Grill Gear

Cuisipro Debuts Grilling And Specialty Tools

HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® • NEWS

CHICAGO— Cuisipro focused on popular food trends, such as grilling and smaller portions, with its new product introduc-tions at this year’s International Home + Housewares Show, here.

Cuisipro’s new commercial-quality stainless steel Grill/Fry Tongs feature special draining holes on the tips so fats and oils easily drip off. These medium-length 12-inch tongs provide control while keeping hands far enough way from hot surfaces and oils and are designed to handle a variety of cooking tasks. Cuisipro offers the Grill/Fry Tongs in both narrow and wide versions.

All of Cuisipro’s specialty tongs feature an easy-to-use patented locking pull mechanism— simply push to open and pull to lock and store. The new Grill/Fry Tongs are the latest addition to Cui-sipro’s collection of specialty lock-ing tongs. Additional offerings

IRVINE, CA— Principals Tracy and Tom Hazzard of Hazz Design believe that the office furniture business has changed fundamentally under the influence of women in the workplace to the degree that retailers and manufacturers who stick to old habits will in-evitably suffer significant busi-ness declines.

Design, particularly when it accommodates women’s sen-

sibilities, is becoming a defin-ing element in office products, they said, and plenty of mar-ketplace evidence exists to sup-port their position.

OfficeMax has developed Di-Voga seasonally updated desk accessories. Office Depot has developed a range of home fur-nishings such as Christopher Lowell and Thomasville. And Staples is rolling out the Mar-tha Stewart with Avery Denni-son line of office furniture.

The Hazzards know some-thing about the project, having

done some liaison consulting between Martha Stewart Liv-ing Omnimedia and a major partner, Whalen Furniture, on the line. Critical to observe, said Tom Hazzard, is that the first seat accompanying a Martha Stewart with Avery Dennison desk is not a conventional office chair. It is a cloth upholstered parson’s chair that can do double duty as pro-fessional or everyday seating.

The Hazzards showcased their approach to office furni-ture with Whalen at the World

J.C. PENNEy APPOINTS CMO, AND NEW ExECUTIvE vP fOR THE SqUARE In a reconfiguration of the executive structure at J.C. Penney, Elizabeth Sweney, who had been evp and gmm/women’s, has been appointed chief merchandising officer. Steve Lawrence, evp and gmm/men’s, who also had responsibility for the home department, has left the company. J.C. Penney Co. also announced that it has named Laurie Beja Miller evp/The Square to lead the ex-ecution of the company’s new center core strat-egy, one that will establish a gathering place in each store around an evolving set of attractions and services. In taking this role, Miller brings more than two decades of experience at leading retailers and iconic brands, including Nike, Apple and Disney. Miller will join J.C. Penney on April 1, and report to Ron Johnson, J.C. Penney CEO.

STEEL TAkES HELM AT JAvITS CENTERAlan Steel, a 30-year trade show management executive and former president of George Little Management, has replaced Gerald McQueen as president and CEO of the Javits Convention Center of New York. As president of GLM, Steel oversaw corporate strategic planning and direc-tion for the company’s shows including the New York International Gift Fair, the National Statio-nery Show and SURTEX. Steel also was active in developing domestic and international markets for the company.

6 • HWB • March 19, 2012

BY mike duffsenior editor

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Cuisipro’s wide grill/fry tongs feature draining holes to let fats and oils drip off.

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Hazz Design Sees Growth In Women’s Office furniture Segment

Hazz Design’s Aubrey leather executive chair for Whalen has flip-up arms.

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Market Center Las Vegas in January. At the market, a pair of their designs, the Aubrey Leath-er Executive and the Madison Cushion Plus Manager chairs,

gave them a chance to per-suade those attending that the gender blending ap-

proach they take to design is the wave of the future.

