Towger
I'm not at all surprised (that they charge a lot)!
I make furniture myself and I know imports are incredibly cheap... there are several reasons for this... costs are so much lower in 'less developed' economies... insurance, transport, labour, raw materials... they also don't have to comply with safety requirements in the EU... so they use machinery and techniques which are outlawed in the EU. Mainly though it's labour that's cheap..
The only problem though is that transport from Asia to Ireland is expensive... maybe 4,000 per container... this means that most furniture is flatpacked... otherwise transport works out more expensive than the furniture itself!
I understand when I hear people say Irish exports can't compete on a world stage... maybe high tech stuff but not manufacturing.... we are far too expensive.
The exception is custom made furniture, it has to be made in Ireland... and top companies which can demonstrate the quality of their work can charge what they like... and Oakline do seem to be doing high quality work... another top Irish company would be Higginbotham but again they charge a fair bit...
Thanks for the link, it's exactly the type of furniture I make and want to be making...
Cheers
Joe