Made in America: Companies See Uptick in Business
Interest increased after they were featured on ABC 'World News' and online.
March 10, 2011 — -- Consumers are clamoring for a Hamilton bedroom set and Doug Bassett is thrilled.
His furniture company, Vaughan-Bassett, lent the six-piece wood bedroom suite to the "Made in America" series Feb. 24, in which the Usry family of Dallas agreed to empty their master bedroom, living room and kitchen of any products that were imported, and replace them with goods made in America.
The Vaughan-Bassett set retailed for less than the Usrys' imported furniture, which Bassett, the manufacturer's executive vice president, said seemed to surprise many Americans.
"We stood out," he said, because of the furniture's price -- $1,699 -- and its better value.
So far, there have been 30 confirmed sales of the Hamilton set since the "World News" story aired, Bassett said. That's despite "World News" not mentioning the name of the company on air.
Bassett said that consumers found the wood furniture producer after searching on ABCNews.com.
Family-run since 1919, the Galax, Va., company says that 99 percent of its line is made in the United States. It does not have any stores and sells to 3,000 different dealers.
"We normally get 20 contacts a day from consumers" to sales representatives, Bassett said. "The Friday after the show aired, we received 300 consumer contacts interested in furniture."
Vaughan-Bassett is going an extra step to make sure it doesn't lose any sales.
Consumers who purchase from the company because of the "World News" feature get a thank you note and dealers who complete the sale can enter a raffle to win two nights in a U.S. hotel.
"We give credit to the national coverage [from 'World News']," Bassett said. "Business has improved noticeably. There have been more orders in the last two weeks than in any two weeks during the last six months."
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