Tracy Hazzard is adamant that bringing a more femi-nine sensibility to product design doesn’t mean coloring

something pink or smothering it with lace. In fact, the Hazzards have trademarked the term Gen-derBlend to specifically define what they intend: consideration

of female consumer interests in traditionally male mas-

culine office furniture that doesn’t alienate men. In fact, their ap-

proach can serve many men better than the traditional stan-

dards, the Hazzards insisted.Take the Madison chair and

its approach to lumbar support as an example. Many women, they observed, stuff pillows and sweaters behind them even in offices furnished with expen-sive, ergonomically designed chairs. Unfortunately lumbar support in many office chairs is positioned in the wrong place for most women and many men who aren’t close to the accepted norm, they pointed out. Tradi-tional lumbar support doesn’t accommodate anyone who needs support for the upper back. The solution reached by the Hazzards: an adjustable lum-bar pillow that shifts to suit the chair user’s needs. The Madison chair also has broadly adjustable arms for consumers who must conform to a work surface that might not be ideally situated giv-en standard seating.

The Hazzards wanted the Au-

brey chair to have a little style but still gain broad acceptance, so it comes in a herringbone stitch pattern that harkens to designs that have been used both on purses and men’s suits. The Aubrey also features flip-up arms that allow users to get closer to a work surface if that suits their needs.

Purchasing Power

The Hazzards assert that any-one who is participating in the office furnishings sector must realize that women have a heavy influence on professional prod-uct purchasers. What is true in the home is true in the office as well. Office Depot, in the midst of its furniture initiatives, pointed out that women are the primary purchasers of business furnishings today.

Yet despite the fact that office furniture providers have begun

to recognize that women are making key purchasing deci-sions, dealing with that reality remains a work in progress.

“We have a lot of chairs and desks on market targeted at the male demographic that are an automotive offshoot,” Tracy Hazzard said. “Who really wants to put car in their house today?”

Women are making key buy-ing decisions at a time when the portability of computing equip-ment is blending work and living space. Consumers with multiple computers frequently need sec-ondary, part-time workstations that vendors have been provid-ing in the form of writing and sofa tables, among other ex-amples, that have to suit the es-tablished household style. And a woman usually sets that.

“We tell our clients that, today, you need to think of these spaces as shared spaces,” Tracy Hazzard

this week advertised “last chance savings on Dyson,” featuring a Dyson DC25 Ball Multi Floor bagless upright in “Ex-clusive” Target red for $379. Other ad-vertised deals included a “your choice” at $89.99 of either an Electrolux Ergo-rapido 2-in-1 hand and stick vac or a Eureka AirSpeed Zuum bagless upright; a Hoover WindTunnel Rewind bagless upright for $99 and a Hoover WindTun-nel Pet Rewind for $129. Kmart this week ran its annual “Clean Sweep” event with featured deals that included a Eu-reka Maxima bagless upright for $49.99; a Hoover Tempo filter bagged upright for $74.99; a Hoover Quick & Light upright extractor for $79.99; a Hoover WindTunnel Rewind bagless upright for $99.99; a Kenmore power-nozzle canis-ter vac for $119.99; and a Shark Profes-sional Steam Pocket Mop for $129.99. Shopko advertised “all on sale electric floorcare” with a featured deal of an H20 Mop X5 for $79.99. Meijer this week offered it shoppers a “Free” Dyson Asthma & Allergy Cleaning Kit with the purchase of either a Dyson DC33 Multi Floor bagless upright for $399.99 or a Dyson DC24 Animal bagless upright for $479.99. Also on ad, a Bissell Rewind Power Helix bagless upright for $99.99, and a Bissell ProHeat 2X Pet upright extractor for $199.99. Fred Meyer this week advertised “All Vacuums & Steam-ers on Sale,” with featured deals that included a Bissell Lift-Off Floors & More Pet stick vacuum for $69.99; a Bis-sell CleanView Helix bagless upright for $79.99; a Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind bagless upright for $109.99; a Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Pet Rewind bagless upright for $139.99;

a Shark Navigator Lift-Away bagless upright/canister for $169.99; a Bissell Lift-Off Revolution Pet bagless upright/canister for $169.99; a Dyson DC35 Digital Slim Multi Floor bagless hand and stick vac for $329; a Dyson DC33 Multi Floor bagless upright for $399; and a Dyson DC41 Animal Ball bagless upright for $599. With two full pages de-voted to the category, other advertised floor care deals included a Shark Light & Easy steam mop for $49.99; a Shark Portable steamer for $79.99; a Shark Steam Pocket Mop for $79.99; a Shark

