Despite celebrating their 50th anniversary of business this year, Harbour outdoor furniture is a relative newcomer to the High Point Market. The Australian outdoor furnishings maker operates nine branded retail locations across the United States, Australia and South Korea, along with its direct-to-consumer website, contract division and design trade program. And two years ago, Harbour launched its wholesale division to furnishings retailers, taking a sizable showroom in 313 Space in High Point last year.
In a time when direct-to-consumer brands have flooded the marketplace, Harbour has taken the approach of widening its scope and seeing other retailers, as well as designers, as an opportunity rather than competition.
“Diversifying a portfolio is never a bad idea,” said Shannon Del Vecchio, vice president of Harbour’s wholesale division. “And we categorize a retailer as a brick-and-mortar location.”
Harbour was founded in 1976 in Sydney by Jim Condos, a trained blacksmith who began learning the craft at just 14 years old. Over the years, the business grew from that small operation to a global presence with teams in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe and United Arab Emirates.
Harbour offers domestic warehousing in the United States, which Del Vecchio said has been a major advantage for its retail and designer partners.
“We’re warehoused out of Arizona,” she said. “We have more than 400 SKUs that are warehoused there for quick and easy lead times.”
The company produces a range of products in materials that include aluminum, teak and more, designed in-house. In High Point, Harbour introduced new collections to celebrate its 50th anniversary, honoring the heritage of its founder — the Dimitri (Jim’s Greek name) and Harriet (Jim’s wife) collections feature fresh takes on iron furnishings with sleek, curved lines that exude a Mediterranean-chic vibe.
“Since Jim is a master blacksmith, we went into ironworks for the heritage 50th-year collections,” Del Vecchio said. “We’ve always done aluminum, and it was time to diversify a little bit and add another material to the collection. And since Jim and Harriet are from Greece, the collections reflect that coastal European lifestyle.”
Along with the Dimitri and Harriet collections, Harbour also introduced Celine, a slipcovered upholstered line available in 70 performance fabric options, along with several stone table intros and slipcovered dining chairs. Del Vecchio said the slipcovered options, in particular, appeal to the design trade with a four-to-six-week lead times.
Harbour also introduced the Sydney collection in High Point, a limited-edition line that pairs coastal design with yacht-inspired high-gloss teak available in a club chair, dining chair, dining table, side table and sun lounge.
“And limited edition means that we’ve only made a few — once they’re gone, they’re gone,” Del Vecchio said.
Though they’ve been around for half a century, Harbour views their business through a modern lens — understanding the value of an omnichannel approach that has allowed it to grow in a time when other companies are struggling. Today the company is run by Condos’ children, Nicholas, Harrison and Kira, and while Harbour continues to expand — they opened a new flagship showroom in Miami’s Design District in October — Del Vecchio said the business maintains that hands-on family ethos.
“It’s second-generation family owned and operated,” she said. “We are a small but mighty team.”
