Latest News Articles

Caldeira on hiring hunt as China work shifts to Liverpool
- 23rd November 2011

Knowsley Business Park-based Caldeira has unveiled plans to create 20 jobs at its Liverpool headquarters. It follows the return of work from China back to the UK.

Caldeira said the move follows an upturn in its UK cushion division order book and roles are to be created in the manufacturing side of the business, with sewing machinists, production staff and warehouse staff required.

Caldeira has also recently added staff in its commercial team with a new global sales manager role created.

Caldeira founder and managing director Tony Caldeira said: "I'm delighted that Caldeira is hiring staff in its UK manufacturing division and this is some welcome good news for the local economy.
"Our customers are deciding that our Merseyside factory is now more competitive due to the increased costs and operational difficulties they are facing when doing business in China."

Read the full article on www.insidermedia.co.uk

 

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From China to Merseyside
- 23rd November 2011

Merseyside-based home textiles company Caldeira is creating 20 new jobs at its UK headquarters.

Speaking at an employment seminar organised by business club Downtown Liverpool, founder and managing director of the firm, Tony Caldeira, said he was bringing work "back home" from his factory in China.

He added, "People have to understand that China is still booming and even though it is starting to slow down, the economic growth rate over there is still at seven or eight per cent and that is leading to a lot of inflationary pressures."

It is not just prices for raw materials that have gone up, but labour costs, commodities and food costs are all rising very quickly, Caldeira (pictured below) said.

"I believe that some of our customers are still looking for product that is made just in time, that is of high-quality and ultimately we think that Merseyside is a good place to do business and we want to do more business here."

"When Caldeira formed its Chinese joint venture in 2004, a production worker earned around 750 renminbi per month, which at the time was around £50. Now the same worker expects a salary of 2500 renminbi per month, which at today's exchange rate is around £250."

"Chinese wage costs have increased by five times in sterling terms in the last eight years," he explained."

Caldeira said that he hoped to take on around 50 staff in total over the coming months, because he plans to bring a lot more production back to the UK from China.

Chris Grayling, employment minister, was also on the panel and he admitted that there had been some debate about his decision to blame the eurozone for the tailing off in the labour market in the last few months.

"But if you go back four months, unemployment was coming down, youth unemployment was below 900,000 and suddenly it's gone back up again."

"The only credible reason I can come up with is the crisis in business confidence as a result of the eurozone crisis," he added.

Grayling said that many firms were holding back when it comes to recruitment because of the current economic climate.

Read the full article on www.enforbusiness.com

 

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Caldeira brings jobs back from China
- 23rd November 2011

CALDEIRA Group is to create 20 jobs at its UK base at Knowsley Business Park headquarters by bringing work back from its Chinese factory. The company's founder and chairman, Tony Caldeira, has been one of the region's biggest promoters of trade with China and opened a factory near Hanzhou in the Zhejiang province in 2007.However, he said that a five-fold increase in costs in coastal areas over the past eight years had convinced him to repatriate sewing work on some of its premium cushions, which attract higher duty rates than important...

Read the full article on www.thebusinessdesk

 

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Cushion maker Caldeira repatriates work from China to create Knowsley jobs
- 23rd November 2011

CUSHION maker Caldeira is creating 20 jobs at its Knowsley Business Park factory, by switching work back from its Chinese plant.

Founder Tony Caldeira first mooted the move in September, citing rising wages due to inflation, increased red tape, and a rising Chinese currency.

He confirmed the switch yesterday linked to an upturn in the company's UK order book, but also high wage costs in China which he said have soared five-fold in the past eight years, making the UK more cost-effective.

He said: "I never thought I would say this, but certain cushion covers which are made from Chinese fabrics are now cheaper to produce in the UK than in China."

"Our customers are deciding that our Merseyside factory is now more competitive due to the increased costs and operational difficulties they are facing when doing business in China."

He said, "when Caldeira formed its Chinese joint venture in 2004, a production worker there earned around £50 a month: "Now the same worker expects a salary of around £250 per month."

He added: "Of course, our UK staff still earn considerably more than our Chinese staff, but productivity is higher in our Merseyside factory and the percentage of labour cost in more expensive cushions is relatively small."

"So, when you also include other extra costs such as extra packaging, manufacturing profit, additional shipping costs and, most significantly, the difference in duty rates between fabrics and finished goods, the cost differential between Chinese and UK cushion manufacturing reduces considerably."

Mr Caldeira went on: "China still has a very important part to play in Caldeira's plans for the future, but it is no longer a one-way bet. The tide is turning and global rebalancing has begun."

"More importantly, if this move is repeated around the country, this news could have positive implications for British manufacturing and for the British economy as a whole."

The Knowsley cushion manufacturer has also recently added staff in its commercial team, and a new role of global sales manager is being created to help grow the business throughout next year.

