Ethan Allen furniture has been around for a long time. While it is a very well-known company within the US, very few people seem to know much about how and where the company operates. So, in this article, I’ll be diving in to find out who makes Ethan Allen furniture and where it is all made.
Who Makes Ethan Allen Furniture?
According to Zippia, Ethan Allen is a part of Interco Inc. Interco Inc. is a very successful investment firm with many businesses belonging to it. It owns brands like Broyhill Furniture Industries and The Florsheim Shoe Company.
However, this partnership didn’t last very long as in 1989, the chairman of the Ethan Allen company along with a few managers and investors broke off its agreement with Interco and became its own entity once again.
Today, Ethan Allen’s furniture is made by Ethan Allen Inc. So, Ethan Allen’s furniture is made by the company itself. I could find no other companies involved with its manufacturing. It does have a handful of shareholders, but none of its shareholders have anything to do with its manufacturing processes and locations.
Where is Ethan Allen Furniture Made?
According to Ethan Allen’s official website, the company owns and operates 10 manufacturing facilities. Out of those 10 facilities, 7 of them are located in the USA. Roughly 75% of Ethan Allen’s furniture is produced at its facilities within the USA.
As for its overseas locations, Ethan Allen owns two manufacturing plants in Mexico and one in Honduras.
There is a little bit of seemingly conflicting information out there as the company’s Wikipedia page states that it owns 9 manufacturing facilities and not 10. However, the company’s Wiki page hasn’t been updated since 2020, so maybe that explains the difference in these figures.
One thing I like about Ethan Allen is that the company has actually made things very easy when it comes to finding out which of its products are American made.
As you can see in the image below, all of Ethan Allen’s American made furniture is labeled with the phrase ‘Made In North America’ under the product image. So, if you are looking for locally made furniture, then just be sure to look for that label under the product image.
For those wanting to check out some more American made furniture, we have written a couple of articles that you may find interesting. See the links below:
Beds and Bed Frames Made in the USA (3 Companies)
Bookcases Made in the USA (6 Manufacturers)
History of Ethan Allen Furniture
Ethan Allen was founded in 1932 by Theodore Baumritter and his brother-in-law Nathan S. Ancell. It is worth noting that the company didn’t get its official brand name until 1936.
In 1936, the company purchased its first manufacturing plant and began selling products under the name Ethan Allen. Between 1932 and 1938, the company focused on producing houseware. In 1939, Ethan Allen focused its attention on manufacturing high-quality household furniture pieces.
The company’s marketing strategy was very clever as it initially only sold its furniture to buyers who would display its furniture clearly in their stores.
In 1951, Ethan Allen launched its first series of nationwide television ads. This massively increased the company’s profile and helped it to grow. As it grew in popularity, Ethan Allen started investing in new facilities. By 1962, the company had 14 furniture factories in the east of the US with 3 plants near New York alone.
1969 saw the company rename itself to Ethan Allen Inc. In 1970, Ethan Allen acquired the Bolckman Furniture Manufacturing Company through an exchange of stock. It began to introduce new product lines such as carpets, rugs, and wallpaper.
In 1980, the company was sold to Interco for $150 million. Despite being sold to Interco, it still continued manufacturing its products under the Ethan Allen company name.
As mentioned above, the sale to Interco didn’t last long as the agreement was called off in 1989. Since then, the company has remained in the hands of CEO Farooq Kathwari.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t plain sailing for Ethan Allen as the company experienced a large dip in share prices in the mid-1990s. Between the late 90s and the late 2010s, the company began closing some of its design centers and focused its attention on online sales.
As of 2022, the company is growing in popularity which is leading to greater sales and greater profits.
