Lloyd Flanders sees new doors opening even as tariffs test stability


Company sees opportunity amid economic uncertainty and expands West Coast presence with successful Las Vegas showroom debut.

HIGH POINT — In the face ongoing uncertainty around and supply chain disruptions, manufacturer Lloyd Flanders is holding steady, and it is making moves to expand its footprint westward.

The company’s debut at in January marked a key milestone in this effort, , senior vice president of sales and marketing, recently told Today. With its lease ending in High Point, saw an opportunity to expand brand awareness in the Western U.S., where recognition had lagged despite the company’s long history.

“Vegas was actually a great experience, exactly what we needed it to be,” Echols said. “More than half the people were not familiar with us or weren’t familiar with what we’ve been doing lately, so that was a great experience. Anytime you can have a successful show in January and see new people and pick up new dealers, it’s just fantastic.”

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The showroom, located in the Las Vegas Design Center, allows the brand to be open year-round and positioned among top-tier competitors. “We really wanted to bolster our West Coast business,” Echols said. “It was just the right time to do it with the move to Vegas.”

Echols observed the buyer traffic in Vegas was evenly split between retail and interior design professionals.

“It was about 50/50, which is in line with what we were seeing in High Point,” he said. “With the show being more regional, it’s exactly what we thought it would be, which was (a lot of business from places such as) Idaho, Colorado, obviously California, Nevada and the Pacific Northwest. I think people are just starting to regionalize their shows and travel a little bit more.”

Echols acknowledged the toll of tariffs and shipping volatility but said Lloyd Flanders’ U.S. manufacturing footprint has been a critical buffer. “Anytime tariffs come up, anytime disruption in flow of goods comes up … we always see a little bit of a return to domestic manufacturing,” he said.

Echols said the company continues to do steady business with imports but will keep a watchful eye on dealer appetite for container orders at the upcoming casual markets.

“We’ve actually still seen a decent clip in our import business as well,” he noted. “ But this will be the question that will be answered in July and September: Are dealers, especially our large dealers, going to have an appetite for containers? And unfortunately, we don’t get a real early read on that.”

The lead time on container shipping adds another element of volatility that Echols says Lloyd Flanders is watching closely. “The tariffs really aren’t collected until they hit the port, and when you’ve got a window of anywhere from 30 to 60 days on the water, once it’s gone, you really can’t do anything about it.”

With the ongoing back-and-forth from the administration, Echols said the full impact of new tariffs and trade policy changes may not be felt immediately.

“A lot of the moratoriums that have been put on, a lot of the deals that are talking about being cut, they’re going to be so close to our market that I don’t think we’re going to see (the implications) before the summer markets.”





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