Home Furniture Makers Take Up Residence In China

Compiled ByDeborah Austin Two global home furnishings manufacturers -- one U.S.-based, the other headquartered in China -- have reached an agreement to develop a chain of retail stores in the People's Republic of China. Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. and Markor Furniture International Ltd. have agreed to collaborate on developing a retail format that will market two retail concepts: the Ethan Allen and the Markor retail programs. They intend to open the first such store by summer 2002 and follow up with additional stores. Markor Furniture International is headquartered in Urumqi, China, near Siberia. It operates five manufacturing facilities in China and exports to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and other markets. The $856 million Ethan Allen, Danbury, Conn., retails home furnishings through more than 300 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as overseas. It also operates 21 manufacturing facilities and three sawmills in the U.S.