Is Castilla A Reputable/reliable Brand For Sofas?

[kalimantan 6]

I ask them where it was manufactured - told me manufactured in china.

I just walk around and try out sofa - next thing is they can discount for up to $x ..whoa sounds desperate to clear everything including display set (they did tell me it is display set).

In biz, it is common to get low-base cost.

Hi Dave, May i know which components in the sofa are non-negotitable ? Eg

Full top grain leather - takes up x% of total cost

LAbour (i assume prc syt) - take up xx%

profit - take up y% ?

[wind30 2]

I just bought 8 leather dining chairs from Castilla.

The leather I chose is Torello which after I googled, is a corrected pigmented leather made in Italy (hopefully). The chairs are made in Malaysia.

I like the leather because the grain is bigger and it is thicker.

Hopefully it will be more durable than my old dining chairs.

Castilla can bargain a lot. I am not sure if I got the best price.

[Daveyap 0]

I ask them where it was manufactured - told me manufactured in china.

I just walk around and try out sofa - next thing is they can discount for up to $x ..whoa sounds desperate to clear everything including display set (they did tell me it is display set).

In biz, it is common to get low-base cost.

Hi Dave, May i know which components in the sofa are non-negotitable ? Eg

Full top grain leather - takes up x% of total cost

LAbour (i assume prc syt) - take up xx%

profit - take up y% ?

Hi Kalimantan, I am not in the business so I will not be able to know which components in the sofa are non negotiable. Unless it is very high end furniture, the labour costs is usually not a substantial part of the manufacturing costs when you are dealing with mid and low end furniture range. The materials (leather, foam, wood frame etc) has always been and will always be where most of the costs lie. Shipping & storage costs together with local delivery charges may constitute up to 30% of the total costs to the importer/retailer.

Space is always at a premium in the showroom as it is always limited so they have to try to display as many pieces as possible within a given time period. That is why we consumers must always roam around the furniture showrooms regularly in order to stand a better chance of catching them when they are in the midst of clearing their own or their suppliers' last few pieces in order to bring in a new or different range. That is when they have to lower their profit margins to a really low level. If you really want to have a good rough estimate of their profit margin, I would suggest you contact all those furniture companies in Alibaba and get the costing from them. They do offer individual pieces for sale but would mostly transact in 20 ft & 40 ft container loads. I roughly calculated their net profit margin to be as high as well over 100% and as low as under 20% but it keeps changing all the time for each and every shipment.

[Daveyap 0]

I just bought 8 leather dining chairs from Castilla.

The leather I chose is Torello which after I googled, is a corrected pigmented leather made in Italy (hopefully). The chairs are made in Malaysia.

I like the leather because the grain is bigger and it is thicker.

Hopefully it will be more durable than my old dining chairs.

Castilla can bargain a lot. I am not sure if I got the best price.

I don't think you will go that far wrong with Castilla as they have been around for quite a while. I am sure those 8 leather dining chairs must be pretty nice, too bad not many people appreciate leather dining chairs.

[ZondaR 0]

I don't think you will go that far wrong with Castilla as they have been around for quite a while. I am sure those 8 leather dining chairs must be pretty nice, too bad not many people appreciate leather dining chairs.

In my opinion, if you are looking for high end sofas, Castilla has been around very much longer than brands like Furniture Club etc.. Sometimes it is good to trust the more established brands.

[musingaway 0]

Been a long time... My home reno has disputes, and now I have to settle for something less satisfactory.

Well, anyway, I have no choice but to move in, and so I have arranged for Castilla sofa delivery.

2 china guys delivered the sofa, it was cling-wrapped, but the guy used a pen-knife to cut them off... I was kinda worried he would cut the leather too.

It looked moudly or with some white spots on the leather, but he told me to use a slightly damp cloth to wipe the leather. So far, it's ok.

My delivery receipt does not state the term 'FULL TOP GRAIN COWHIDE LEATHER', which is in my purchase invoice. This is something that concerns me...

Here are some pictures I just took, for your viewing pleasure and for your advice as well. Please be patient, and give me some feedback, I will appreciate it very much from all you leather experts and gurus:

L-shape sofa. The part nearest to us is a recliner.

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view from the other side.In this 2 pictures, note that the softer-feeling leather is the Seats including the long part of the L-shape, all the backrest, all the handrests, the bottom part of the sofa where the leg will touch/rest.

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[musingaway 0]

The same side of the sofa, L-shape portion front and back, what we are seeing are the leather that feel dry and rough.

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back to the original side of the sofa. the front part of the L-shape, and the side part of the sofa (the recliner, with the handle) It is not very responsive. after pulling it, it will move a bit, and you have to use your body and buttock to push the recliner out. If nobody is sitting on the recliner, pulling the handle will do nothing. the recliner will not move at all.

