|
Auburn Leather Crafters:
a new best friend for Auburn
By Ashley Hoey of Coburn Design, Inc.
Alan and Anita Dungey didn't have to create a business from scratch. After the business was handed down to them from Alan's grandfather, the Dungey's opened their version of Auburn Leather Crafters in 2005. The family owned and operated manufacturing corporation produces the highest quality leather collars and leashes for America's pets. The company also produces other products including luggage tags and leather straps for cameras.
Operation Auburn had a chance to interview the husband and wife duo that have made a substantial impact on the pet retail industry in North America. We wanted to know why they chose to stay in Auburn? And, what makes doing business in this city worth it?
Alan spoke of his love of the seasons. Anita spoke of the trustworthy nature of business people in town. Whatever the reason, the Dungey's are happy to be doing business where they live. Anita spoke candidly of her husband's love for his work.
"I love the area, the lakes, the seasons," said Alan.
"Financially, it would cost a lot to move. I'm not sure what we would gain by leaving. Some of our operating costs might be less, but would we earn that back?" said Anita.
Anita spoke of their interest in finding employees who are highly skilled at working with the leather they produce at the site in Auburn.
"If we went to North Carolina, for example, there aren't a lot of experienced leather workers. It's finding people with a good work ethic, who want to learn, who want to continue learning their way through the business."
Though Alan and Anita seem to be doing well these days, they are quick to remember the hard times they faced just a year ago as they took full ownership of Auburn Leather Crafters.
"This has been the first year of us owning the business. We needed to get control of the business, to finance it and take that risk. We chose to move forward and since then, it's been a positive experience. We had a couple of set backs at the beginning that put us in a tough spot from October of 2005 to March of this year," said Alan.
The Dungey's are in a profession that relies heavily on participating in trade shows across the country, and they've seen the progress that has come from being there year after year.
"We've done three trade shows in the past year. With each trade show we've seen exponential growth," said Anita.
"Since our last show in October, we came back and worked the phones real hard and it seemed to be two or three new customers a day ever since," said Alan. "The show in March in Atlantic City, we did a show in San Diego in April of last year. Those were phenomenal."
The couple was eager to tell us about the "buzz" surrounding their products over the past year.
"We heard that our name was being circulated on the blogs saying 'check these guys out' and that was exciting," said Anita.
Alan explained the difficulty in gaining new customers and keeping the ones they have satisfied. It's almost like an ongoing cycle that a manufacturer tries to break as much as they can. On the other hand, retailers can only do so much if the product isn't flying off the shelf.
"It takes a lot to replace all your collars with all the sizes. When they make a commitment, it's usually a wall worth of collars. You just don't take those off and liquidate that many collars at once, then you'd have to bring in a new product line. The commitment with a manufacturer is phased in."
The Dungey's struck a chord with a particular retailer in the Las Vegas area. The couple even learned of a new trend in the pet industry. It's not just purse parties, pampered chef and jewelry.now it's a dog party.
"One big store opened in Las Vegas in February and gave us a phenomenal order in Summerton, Las Vegas," said Alan. "They call it the Beverly Hills of Las Vegas. The store is right around the corner from home of the famous Sigfried and Roy. They are doing dog parties, home parties and inviting their friends to come in. Their store isn't even opened yet and they've re-ordered products from us."
Alan and Anita praised the City of Auburn for its support and professionalism in assisting with financing the business.
"The City of Auburn has helped us out with the Grow Auburn Fund," said Alan. "They helped get us off the ground, beyond that, it's support of the local groups, being there to bounce questions off of the City Planning Department."
"If we had moved, we didn't consider that, but if we did, we'd be starting from scratch. We can walk right in and talk to individuals we feel comfortable with. And our friends, who we have long term relationships with. We feel comfortable that they are looking out for our best interests," said Anita.
The owners of Auburn Leather Crafters feel the community is a main reason they are so successful personally and professionally.
"It all comes down to roots," said Alan.
"It is not a transient community, it helps people to feel comfortable. We know people who have businesses. With Auburn, a small to medium size city, you can rely on referrals from other people." said Anita. "If you run into one of these people on the street, you can look them in the eye and they can look you in the eye."
