NEWH - Fall 2024 - 70

COVER STORY
Success Story
American Leather highlights its fine craftsmanship and dedicated service
By Alia Akkam
Photography courtesy of American Leather
J
ohn McIntosh had no desire to venture into the furniture business. He
spent more than 30 years in commercial flooring, over 20 of them at
Signature, yet a potential career opportunity at American Leather
intrigued him. Chats with trusted colleagues all led to the same conclusion:
that American Leather was one of the industry's greatest untold stories, and
McIntosh realized he wanted to tell it.
" I fell in love with the people, the culture, and the products, " he remembers,
and in 2022 he joined American Leather as VP of contract furniture, working
alongside its president Veronica Schnitzius and David Workman, EVP of sales,
marketing, and merchandising, to drive growth in the hospitality sector.
American Leather was founded by engineers in 1990 on the promise of
superior custom furniture made with great speed. Then, some two decades
ago, its contract division took off organically, fueled by the popularity of
the Comfort Sleeper sofa among timeshare brands like Marriott Vacation
Club. Soon, hotels began scooping up this bespoke, versatile offering for its
guestrooms, an intuitive, restful alternative to a product synonymous with
insufficient support.
When McIntosh arrived at American
Leather, the sofa was the star of the contract
portfolio, and for good reason. Melding the
patented Tiffany 24/7 sleep system with a
5-inch-thick premium mattress swathed in
Crypton fabric, " it's built for comfort, not
compromise, " he points out. " There are no
bars and no springs and customers across
the industry have come to know it's the gold
standard in sleep. It's unmatched. "
Although the sleeper dominates
the limelight, American Leather's
350,000-square-foot Dallas factory also
turns out the likes of equally sleek accent
chairs and sectionals. " We are a made-toorder
company. We have over 600 artisans
who make between 200 to 300 custom
pieces of upholstered furniture every single
day and they are incentivized to find better
ways of doing things. It creates a culture of
ferocious cooperation around the quality,
comfort, and experience our furniture gives
our guests, " explains McIntosh. " We're a
completely vertical manufacturing facility-from faux fabrication to sewing
and cutting. Whether it's the conceptualization, the installation, or the followup,
the entire team has a shared vision. "
American Leather is defined by fine craftsmanship and dedicated service,
and to introduce members of the industry to its ethos firsthand, has launched
the Experience American Leather program. Throughout the year, small groups
are invited to Dallas to observe the manufacturing process unfold, " to see
what we do and why and then challenge us, " says McIntosh. " What are you
needing that you don't have? "
By upgrading the sales force and populating it with fellow passionate
storytellers, McIntosh has made American Leather well poised to now
showcase furniture beyond the Comfort Sleeper. Consider the sculptural,
modular Waverly or Arden swivel chairs, the latter a chic complement to the
Athlea sofa, which flaunts a midcentury-modern silhouette. Eye-catching
lift chairs for the senior market are another innovation American Leather is
developing for 2025.
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