The Growing Criticisms on Natuzzi and Why it Happens
When it comes to leather furniture Natuzzi ranks among the well known brands. The largest furniture manufacturer in Italy was the first foreign company to list on Wall Street. Its CEO and chief stylish Pasquale Natuzzi founded the group in 1959 at a very young age of 19. In 2008 he was also the first non-American to be inducted to the American Hall of Fame. Italy is recognized worldwide as a producer of fine quality leather and this have further boosted Natuzzi’s reputation.
A sofa bed from Natuzzi
Criticisms
Lately however, there have been a growing number of people who became disgruntled and disappointed after buying furniture made by Natuzzi You can read their testimonies on web forums and sites that provide a medium for consumer to air their grievances.
In one of the discussion forums on topix.com there are currently 112 comments, most of them lambasting Natuzzi Group and its retailers. Some are disgusted by the flaking off of the color on the leather; others complain about the roundabout treatment given to them by the reseller when they needed service for some damage to the furniture. Only about 7 or 8 people said they were satisfied with their purchase.
In the consumer product reviews site pissedconsumer.com many complaints were about the poor construction quality and the substandard upholstery materials of the furniture they had bought. They are now advocating not buying Natuzzi even though some of them confessed that they had already owned furniture from the manufacturer before. They wonder why the decline in the quality of the leather furniture which they patronize before.
The number one reason why Natuzzi became popular is the leather quality of their upholstered furniture. For those who cannot afford to have their damaged leather furniture reupholstered by professionals, why not learn how to restore furniture yourself by learning leather craft. It doesn’t have to be hard and expensive. Click Here!
A luxury leather sofa from Natuzzi
Why It Happens
Natuzzi has come a long way to establish the Natuzzi Group as a leading furniture maker. In June 2011 Mr. Pasquale was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by ADL (Anti-Defamation League) for his contribution to the furnishings industry. But why the growing dissatisfaction to their furniture?
You cannot please all people all the time. There are some factors that contribute to why people become unhappy over a product or got disappointed when the product turned out contrary to their expectations. The manufacturer may have changed their marketing strategy or introduced some innovation which they thought would improve their global identity. It may have clicked to some consumers but probably did not turn out well to others.
The other factor which most end users do not realize is that every retailer of furniture can choose whatever grade of leather they would like as upholstery to the sofas or couch they are selling. They will get this from the manufacturer and the consumers would not recognize the difference whether they are getting the appropriate type of leather to what they are paying or not.
You Get What You Pay For
Most people, just hearing the mention of Natuzzi, would think it is a great product. Well it was, or it still is, depending on the information you had about them. In my knowledge, there are three distinct product lines within Natuzzi. They are categorized as good, better, best. The good product is Italsofa which mostly come from China. The better is the Natuzzi Editions which also comes mainly from China; and the best product, the Pasquale Natuzzi, is manufactured only in Italy.
This “democratization” is a result of the cost saving techniques of Natuzzi to the leather furniture industry. They have dumbed down their products to meet a price point for the retailer. The ordinary consumers do not realize this. What they know is that when they bought a Natuzzi they’ve already got a high end product.
When it comes to customer service, like most manufacturers, Natuzzi does not deal directly with individual buyers. The store is your liaison. They are your representative to Natuzzi.
So when a customer encounters a serious problem and the manufacturer or the retailer, beforehand, did not give some detailed information about the furniture, most of these people will complain publicly. That is what is happening now on several website forums.
Here is a video posted by a consumer about the problem on his Natuzzi sofa:
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We bought a sectional “Wave” leather sofa late last year (2012). Yes it’s very cool and contemporary looking. Less than 1 year later all of the support is gone. The color of the leather has flaked off in certain areas and the backs show dents and sagging in the leather. For a $6000 couch I expected much more. We bought this directly from the Natuzzi store in Soho NYC. We will NEVER buy anything from this manufacturer again.
Agree on the poor quality. After a year the chair and sofa cushions are flattened and it’s actually painful to sit in the sunken chair very long. No help from Macy’s. Other less expensive furniture we had was far more durable.
I might add that the labels on the underside of the Natuzzi furniture say Made in China.
Wonderful looking design, pathetically awful quality. So run away from it.
Agree with David B. Cushions severly sagging after 1 year, yet Natuzzi claims up to their “spec”. What a waste of money. Will NEVER recommend or purchase from Natuzzi again!
We bought this $6,000+ sofa 18 months ago thinking it was really high quality. We waited 6 months for it to arrive from Italy. It looked great. But as soon as we sat in it for a while we had problems. The cushions have flattened. The support is gone. And it looks like low end piece of junk. Although we paid extra for a 10 yr warranty, the retailer can do nothing. We’ve called Natuzzi and get no answers. We’ve had several furniture repair experts here and they all said the same thing – Natuzzi quality is terrible. It’s the way they are made! Don’t buy a Natuzzi!
Hello,
I read this posting prior to shopping for my new leather sofa. Where I live, I have several leather options to choose from, but ended up buying, I guess you would refer to it as a “better” Natuzzi sofa. I went to a small store called Leather and Wood Furniture Gallery in Raleigh. I wanted to see for myself if the quality was as bad as the article warned. I asked my sales lady a TON of questions, and she handled everyone of them like a champ. The sofa I bought was around $1400, and I was told it was top grain leather all-around. I couldn’t see the springs or anything, but it sure felt solid to me. The leather was super soft and the cushions felt good too. I hope my sofa lasts a long time.
Your method of describing all in this article is really fastidious, all be able to easily know it, Thanks a lot.
Qualität hat seinen Preis. Hochwertige Qualität fordert einen höheren Preis, denn die Kunden allerdings nicht bezahlen wollen. Natuzzi wird seit 15 Jahren heruntergeramscht damit das Möbel konkurrenzfähig am Markt bleibt. Wollen die Leute sparen dann beginnen sie mit downsizen, da wird an der Qualität des Leders, der Polstermaterialien, der Accessoires gespart.
This was good information about Natuzzi furnitures. When we repair these products for retailers here in Finland. Now we can also inform the customers.