(published Dec. 16, 2016)
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2011
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Leather goods
THEN:
OWNERS: Joe and Rick Lotuff
LOCATION: 1 Sims Ave., Providence
EMPLOYEES: 18
ANNUAL SALES: WND
NOW:
OWNERS: Joe and Rick Lotuff
LOCATION: 1 Sims Ave., Providence
EMPLOYEES: 12
ANNUAL SALES: WND
While a focus on quality, long-lasting leather products remains a constant at Lotuff Leather, the business has seen “a tremendous amount of change” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CEO Mary Lotuff Feeny. Lotuff Feeny, the sister of co-founders Joe and Rick Lotuff, began working with the company when her brothers asked her to join them on a project shortly before the pandemic hit. In April 2021, Lotuff Feeny took the reins as CEO.
Soon after the pandemic arrived, the business repurposed its studio to make personal protective equipment, producing over 30,000 plastic face shields that they sent to hospitals in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and to various other hospitals around the country. The business also sold thousands of face coverings to online customers, according to Lotuff Feeny. The company returned to producing leather products, such as bags, wallets and briefcases, in August 2020.
Since 2016, the business has shifted its focus from wholesale to 70% direct-to-consumer sales. These direct-to-consumer sales make up a “super majority” of the business, Lotuff Feeny said, and the business is not currently seeking new wholesale clients. Lotuff maintains relationships with some wholesalers, but many companies the business once worked with shuttered during the pandemic.
Most employees are new since the start of the pandemic, Lotuff Feeny said, and the business has also shifted to train the artists while also evolving its preexisting standards to meet new fashion approach and market week qualifications. The business grew to 22 employees then shrunk during the depths of the pandemic. It is back to seeking new team members and plans to eventually grow beyond its former employee count.
Since the business established itself on Sims Avenue eight years ago, Lotuff Feeny noted that several new businesses have opened in the area, making the location “vibrant with entrepreneurial energy.”