FURNITURE EXPORTERS IN EUROPE STRUGGLE WITH ECONOMY, ASIA.

HIGH POINT, N.C.-European furniture manufacturers have endured rough seas en route to the U.S. market over the past 18 months -- an economic tempest so severe that one executive dubbed it "the perfect storm."

The rare confluence of natural forces that generated a devastating nor'easter is an apt metaphor. Colliding to create some of the toughest business conditions ever for European exporters were the slow U.S. economy, a devalued dollar abroad and the steady rise of low-priced Chinese imports, especially in leather upholstered furniture.

These companies are still struggling to navigate, with no way to predict how long the present tempest will last.

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