Fireplaces: Import Pressure?

  Because his specialty is soapstone fireplace stoves, Ron Pihl of Cornerstone Masonry is importing a great deal of his projects directly from Finland, where the stone is quarried and fabricated.
  As with Pihl’s customers, Michael Donham of Accent Limestone and Carving says the issue just never comes up.
  “My customers are after a certain look, and Indiana limestone is definitely one of a kind,” Donham says. “It’s not duplicated anywhere else, which is probably why we’re not seeing an impact from imports.”
  Stephen Cantryn of Powell River Custom Tile and Marble agrees with Donham that his customers are after a unique look – although in his case it’s not necessarily uniqueness of material.
  “We serve a not-very-large area and fireplaces aren’t a high-volume item around here,” he says. “It’s the sort of thing that’s still custom-built, especially because a lot of people want odd sizes.”
  Some other shops that sell fireplaces have actually embraced the imports for some situations – both buying and installing them. For instance, the imports have helped Southwest Tile and Marble expand its business a bit.
  “Occasionally we order a custom fireplace from overseas, just as we’re occasionally contracted to install hand-carved mantles,” says Dean Young, Southwest’s president. “Our shop is not fabricating the hand-carved type of fireplaces anyway.”
  He adds that installing the fireplaces the shop imports itself is no different than the installation services it provides to owners who do their own importing, or those who’ve rescued antique fireplaces from older homes.
  Bill Hopp of Dixie Cut Stone and Marble, Inc., is another one who says that company has turned on occasion to buying imported mantles. He doubts they’re any more of a threat to his business than some of the precast products that are also available.
  “They’ve been there for a long time, and I wouldn’t say we’ve seen either an influx of them or a drop in sales because of them,” he says. “They all have their place in the market and I respect that.”
  Stone carver and sculptor Walter S. Arnold isn’t so sure about that. His biggest complaint is having copyrighted designs knocked off by overseas companies.
  “I recently received a spam (email) from China containing photos of marble carvings with which I’m very familiar,” he says. “They’re the works of friends of mine in Italy. I’ve seen this happen dozens of times. The company in China is taking orders based on these photos, claiming it is their work; what they deliver to the customer will be quite different.”
  Not only doesn’t the person placing the order have any recourse, but Arnold adds that when an architect or builder has a bad experience with stone, they’re unlikely to use stone on their next job.
  Additionally, he says, some of the products available for import set unrealistic price expectations for his clients. In some cases, finished fireplaces are offered for less than it costs him for the raw stone.
  “Clients get used to hearing those prices,” Arnold says. “They come to me knowing I’m going to be more, but not expecting the level of difference. I won’t say it puts me on the defensive, but I do have to explain and educate the client or he’ll be suspicious of me.”
  Having said that, though, Arnold agrees they do have a place in the market, just because everyone has a different budget.
  “But, selling under false pretenses hurts all of us,” he says.

This article first appeared in the October 2004 print edition of Stone Business. ©2004 Western Business Media Inc.