Mexico is the quick trip down from the company’s headquarters in San Diego. By comparison, he has struggled to get to Vietnam since the pandemic began.
Company owner and founder Gil Martin says the company’s chief issue in Mexico is employee retention. He’s also wary of more competition moving down there, although he hasn’t seen too much of an increase yet.
Martin mass produces home office items for both residential and commercial settings, something Hayes refers to as “resimercial.” Its offerings include desks, bookcases, file cabinets, media consoles, credenzas and accent pieces.
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Source: www.furnituretoday.com
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