Is Thomasville Furniture Good Quality? (Complete Guide)
The original Thomasville Furniture Industries was a furniture producer whose headquarters was in Thomasville, North Carolina.
It had 30 sales stores dedicated to Thomasville products alone. It further had 400 retail stores which sold their high-quality furniture crafted with expertise and perfection.
However, the phrase “cheap is expensive” doesn’t ring well with present-day Thomasville Furniture, who I’d say prefer the phrase “expensive is expensive.”
Thomasville Furniture is a hit-and-miss brand of good-quality furniture. While you can get great pieces of furniture, the vast majority are overpriced. Furthermore, the company has a below-average customer support and still basks in the original company’s glory.
If Thomasville Furniture is highly-priced, then it’s high quality. If that’s your assumption, you might be wrong or not.
Read on to find out why.
Who Makes Thomasville Furniture?
Thomasville furniture is manufactured by companies that acquired the rights to use the name from Authentic Brands Group.
Thomasville Furniture Industries started as a tremendous customer-oriented company that made long-lasting and aesthetic furniture.
In 1995, the company was acquired by the now-defunct Furniture Brands International (FBI).
In 2013, the company was bought by the FBI’s now-defunct Heritage Home Group LLC (HHG). HHG was the parent company and acquired furniture brands such as Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Lane, and Broyhill.
In 2014, HHG announced an end to Thomasville Furniture’s production out of Thomasville, North Carolina. However, a series of legal cases and bankruptcy meant that the company could no longer remain operational. It sold its facilities and production lines to other companies.
In 2018, Authentic Brands Group acquired Thomasville, Drexel, and Henderson.
Common Problems with Thomasville Furniture
Some Furniture Items are of Poor Quality
Originally, Thomasville was a respected furniture manufacturer that produced very high-quality products. And, even as their products had high price tags, the pricing was reasonable given that their furniture items were durable.
However, it’s no longer the case with their furniture. The string of different owners has led to a drastic drop in the quality of Thomasville furniture.
The fit and finish of present-day furniture are inferior. Bedroom suit drawers don’t line up, aren’t centered in their openings, and excessively recess.
The seams on the sofa cushions reap even within two months of purchase. The cushions on the sofas sag pretty quickly, even with minimal use.
Furthermore, the wood used to make the furniture is of an inferior build.
The main reason for the drop in quality is that Authentic Brands Group is a management company that licenses out brand names to manufacturing companies.
Whatever Thomasville furniture you bought seven years ago isn’t the exact furniture you’ll buy right now.
The company has been sold or contracted out to other companies that want to ride on Thomasville’s heritage. An example is Thomasville cabinetry that MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc manufactures.
All glory is not lost for the company as American-manufactured Thomasville furniture can still rival some of the best in the industry. However, most of its furniture is made out of China, and the company representatives go a long way trying to hide that information.
The Asian manufactured furniture is of lower quality and yet retains the price of the original furniture. The chances that you’re being scammed off your money with Thomasville furniture are scaringly high.
Poor Customer Service
Did you purchase a Thomasville sofa only for the arms to start wobbling with minimum use and the cushions sagging?
You may feel short-changed and would like to complain to Thomasville Furniture through mail or call. Chances are pretty high that they won’t respond.
Thomasville Furniture has one of the most undesirable customer support I’ve ever encountered. They always try hard to conceal that most of their furniture is made in Asia.
In most Thomasville stores, their staff isn’t sure of the qualities of the products they’re selling. As a result, the company receives multiple complaints from its customers.
And the best they can do is try to conceal the faults in their products. The management is also poor.
Thomasville was an exemplary company in the mid-to-late 19th century and the early 2000s. You may find well-built Thomasville furniture, but that’s not the usual case with most of their household items.
Frequent Furniture Recalls and Delayed Deliveries
The many complaints from furniture owners and recalls by the company result from the poor quality build of their furniture. However, they’re often made to wait for months before their order is delivered.
At first sight, they’re exactly like the ones displayed in the stores.
Most people don’t know that a vast majority of Thomasville furniture manufactured in the past decade is of dubious quality.
The springs, nails, and joineries are weak and cannot hold the furniture firmly. It’s usually customary for one or two pieces of furniture to malfunction.
But what if your mahogany cabinet is not mahogany but a cabinet made of five different pieces of wood? Some of which are unidentifiable? That’s the case with Thomasville furniture.
If you file a complaint, the company will usually send a technician to do the repairs. At times, the repairs are shoddy since they’ll try to conceal the faults rather than repair them or replace the wood.
Even though most of their furniture is recalled, clients are made to go through complex recall procedures.
Thomasville Furniture Warranty
Thomasville Furniture has a warranty cover for all its products.
Furniture frames are covered for seven years, springs for five years, cushions and mechanisms for three years. Mattresses, leathers, furniture finish, and fabrics are each covered for a year.
What’s Not Covered
- Chips and scratches that results from normal wear and tear
- Stains that result from the owner’s negligence
- Faults from improper installation
- Loss of fabric color resulting from exposure to unfavorable conditions
- Damages while unparking
- Furniture damaged due to war, vandalism, fire, or supernatural forces
Pro-tip: Check with your dealer to know the specific warranty coverage that applies to your products.
What Do Thomasville Furniture Reviews Say?
Thomasville Furniture is rated an above-average high-end brand.
The brand has a 3.8/5 rating in ConsumerAffairs.com, meaning that they still have an excellent reputation among the populace.
The “generous” rating has to do with the company’s 20th-century furniture, which was of a very quality build.
Modern-day Thomasville furniture is hit-and-miss. And considering that they’re very high priced, the overall rating doesn’t paint an accurate picture.
My Take on Thomasville Furniture
A series of company sales and outsourcing production has weakened Thomasville’s brand image. And since most of its parent companies are now defunct, it’s hard to trace the exact manufacturer of your furniture.
Furthermore, the negative reviews it continues receiving are scaring away dealerships and stores that previously worked with the company.
If you’d like quality furniture in your home that would serve you for decades, go for other brands but not Thomasville. However, they still have some fantastic furniture items that are pretty durable. Do your research thoroughly before settling on your preferred furniture.
Sources
Furniture Brands International, Inc-Company History