After closing their last American factory in the 1980s, the company eventually sold off its sewing machine related assets. However, Singer fared little better, with its market share having shrunk from 75% to a mere 25%.Īlthough the Singer Company still exists, they no longer manufacture sewing machines. While smaller American manufacturers including New Home and White struggled and eventually succumbed to the onslaught of the Japanese companies, Singer was able to survive. The American manufacturers could not compete with cheap Asian labor and Japanese industries (paid for largely by the American taxpayer as a result of the Marshall Plan).
However, the greatest threat came from Japan which dumped millions of cheap clone models on the market, driving all of the other American sewing machine companies out of business. European models possessed more features than the typical American models. By the mid-1950s, however, the market had become flooded with foreign made machines. As a result, this led to a great shortage of sewing machines immediately after the war. In 1929, Singer expanded once again with it’s amalgamation with the Standard Sewing Machine Company.ĭuring the Second World War, Singer (as the other American sewing machine companies) ceased sewing machine production in favor of manufacturing equipment deemed more necessary to the war effort. Singer continued to manufacture a number of popular W&W domestic and industrial machines at the Bridgeport, Connecticut, plant for many years thereafter. In 1905, the Singer company acquired its one-time rival, the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company. However, mechanically they were usually inferior and did not sew as well as genuine Singer machines. Infringement ranged from using a few features which Singer owned the rights for, to outright cloning of Singer machines which was widely done in Germany.Īlthough not labeled as “Singer” machines, these clones were often identical if not exactly the same as Singer machines in shape, size, and mechanism. The popularity of Singer sewing machines was so great that in a number of languages, the word “Singer” became synonymous with the term “sewing machine”.īecause of the growing popularity of Singer sewing machines, other manufacturers both in the United States and in Europe began to pirate Singer models. Factories were established in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and Russia. From the late 1850s, all Singer sewing machines were only sold through branch offices or authorized Singer dealers, unlike the many other manufacturers whose business mainly came from sup-plying department stores and mail-order companies.Īlthough the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company had initially been the moving force in the sewing machine industry, by the late 1870s the Singer Company had established itself as the foremost competitor in the sewing machine industry. The idea of Isaac Singer’s business partner Edward Clark, it endeavored to place the sewing machine within the means of the average household.Īlong with the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, Singer never sold “stenciled” models. The retail price of the sewing machine was far above what the average family could afford.
The Singer Company was the first to pioneer the installment plan in 1856 with the introduction of the Singer Family model sewing machine. In 1873, the company was reincorporated in the state of New Jersey where it remains today. In April 1863, the company was incorporated under the name of The Singer Manufacturing Company. In 1853 the factory was moved to New York City in the heart of the industrial district The company was initially located in Boston where Singer had in-vented his first machine. Singer, inventor of the first practical continuous sewing machine, in 1851. One of the few American sewing ma-chine manufacturers still in business, the company was originally founded by Isaac M. Needless to say, the Singer Manufacturing Company is the most famous sewing machine manufacturer in the world. ANTIQUE SEWING MACHINE RESOURCE - Singer Sewing Machines