When asked about the challenges they face being entrepreneurs and raising a family, Anita spoke of her early days as a professional.
"I worked years, before our kids were born, in offices, but that was 16 years ago. And so, that was a big challenge for me, getting back into the business world. I look forward to meeting with other business owners and bouncing ideas and sharing how they do business and see what they've learned."
Alan was honest about the challenges that he has faced as he's worked his way up the ladder in the company.
"It's been challenging but exciting. We see each other a lot more often. It's a little overwhelming at times. Where I used to manage just the production side of the business, now its production, personnel management, advertising, and maintenance of the building. Everything all at once, and at times, it can get overwhelming. But you deal with it and roll with the punches. You have to become an expert at everything, or at least try to."
Alan explained the process of purchasing and ordering leather in the States. When a manufacturer purchases any kind of leather that the tannery makes custom, they have a minimum order of 2,000 square feet of leather. An expensive drain on the manufacturer, it saves more to keep everything "in house."
"We built our product line on all different colors of leather. We had one last opportunity to order and we had to find a way to replace that leather and keep the color consistent. We invested into equipment to do our own leather finishing. We had our challenges getting that going too, at the same time we had financial issues. In the end, it's going to make us better and stronger because we can produce any color of leather we want. "
The ease and ability to find high quality raw material is getting more and more difficult as a manufacturer in the United States. Alan stressed the importance of being able to communicate with the tannery and/or manufacturer you are dealing with.
"You buy an imported piece of leather and it takes you longer to get it," said Alan. "And, if you have a problem, they thumb their nose at you and basically don't care."
Anita has taken on Congress concerning tariff laws in the United States. The Dungey's were featured on the front page of The Washington Post this past year concerning Anita's effort to support the tariff laws. Alan feels his wife's efforts, though difficult at times, were worth it.
"In April, the APPMA put forth a proposal to be introduced to Congress that would eliminate tariffs on harnesses and leashes. This puzzled me, so I called Senator Schumer's office. There were four different bills, and what this meant was that each of those items has HDS code and if there is a tariff, the tariff will need to be paid to the government. The government then collects that money. In order for it to be suspended there was a stipulation that there was a $500,000, less than 50,000 in order for them to consider eliminating the tariff. No opposition. I'm still a manufacturer and I'm still here and I would still like to manufacture and if you lift this tariff my bigger competition will start outsourcing what they do and my supplies will get harder to find. Leather is harder to find all the time. Everything goes overseas. Finding the leather you need is getting more and more difficult."
"It's just like getting out the vote, you don't think your letters are going to Congress and you're not heard. Well maybe not one letter, but then you send a few and then you get heard," said Alan.
"Get out and vote, but don't stop there," said Anita. "Find what your passion is and do something about it. It's a lot of work, but you won't be disappointed."
When asked where they'd like to see the business progress to in five years, the Dungey's were consistent with their vision for the future.
"New products and new designs," stated Anita. "We have to stay with the standards. At the same time, we need those items that are not necessarily hot and new."
The duo expressed a devout interest in helping others succeed and participating with assisting the community as much as they can.
"I'm hoping we have an even bigger base established. We're doing pretty well considering it's only been a year. We'd like more employees. I'm hoping that we can find the right employees; I know the program, on the job training, is good. I would like to be able to attract the employees that are good with leather," said Anita.
Alan spoke candidly about his passion for the leather business and how grateful he is to be a part of the economic and social community in Auburn.
"Just to continue to grow and make a difference in the community. We've tried to give back to the community. We're constantly working with the VFW, school groups and sport teams asking for donations. Being a part of the community in the end is worth it. We want to make a respectable living, but also provide a respectable living for others."
What better time to support business in Auburn than the holidays?! To find out more information about Auburn Leather Crafters, please visit their new web site,
www.collarsandmore.com. Below, you'll see some of their hottest items for this season including luggage tags, the Multi-Function leash, String of Pearls collar, leather dog toys, and Sparky's hunting dog collar.. Thank you, in advance, for keeping businesses in Auburn alive and well!
|
