N.C. manufacturer does big business from quiet corner in furniture capital of the world

HIGH POINT — The showroom for Luke Leatheris in the heart of High Point Market with an unassuming storefront entrance at 401 S. Wrenn St. The building isn’t large by furniture market standards, but what happens within its walls is anything but miniscule.

Scott Davis is the owner of Luke Home (Leather & Fabric), a domestic upholstery manufacturer operating in Staley, N.C., for more than 20 years. As the countdown to High Point Market opening day begins, Davis, like many others in the furniture business, is wearing numerous hats, one as a showroom owner getting ready for market and another as a business owner working to minimize the impact of tariffs to his customers.

“I am really excited about the significant growth in our custom business in both fabric and leather,” said Davis. “We have 20 different leather options we can deliver in 12 weeks and 50 different fabric options we can deliver in five weeks. We fully understand the significance of quick delivery, and we have quick-ship programs in place for both fabric and leather.”

Luke Home has between 12 and 14 sofa styles available for quick ship. Customization is also available, and Davis said custom capabilities now represent nearly half of his business. At retail, many of the sofas Luke Home produces are priced at $1,999 and below, and the company will introduce three new leather collections and three or four new fabric collections during the spring market.

Davis explained that Luke Home has seen significant growth in its custom business, a development that he hopes will continue throughout 2025. Additional growth strategies are also in the pipeline, and Davis said he is proceeding carefully in response to the tariff situation.

“All of us are currently trying to navigate the new landscape as efficiently as we can. We are dealing with these issues day to day, week to week right now,” said Davis. “We will make the best decisions we can with the information we have as we move into the upcoming market. The tariff issue most likely will not disappear. The true impact remains to be seen.”

Luke Home manufactures its fabric upholstered furniture in North Carolina, and Davis said that he believes the made in the U.S./N.C. factor gives the company “tremendous advantages, especially in our price point.” Luke Home also imports leather goods from Italy and Romania, as the company has done since 2003, and Davis said he does not plan to shift away from his European connections.

“We are strongly committed to our partners in the EU and do not anticipate any major disruptions in our supply chain,” he said. “We are looking at motion for October 2025 heavily right now. We have several outstanding options including Romania, Vietnam and/or Mexico, and we will continue to evaluate given the landscape of the tariff issues we are all dealing with.”

Whether reciprocal tariffs or the baseline tariff of 10% currently in play with the exception of China, the tariff issue is top of mind for the furniture industry. Although Davis is confident in Luke Home’s ability to withstand the challenges, he adds that his focus is on his longtime and future customers.

“We are in a fluid situation with tariffs worldwide, and we continue to evaluate in real time and will make the best decisions we can for our customers,” he said, adding that he and the Luke Home team anticipate another strong market.

“We always have strong traffic through our space, and we do not expect this market to be any different.  We will have incentives for our dealers to place orders ‘at market,’ and we hope to be able to leave market with a strong book of orders as we kick off a strong second quarter.”

See also:

• This season’s The Voice contestant has local ties to furniture industry
• North Carolina furniture manufacturer: ‘Business is great; Trump’s tariffs are one reason’