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The colorful Fiesta Dinnerware brand is reinventing itself in the retail tabletop marketplace as the newly formed Fiesta Tableware Company. This change follows Steelite International’s acquisition of the former Homer Laughlin China Company foodservice operations.
“In an ever-evolving business environment, opportunities present themselves for companies to transform and grow through strategic planning and decisive action,” said Elizabeth McIlvain, president of The Fiesta Tableware Company. “The timing was right for us. We have made a bold move to redouble our retail efforts and to free up needed resources to achieve our retail goals.”
Steelite will assume manufacturing and sales responsibilities for the two foodservice brands: the Homer Laughlin China Company and the Hall China Company. The existing Fiesta retail business is not part of that sale. This sale does not have any effect on the Fiesta brand, which was manufactured by The Homer Laughlin China Company since 1936. The Fiesta Tableware Company will continue to operate in Newell, W.V., as a retail-only tabletop and giftware manufacturer. In addition to the Fiesta brand, The Fiesta Tableware Company will also manufacture and sell other tableware designs to the retail market.
“With the ability to focus exclusively on the retail side of our business, we are poised to exploit new opportunities for growth in the marketplace, further develop our private label and OEM programs, offer more exclusive pieces for our retail partners, provide a more robust product assortment to our entire retail customer base, seek out new retail partners and expand our relationships with existing retail and OEM partners,” said Rich Brinkman, VP of sales and marketing at The Fiesta Tableware Company.
The company remains committed to continuing to manufacture Fiesta and its expanding product collection in Newell, W.V., as it has been since 1936. The new exclusive focus on retail products frees up much-needed production time to answer previous challenges in special retail markets.
“We’ll be better equipped to increase retail delivery speed and frequency,” Brinkman added. “We’ll definitely be more nimble than we’ve been in the past.”
Fiesta has always been an American brand. It debuted 84 years ago in five vibrant colors, in order to brighten spirits during the Great Depression. Those five original colors were Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Ivory.
Now, Fiesta manufactures 15 signature shades at any given time. Every year, the brand introduces one color and retires another. This year’s colors are: White, Scarlet, Poppy, Butterscotch (new for 2020), Daffodil, Sunflower, Lemongrass, Shamrock, Meadow, Turquoise, Lapis, Cobalt, Mulberry, Ivory and Slate.
Founded in 1871, The Homer Laughlin China Company was one of the first white-ware plants in the U.S. With a 149-year history, the company has long been involved in the design and manufacture of food service and retail china products.
