Southern Leather Company celebrates 100th anniversary
Southern Leather Company recently marked its centennial with a party at The Peabody in Memphis.
Current president, Harry Loewenberg, represents the fourth generation to lead the firm. His father William – known by most as Skip – is now chairman of the board.
According to Harry Loewenberg, the company has always managed to stay debt-free, despite battling through the Great Depression and the post-2008 credit crunch.
The trick has been to adapt the business in line with economic developments and demographic changes.
It has recently had to reduce the amount of credit it extends to its customers and downsize its nine regional warehouses to five. At its height, the company operated 13 warehouses. The company also sold off its retail shoe sales division, which was struggling to cope with competition from large corporations and cheap imports from outside the US.
"We're in an overly mature industry," Harry
Loewenberg told Memphis Commercial Appeal. "We were bleeding pretty
badly seven or eight years ago. Now I'm pleased to say we're profitable."
