Velvet headboards and floral upholstered chairs are some of the products made by Thornton-based Skyline Furniture and sold by retailers such as Wayfair, Target, Pottery Barn and West Elm.
Skyline is headed by Meganne Wecker, the third-generation owner of a family business founded in Chicago by her grandfather in 1946.
The company has about 400 employees at factories in Thornton and South Holland. Sales reached $50 million last year.
Skyline’s bed frames, upholstered chairs, ottomans and other products have historically been made in the Chicago area. It’s the only large manufacturer of upholstered furniture near Chicago, according to Wecker, who became Skyline’s CEO in 2024.
Businesses are bracing for the impact of higher tariffs under President Donald Trump, who announced on Monday 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
“Since the pandemic, we expect change,” Wecker said. “We hope for stability but are prepared to be nimble. We’re a 75-year-old business. We rely on learnings from past recessions and past ups and downs.”
Skyline is relatively insulated from the impact of tariffs. It began sourcing raw materials from the U.S. when Trump imposed tariffs during his first administration.
“We have minimal exposure to the countries targeted by tariffs, with the exception of China, where we source select fabrics,” Wecker said. But uncertainty lingers. “We are monitoring the situation,” she said.
Skyline has sourced more materials domestically to produce faster and more efficiently without ordering excess inventory from abroad. Rising freight rates from China also compelled it to seek alternatives.
In 2019, Skyline shifted sourcing steel and aluminum for bed frames and chair legs from Michigan instead of China. “We can send a truck to pick it up.”
That’s helped it avoid snarled supply chains that plagued many businesses during the pandemic. During that time, Skyline’s longest lead time for orders was eight weeks, up from three to five weeks normally. Other furniture makers had lead times of 52 weeks, Wecker said.
But Skyline can’t source all its materials domestically. For example, wood is difficult to find in the U.S. so it imports from Vietnam after shifting from China in 2020.
The company still imports textiles from China, which dominates the market for upholstery fabrics such as velvet, knits and polyester. “That machinery doesn’t exist domestically. It will take time and investment to move it to the U.S.,” Wecker said.
Skyline does source some fabric domestically and digitally prints at its Chicago area facilities.
During the pandemic, Skyline rode a wave of sales as consumers, locked down at home, started redecorating or furnishing newly-purchased homes when interest rates fell. Home office furniture and divider screens became popular, as people worked from home. Wecker said customers wanted “playful” colors and patterns to create a more optimistic atmosphere to offset the bleakness of the pandemic.
Skyline’s revenue increased about 20% from the second quarter of 2020 through 2022. During that time, Skyline hired 150 people from south Chicago and northwest Indiana, including unskilled workers who it trained internally.
Yet one of Skyline’s biggest challenges is filling skilled manufacturing jobs such as carpenters, foremen and operators for machines that cut and print fabric.
Skyline was well-prepared for a stronger shift to e-commerce during the pandemic. Because of its legacy of selling through direct mail catalog companies such as Sears and Montgomery Ward.
In recent years, Skyline has focused on getting international certifications for eco-friendly practices, such as using fast-growing pine and recycled plastic bottles instead of polyfoam. Wecker said consumers are becoming more interested in eco-friendly products.
But after an initial pandemic-era boom, business for the home furnishings industry has slowed dramatically, as high interest rates and inflation dampen demand.
“Everything is so chaotic now. It’s hard to predict anything,” Wecker said. While Skyline is well-positioned for growth, sales are contingent on the economy.
Furniture sales are tied to the housing market, which is “not great now,” Wecker said. “We are watching it closely. We would love to see it turn around, but we’re prepared for both sides of the coin.”