Fiesta: 75 years for a U.S. favorite

It's not often that the anniversary of a utilitarian household product is worthy of celebration, but that's certainly the case with Fiesta, the casual dinnerware that marks its 75th anniversary on Sunday. The occasion is notable because of Fiesta's generation-spanning popularity and because the 140-year-old company that manufactures it is the last major china manufacturer in the United States. At a time when "Made in the U.S.A." on a product sometimes seems to belong on an endangered species list, the latter is important.

Fiesta was first offered to the public in four colors in 1936 by the Homer Laughlin China Company of West Virginia. The dinnerware's signature-look - concentric circles and a broad palette of bright colors - quickly became a favorite. It's remained that way for three-quarters of a century.

Indeed, company officials say that Fiesta is the top-selling casual dinnerware in the United States and that it currently is among the most popular patterns chosen for bridal registries. Impartial industry observers confirm those reports. So do sales at the nation's retailers.

Chattanooga-area retailers fit comfortably into the national pattern. A sales associate at the Belk Department Store at Hamilton Place said, "It [Fiesta] just flies off the shelves ... It's one of our best-sellers for everyday dishes."

A sales associate at Dillard's Department Store, also at Hamilton Place, offered a similar observation. "It is very popular," she said, "especially with brides." An associate at Kohl's Department Store on Gunbarrel Road added that Fiesta always sells well and that its popularity spans generations. "Young and old buy it," he reported.

Fiesta is not only a consumer favorite that graces untold numbers of American tables on a daily basis, it has become a part of many family histories. Tens of thousands of families can trace pieces through four generations of use. Thousands and thousands more actively collect older pieces in colors that are no longer manufactured and expand their collections with newer colors and pieces that are introduced to the public on a regular basis. Clearly, Fiesta has crossed the line from mundane household item to status as an American icon.

More important, perhaps, is the lesson that the Laughlin experience can teach other manufacturers. The company that now employs almost 1 ,000 people at a mile-long plant in Newell, W. Va., remains firmly entrenched on American soil. Long after most if not all, its competitors pulled up stakes and moved production out of the country in search of higher profits, Laughlin continues to thrive and to prosper here - proudly stamping its name and "Made in the USA" on its products. That's a business model that deserves widespread emulation.

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