Read the article here on www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk

 

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Caldeira sales grow again in 2010 but margins and profits hit by commodity price rises
- 28th September 2011

Merseyside based soft furnishings company Caldeira has reported a rise in sales for the 19th consecutive year, with group sales rising from £20m in 2009 to £21m in 2010.

However difficult global trading conditions, a doubling of the price of cotton and large price increases in other key commodities such as polyester, saw profit margins drastically reduced.
These factors, alongside Caldeira's continued investment in the refurbishment of the company's chain of 14 retail stores, which trade as The Fabric Warehouse, has led to the Caldeira Group reporting a loss of £166,000 for the year ending December 31st 2010.

Sales grew in both of Caldeira's overseas divisions, based in China and the US, but profit margins in all of the four trading companies in the Caldeira group were adversely affected by rising commodity prices and weak global demand for soft furnishings.

Commenting on the results, founder and managing director Tony Caldeira said,

"Considering the perfect storm that the company has faced Caldeira has traded well and continues to strongly outperform its rivals."

"The different divisions around the world were all hit by huge increases in raw material prices. Caldeira took the long term strategic decision to work closely with its global customer base and honour contracts which had been agreed earlier in the year, when cotton and polyester prices were significantly lower."

"In the short term this hurt margins and profits but by helping our customers during these difficult times we have improved long term customer relationships and as a result we achieved a slight increase in sales in 2010."

 

Divisional Performance

Caldeira UK Ltd., which is based at the Knowsley Business Park, remained profitable and maintained its position as the UK's market leading cushion company. However sales fell due to the weak retail environment and the collapse of customers such as Ethel Austin in 2010.

Caldeira USA, which is based in New York, saw a 50% increase in sales and added more leading North American retailers to its customer base.

Caldeira China, which is based near Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, saw its sales increase in 2010, however in addition to the commodity price rises, increases in labour costs, finance costs and the increase in value of the Chinese currency all adversely affected profit margins.

2010 was a difficult year for The Fabric Warehouse with heavy snow at the beginning and end of the year and the continuing credit crunch. Sales of "big ticket" home furnishing purchases such as made to measure curtains, which are important to Fabric Warehouse, were badly hit by the weak economy, weak consumer demand & the weak housing market.

Fabric Warehouse continued to plan for the long term by investing heavily in refurbishing its store portfolio. Stores in Cardiff, Cheltenham, Maidstone, Norwich, Reading, Weybridge and Winchester were significantly improved in 2010 and the company has continued to improve the store's product ranges and information systems.

Tony Caldeira added "Hopefully for Fabric Warehouse it will be a case of short term pain and long term gain. The operational performance of the retail division is improving significantly due the continued investment in the business but there is still work to do to complete the turnaround of The Fabric Warehouse."

In 2010 Caldeira added a property company to the group of companies, acquiring the building previously rented by The Fabric Warehouse in Waterlooville, Hampshire. Further properties will be added to the property portfolio in future years as opportunities arise.

Group Finance Director Rob King remains upbeat about the future opportunities for the group despite continuing difficult short term trading conditions.

He said "The continued restructuring of the Group in 2010, together with the implementation of new banking facilities with HSBC, has provided the Group with enhanced flexibility to better service the requirements of its global operations whilst also ensuring the business is better prepared for potential acquisitions"

"The Caldeira group has continued to show resilience in such a depressed trading environment. Each of our four businesses is well positioned with significant organic growth opportunities when an upturn does come, and our strong financial position enables us to look for opportunities which are, and will continue to be, available in the current climate"

 

Tough trading conditions to continue in 2011

Tony Caldeira warned of continued tough trading conditions for 2011.

"2011 continues to be challenging for the Caldeira group with raw material prices remaining stubbornly high, continued weak global consumer demand, the continued weakness of Sterling and a difficult UK retail environment."

"UK Soft furnishings retail remains tough with a weak housing market, the continuing consumer credit crunch and higher finished product prices. As a result, several UK retailers which sell soft furnishings, such as Habitat, T.J.Hughes, Life and Style and Walmsleys have all collapsed into administration and more will follow if difficult retail conditions continue."

Despite the tough climate, The Fabric Warehouse has continued to invest in its stores and has improved its stores in Poole, Southampton and Waterlooville. However continued difficult trading conditions mean that The Fabric Warehouse will be loss making in 2011.

Trading also remains tough for Caldeira in China, where rampant inflation, a rising currency, increasing labour costs and high interest charges continue to squeeze margins. As a result, Caldeira is currently considering restructuring its Chinese division and possibly even returning some manufacturing to its UK headquarters in Merseyside.

In the US, margins remain tight and consumer demand remains weak, however Caldeira USA has recently won trial orders with American retail giants Kohls and Bed Bath and Beyond. The US division now has trial orders in six of America's top 10 home textile retailers and has tremendous growth potential.