[musingaway 0]

closer picture of the sofa seats. on our right is the leather of the recliner. on our left is the middle part of the sofa. Am i imagining, but does these 2 leathers look different? The right one looks with slightly bigger grains, different shine, and horizontal-looking creases. The left ones looks smaller grain, different shine, and no horizontal-looking crease. Any thoughts on this?

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The stitching on the seats. It looks bad to me, not tight enough and with visible holes... Will it tear through the leather or come loose?

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Stitching on the lower-side portions of the sofa (the parts with the rough/dry feeling leather). It looks like the leather/dye has come off? Am i right?

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[musingaway 0]

PArt of the recliner mechanism. IT's mostly metal, but my finger is point to a plastic part. And the part with the 'CAUTION' sticker looks slightly rusty?? Hmmm...

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Base of the recliner portion. It's rusty, am I right?

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Now, gentlemen, would you all accept a sofa in this condition (NOT display-set), or would it be appropriate and okay for me to return it? Please comment or advice (first-time home-owner and first-time sofa buyer!)

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, cheers!!

[venom 1]

THE stitches on the seats are "so call normal" ba.

most of the leather sofa i have seen,the stitches are more of the same type.

But trust me,if it can last you more 3yrs without tearing,then you have earned it liao.

**but of course,must take care of it la.

Eg:

1)Dont let children jump on the sofa,

2)Dont use your knee to "support" your whole body weight when you wanna sit down on the sofa(hope you get what i mean)some ppl like to use their knee to press onto the sofa for support before their bum get rested onto the sofa)

**This action will kill your sofa in no time,bcoz if the person happened to use his/her knee n "jap" onto the seat(near the stitches area),before sitting down,then the surrounding of the stitches will get expand,so very soon,the threading will become loose,& next,the thread will break & thats it.

3)Use those leather lotions to clean,protect the surface

4)try to keep away from sunlight

As for the recliner,it should be responsive.i have tried @ showroom before,just press & the recliner will move front & back le.Unlike what you have mention

The recliner mechanism part is indeed rusty.

The Base of the recliner portion is also comfirm "very" rusty.

I would say its in a unacceptable condition

If you have just bought it,then try asking the company what can be done.

good luck

[musingaway 0]

Thank you venom! I am very grateful that you took time to reply and advise. I have a baby toddler and will definitely take note of the 'no jumping' rule.

Thanks for sharing about the responsiveness and rustiness of my recliner.

It might be common sense to most of you, but I just wanted to make sure I'm not being an unreasonable customer.

Thanks again!

[Daveyap 0]

Thank you venom! I am very grateful that you took time to reply and advise. I have a baby toddler and will definitely take note of the 'no jumping' rule.

Thanks for sharing about the responsiveness and rustiness of my recliner.

It might be common sense to most of you, but I just wanted to make sure I'm not being an unreasonable customer.

Thanks again!

Hi Bro,

Received your PM. I am so sorry to learn that they have screwed it up big time for you. I recalled you did tell them to hold back on the delivery as your house renovation was delayed for a considerable length of time through no fault of yours. Hopefully, they will not used that as a convenient excuse to say that your leather sofa had deteriorated while being stored at the warehouse through no fault of theirs. There could be something wrong with your recliner if it is not that responsive despite trying it out repeatedly for a couple of days to run it in. As for the leather quality, I think there is nothing wrong with the grains not being consistent but if the color inconsistency is too obvious, then it would not be acceptable. I got the feeling the non seating portions are made from Split leather, nothing wrong in that so long as there is no constant contact and friction. In my honest opinion, I would want to reject the set on the basis that the severe rust at the base of the sofa would indicate poor quality control and poor storage. I also have the niggling suspicion that this is an old display piece and they could have given away your set to someone else.

Try to make as much noise a possible to see if they can give you a new piece or at least get someone to go down to recondition the leather,check on the recliner and remove the rust.

[kalimantan 6]

best to bring Dave down, and buy him coffee , then you are assured of a quality piece :-)

[musingaway 0]

Thanks Dave and Kalimantan, I am still waiting for their reply. Distraught and sian as well.... I emailed their customer service those pictures, and some additional pictures because THE THREADING HAS COME LOOSE in at least 2 stitches.

There are also 2 small cuts on the leather, small but very visible and punctures the leather.

I also got a feeling it might be display set... Still waiting for their product manager to reply me first. Will keep you guys updated, and for future potential customers information as well. Let's see how Castilla services me for this case.

[musingaway 0]

I still can't get over the fact that my metal bases are rusty,

the threads have already broken and come loose,

there are visible cuts that puncture the leather,

and the non-contact portions of the leather is so rough and bad compared to the sitting/contact portion of the leather...

Based on the existing knowledge of leather I have learnt, I feel the most I am getting is Top Grain leather (NOT SURE if it's even cowhide) for the contact portions, and Split leather for all the non-contact ones.... :furious: :curse: