Dutailier Announces The Closing Of The Towne Square Facility In Hillsboro Texas

Furniture World Magazine

The pressures of global sourcing and the economic situation are having a major impact on the way to do business successfully in the Furniture business in North America. This new reality has forced a rethinking of the Dutailier approach to the market in order to remain viable and maintain it’s leadership of the Glider Rocker segment. In this process, to reduce the costs associated with the production of our products for the marketplace, it was decided to consolidate the volume sold by Dutailier in a lesser number of facilities. Accordingly, Dutailier has announced August 25th to it’s employees working in Hillsboro Texas that it will permanently begin the proceedings to close the Towne Square furniture facility effective October 25th 2004. “It is unfortunate, due to the reduction in the volume of orders placed at the facility since the economic downturn of 2001 and the onslaught of offshore products in the marketplace, that we now have no other choice but to close the facility” says Fernand Fontaine President and owner of parent company Dutailier. “The Towne Square name will be kept and marketed as an independent trademark, however the products will now be manufactured in other Dutailier operations in the US and in Canada.” “We have expanded every effort to make the facility viable” continues Mr Fontaine about the Towne Square facility “but unfortunately the global and economic pressures affecting the Furniture industry are impacting all segments of the business. Although the sourcing approach of the products will be different, it is our intention to maintain the integrity of the Towne Square brand. To most consumers and to our merchants the changes should be mostly transparent. Towne Square has been and remains a great asset in the portfolio of Dutailier brands and it is our intention to continue to build on that”.