Caldeira UK will remain profitable in 2011 despite the difficult trading conditions as UK consumers continue to buy the company's cushions, throws and ready-made curtains. Despite losing customers which have collapsed into administration, Caldeira UK has added Argos and Shop Direct to its client base in 2011 which will more than offset the loss of sales.

Caldeira founder and Managing Director Tony Caldeira remains confident and positive about the long term prospects for his companies.

"Over the years the Caldeira Group has reinvested its profits and as a result has a very strong balance sheet. This has helped the company through this perfect storm. I am confident that the company will emerge from this unprecedented trading period better, stronger and more competitive than ever."

"When the global economy improves, Caldeira with its experience, flexibility and global reach will be in a strong position and the company will continue to outperform its rivals for the foreseeable future."

 

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Caldeira’s new look stands at Heimtextil 2011
- 2nd December 2010

Caldeira, based in Liverpool, England will be exhibiting on two stands at Heimtextil based in Frankfurt, Germany. This is the seventh year that Caldeira has exhibited at the show and this year’s stands will total 240 sq metres of space. The new look stands will be more open than in previous years with more entrances to welcome customers from each walkway. On display will be the biggest ever collection that Caldeira has presented at Heimtextil.

Caldeira’s product range includes cushions, decorative pillows, throws, ready-made curtains, bean slabs, bean cubes and draught excluders. The company specialises in supplying some of the world’s largest home textile retailers from their sales offices and factories in Liverpool, England, Hangzhou, China, and their sales office in New York City, USA.

Caldeira’s European stand can be found in Hall 3.0 Stand E51 and will display products made in its UK factory using European fabrics. Caldeira China, known locally as Hao Sheng Textiles, will be located in Hall 6.2 Stand D50. The focus of the Caldeira China stand in 6.2, will be to display their high quality Chinese made products, many of which have been designed by the company’s designers and customers worldwide. The booths will be staffed by members of Caldeira’s UK, Chinese and US teams.

There will be a new addition to the stands this year named “Showroom 3” with ready to buy products and fabrics. Within Showroom 3 customers can cherry pick from available fabrics to create, cushions, bean bags, bean slabs for immediate delivery.

Roger Davies, National Sales Manager commented “Showroom 3 section of the stand will be a one stop shop for customers who need fabrics and cushions without long lead times. Caldeira has listened to its customers and tailored the showroom to offer a fast turnaround on products to help out those customers who need product to fill shelves with no restrictions on fabric minimums.”

Caldeira will also launch its new Beatles range of world exclusively designed products. The company has been working with a supplier who has been left some exclusive pictures of the Beatles in a will. These exclusive pictures have now been transferred onto fabric. The Beatles photos were taken by the late Derek Cooper, a magazine photographer to the music industry.

Karen Donnelly, Marketing Manager is looking forward to the launch of the products at Heimtex “Caldeira will have exclusive 43cm/ 50cm cushions and a bed-runner featuring the fab four Beatles. The unseen photos were taken during official photo shoots and capture the fun-loving approach of the famous Liverpool band.”

Visit Caldeira European operation in Hall 3.0 E51 & Caldeira China - Hao Sheng textiles in Hall 6.2 Hall D50. For further details on Caldeira please contact Karen Donnelly at kd@caldeira.com or visit www.caldeira.com

 

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Fabric Warehouse launches new e-commerce site
- 15th November 2010

Fabric Warehouse, the home furnishings retailer, which has fourteen stores around the country, has launched a brand new e-commerce site. The new owners, Caldeira Retail Ltd, purchased the stores in 2008 when the former Fabric Warehouse group went into administration. Caldeira Retail Ltd rescued 14 of the 40 stores and has traded with the Fabric Warehouse name since 2008.

The new Fabric Warehouse website is user friendly and will enable customers from all over the country to purchase Fabric Warehouse goods on-line and then have them delivered to their home address. The site has around 10 categories of product including bed & bath, blinds, cushions, throws, lining, ready-made curtains and tracks and poles.

Karen Donnelly Marketing Manager commented “The website is multi-functional customers have got the choice to reserve and collect products at no charge or purchase home textiles on line all from the comfort of their own home. So far there are nearly 500 products available online and the range will be continually updated with new products seasonally. There will also be special offers and sale deals advertised on the site.”

The site was initially planned to be an information site but after a significant amount of enquiries from customers asking to buy products from the locations in the UK where old Fabric Warehouse stores closed, it was decided an ecommerce site was needed.

Richard Downey, Merchandise Manager who has worked extensively on the Fabric Warehouse website is pleased with the number of enquiries that have come through for the Home Furnishings Consultancy service. “Whilst customers can now purchase some of our best selling products online, the new site is designed to market our home furnishings consultancy service. This free service is extremely popular and gives us competitive advantage in the soft furnishings retail sector”.

