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A second decades-old Quebec furniture producer is shutting down, blaming difficult economic conditions including cheap Asian furniture that has dried up demand.
Bestar, a 75-year-old manufacturer of cabinets, hideaway beds and other furniture, is shutting down its plant in Lac-Mégantic in the Eastern Townships.
Its parent company, eSolutions Furniture Group, announced earlier this week that it has been unable to pay interest to its lenders and is entering bankruptcy proceedings.
At the Bestar plant on Thursday, Martin Tardif, the senior vice-president of manufacturing and business development, and grandson of the company’s founder, told reporters that the company had no other choice but to shut down.
In a statement that echoed one earlier this week from South Shore Furniture, an 86-year-old furniture maker that also announced its closure, Tardif said sales dried up as of 2021, in large part due to Asian dumping. Inflation and U.S. tariffs also took their toll, he said.
“Making furniture in Canada is extremely difficult,” he said. “Making furniture in Canada is fantastic and it should continue. Companies established in the regions, with suppliers in the regions that employ and feed 100 families, that needs to continue.”
‘Everyone is paying the price’
The 120 workers at the Bestar plant will lose their jobs, according to Unifor, the union that represents the workers.
“When companies shut down one after another, it’s not a coincidence,” said Daniel Cloutier, the director of Unifor Quebec, in a media release.
“It’s the result of an extremely challenging economic environment where businesses are facing deteriorating market access conditions, compounded by growing dumping practices, particularly from Asia.”
Nancy Robert, the president of the local branch of the union and a drill operator for 33 years, said the employees, many of whom are in their 50s and 60s with dozens of years of experience, are devastated.
“It’s a loss,” she said. “We’re losing our jobs. It’s not easy for anyone, for the community, for the city. Everyone is paying the price.”
When South Shore Furniture announced its closure earlier this week, the Canadian Wood Products Alliance (CWPA) called on the federal government to implement provisional tariffs on foreign-made goods entering Canada.
The tariffs would counter the flow of cheap Asian wood products, the CWPA said.
“The consequences for the industry are real, and they are already happening,” the CWPA said in a media release.
“Jobs have been lost, family-owned businesses have shut their doors, and communities are under increasing strain.”