Flexsteel has 4-5 producing plants in the US and 1 in China.90% of their product line is made domestically and entirely in the US, the other 10% is in China but is growing rapidily.

I know leather furniture, selling superior brands such as Hancock and Moore, and Leathercraft as well as Bradington-Young. Even my delivery drivers were aghast at the poor quality of the Chinese Flexsteel...you know its bad when your delivery team comments on it.

Flexsteel does offer USA made leather on their US-produced pieces. Yes, it costs a bit more, but there is a distinct and noticeable quality difference IMHO.

I am starting to see the Chinese backlash from American buyers, and I'm glad its happening. The quality of the goods from China are suspect, and with the gluten in the dog food, and the lead paint in toys, there is really no knowing what is in those pieces you are buying. In the USA made pieces, there are health and safety standards that have to be adhered to that delivers a superior product. Spend a little more, and get a lot more over the life of the piece.

Just because something is cheap doesn't mean its a bargain.

-Duane

What's funny is that we don't spend a lot on furniture--we just keep it a long, long time. We have 30 yr old oak bedroom, 20 yr old Italian marble tables (dining/living room) and change out the sofas when we get tired of them.

I won't buy Chinese, but will continue to look for well built American furniture. Call me silly, but it makes money sense to me.

Flexsteel has production facilities in PA, MS, and IA. I know that when I order from the mainline catalog, they all come from one of those locations.

I'll have to look into it some more..

Duane

Probably not. Too much dead air to make it worthwhile, and probably would not be labelled "made in China" if only the frame was imported.

Regardless, if its not China, then it will be Vietnam and if its not Vietnam it will be Mexico, Indonesia or some other place. The reality is that people want cheap priced and reasonable/high quality (which are two things which are hard to combine in the US). Manufacturing tends to follow where ever the low cost labor is and labor in America is just not low cost. Regardless of what people say, they generally won't pay a high price for goods (even if it IS made by higher costing American labor). Anyways - just adding my two cents :)

Here is a hint as to why, taken from your own post:

"Frankly speaking, pretty much everything is made in China these days though not everything is clearly labeled as being so."

The lack of clear labeling, combined with the ignorance of some retail staff, is one of my pet peeves. I've bought several things online recently, but only after inquiring if they were made in China and was told no. The country of origin labels read either PRC or Hong Kong. When I contacted the stores, their CSRs claimed they did not know that PRC stands for Peoples Republic of China or that Hong Kong is part of the PRC.

By the way, this is one consumer who *will* pay more for American made, good quality furniture. I also think there's quite a bit of it, and not just from North Carolina. However, it's not always easy to find in online searches.

It's a world economy these days. While I prefer to carry only USA-made goods its not always possible to ensure its 100% American made. For example, last commercial truck I bought was a Freightliner, American-made I thought. Imagine my surprise when it arrived and I found out it was made in Mexico, and Freightliner is owned by Dailer-Benz (German).

Duane COllie

It is your government that has pushed policies promoting globalization of production and economics. I'm not railing against democrats or republicans either, this goes all the way back to the 70's.

A ton of products we use every day are made in China and fine. There are products made in the States that ignore the safety standards and such that people say they want American made goods for. Due to the limited production of consumer goods in America in general the poorest quality labour in North America is now seen in the service industry instead - which is why you get a ton of unsolicited phone calls, people who seem like idiots serving you fast food and poor quality tech support among other things, and not as many low quality American made goods.

If you're really concerned about the low quality of some Chinese goods then push your government to stop paying attention to big business lobbies, stop forcing ridiculous economic and trade reforms on other countries, support fair decision making in the WTO, World Bank and IMF and control imports into America better instead of leaving it to American consumers to discover that the inspection of import goods is shoddy at best.

As to the first comment that her set is beautiful and well made. So what's the complaint?? Flexsteel Quality, Flexsteel Warranties, at a reduced price as it was mass produced in the Latitudes division in China. Would she have bought it for $1400. more if it was made in California? As for a retailer comparing Hancock and moore to Latitudes? LoL. This is a comparison of cadillac and a chevette. They are both cars, we all like the Cadillac but some of us have to buy chevettes as we cannot afford Cadillacs.

If I can obtain an item made in the USA, then I buy i, even if it cost more.

This is counter to what I used to see three-four-five years ago when price points were the prime criteria and country of origin much less so.

It may have been the lead-in-paint-on-toys, or the gluten in pet food from China that made the news last year that began this turnaround.

Chinese goods are going to have to become more expensive as well, as transport costs on both ships, rail cars and trucks to get them halfway around the world are increasing considerably.

Its a good trend. More US jobs, more US production. Better Quality.

Duane

When I returned it, the salesman at the store told me that the frame is built and shipped from China and the finish and upholstery was done in the US.... but that was surely not said when we ordered it (made in the USA was, however), so I urge caution in that regard! We paid over $700 for that chair & expected something better than that. The Flexsteel name has surely taken a big hit in my book. Advice: do your research & be careful if ordering.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

Problem with Made in America is that most say they want it but then aren't prepared to spend the extra bucks to get it.