For further details visit the website www.fabricwarehouse.co.uk

 

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New Showroom 3 Now Open
- 10th September 2010

Caldeira, based in Liverpool, has set up a new showroom for customers to visit in Merseyside. The showroom is a new idea to help out customers who find their stores out of stock and need fast turn-around products to fill shelves. The showroom is set up for customers who can select as much or as little fabric as they require and then have it made into the desired products at the company’s Knowsley head quarters. Showroom 3 is in addition to the company’s UK and Chinese showrooms that are already display a wide range of up-to-date fabric styles of cushions, curtains, throws and bean products.

Caldeira make to order as a rule and don’t hold stocks, this has kept the business efficient since 1991. There are from time to time overmakes of fabrics, as long as the fabric is not subject to exclusivity, the fabric can be included within showroom 3. The company has its own fleet of Caldeira vehicles which can deliver to distribution warehouses nationally.

Sarah Lovelock, Product Development, has worked on the showroom and commented “It’s an Aladdin’s cave of product for a buyer. There are furs, chenilles, jacquards, faux silks, leatherettes, Belgian velvets, textures... the list goes on. We have the ability at Caldeira to turn this fabric on-site into cushions, bean bags and bean slabs. It’s a gift to buyers who need an instant product on their shelves.”

Roger Davies, National Sales Manager, commented “Caldeira has listened to its customers and tailored the showroom to offer a fast turnaround on products. Customers can “cherry pick” from the ranges on offer and do not have any restrictions on fabric minimums.”

The showroom 3 concept will also travel to Germany when Caldeira takes a stand at the Heimtextil exhibition in January 2011.

To make an appointment to visit the New York showroom in building 261 contact Jeff Shaffer js@caldeira.com or call +1 212 532 2669

 

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Caldeira USA show latest collections at this fall’s market week
- 1st September 2010

Caldeira USA will be showing the latest collections of decorative pillows, throws, chair pads and window formats at this fall’s market week. The dates of NY home fashions market week will be 9/13/2010 through until 09/17/2010. The week kicks off with the Home Textiles Today (HTT) party on Sunday evening 9/12/2010 at 230 building on 5th Avenue, New York City.

The Caldeira USA showroom is at suite 508, in 261 building Fifth Avenue, New York. There are a number of appointments in the diary from major retailers within the American home fashions market and more are making appointments each day. Caldeira USA has also extended its product range and has sold both window and tabletop goods into existing and new customers.

Product Development Manager, Carolyn Winderbaum, is looking forward to showing the latest Caldeira collections in the upcoming market. “The three new collections highlight our UK produced luxurious Belgian velvet pillows as well as our trendy; value priced pillows, throws, window panels and table runners produced in our Chinese factory."

In 2005, Caldeira’s global sales were $13.3m. This figure has risen sharply with 2009 sales across the four Caldeira businesses around the world increasing to $37m. In 2009 Caldeira sold products made in its British and Chinese factories to over 20 countries worldwide.

A large part of Caldeira USA’s growth has come from its unique collection of European styled products interpreted for the US market at highly competitive price. Caldeira USA has a positive outlook and hopes to continue its successful expansion. Sales Manager Jeff Shaffer said “Our sustained growth has been driven by the company’s ability to continually offer the US market exciting fresh designs with an appreciation for value driven product. Caldeira USA has evolved to become a full service home fashions provider with the quality and capacity to meet any US retailer’s needs.”

To make an appointment to visit the New York showroom in building 261 contact Jeff Shaffer js@caldeira.com or call +1 212 532 2292

 

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Intertextile Shanghai
- 6th August 2010

Following the success at last year’s show, and the Heimtextil fair in Germany, Caldeira China will exhibit again at Intertextile. The company also known locally as Hao Sheng Textiles will exhibit at the fair for the 6th consecutive year.

On show will be the largest selection of soft furnishings ever assembled by Caldeira China. Products will include cushions, throw-overs, ready-made curtains, bed-sets, seat pads and much more, designed exclusively for volume retailers around the world.

Teams from the UK, China and USA will be at the exhibition. Carolyn Winderbaum, Product development manager from the USA explains “We will have a fantastic range of products to sell to new and existing customers. Last year the response was tremendous with over 1000 business cards. We have worked hard on the product offering through following themes and trends and are looking forward to the reaction of current and new business”.

From the Hao Sheng office, Sales Manager Yuan You Ling (Michelle) said “The Intertextile fair is the biggest and best home textile fair in Shanghai. The fair is visited by people from all over the world. Hao Sheng always gets good business for co-operation from the Shanghai fair. Our presence at the fair is important for new customers.”

The stand details are E1B32 and appointments can be made by emailing rd@caldeira.com or lcf@caldeira.com

 

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