Vac-Then-Steam for $149.99; a Bissell Little Green portable spot cleaner for $99.99; a Hoover portable canister vac for $69.99. Kohl’s advertised a “your choice” at $149.99 of either a Bissell Lift-Off Multicyclonic Pet bagless upright or a Bissell ProHeat upright extractor.

Week of March 5Kmart advertised a “Final Week Semi-

annual Clean Sweep event,” in its flyer this week with featured deals that in-cluded a Dirt Devil Breeze filter bagged upright for $42.99; a Eureka 2-in-1

steam mop for $49.99; a Eureka Whirl-wind bagless upright for $79.99; a Dirt Devil Easy Lite filter bagged canister vac for $79.99; a Eureka AirSpeed ba-gless upright for $109.99; and a Hoover SteamVac upright extractor for $139.99. Meijer this week offered a “Free” Meijer gift card with the purchase of select advertised Shark floor care products. Featured deals included a Shark Steam Pocket Mop for $79.99 with a $10 gift card; a Shark Navigator bagless upright for $149.99 with a $10 gift card; and a Shark Navigator Lift Away for $179.99 with $20 gift card. Fred Meyer this week advertised its “Half Yearly Vacuum Sale,” featuring a “Closeout Priced” Dyson DC 25 Multi Floor bagless upright for $449, with a “Free” $100 Fred Meyer gift card with purchase. Other advertised deals included a Bissell Cleanview Helix bagless upright for $79.99 (with $10 gift card); a Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind bagless upright for $109.99 (with $10 gift card); a Hoover WindTun-nel T-Series Pet Rewind bagless upright for $139.99 (with $10 gift card); a Bissell Lift-Off Revolution Pet bagless upright for $169.99 (with $20 gift card); and a Bissell ProHeat 2X upright extractor for $199.99 (with $20 gift card). Boscov’s advertised a Hoover WindTunnel Air lightweight bagless upright for $179.99; and a Hoover Max Extract upright extractor for $239.99. Featured deals at Best Buy included a Bissell Cleanview Helix bagless upright for $74.99; a Bis-sell Little Green ProHeat portable spot cleaner for $99.99; a Bissell SpotBot Pet portable spot cleaner for $149.99; a Bis-sell Lift-Off Pet bagless upright/canister for $149.99; and a Bissell ProHeat 2X upright extractor for $259.99.

Women’s Purchasing Influence Drives Hazz Design

HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® • NEWS March 19, 2012 • HWB • 31

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Above: Meijer advertised Shark floor care the week of March 5. Right: Kmart held its semi-annual Clean Sweep sales event the week of March 5.

Above: Kohl’s flyer the week of 2/27 featured a your choice of Bissell floor care models.

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The Whalen Madison chair from Hazz has an adjustable lumbar support.

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Metal And Texture Décor Styles Emerge

said. “If you are not thinking of these being shared spaces, you are not thinking correct-ly about them.”

Tom Hazzard noted that furniture retailers and ven-dors still are adjusting to a changed understanding of the office segment. He said that Hazz Designs derives some advantage from its prin-ciples being a husband and wife team who can bring both masculine and feminine per-spectives to the table. An in-dependent perspective helps, too, when overcoming inher-ent corporate conservatism.

“We’ve been trying to in-corporate more qualities that appeal to the female custom-er for some time,” he said. “When I was an employee of companies, we would float the idea, but corporations tend to retreat to history and are loathe to step out and take risks, particularly when programs are well estab-lished.”

Yet he noted that today’s office furniture marketplace, shaken by demographic shifts, technological advanc-es and economic turmoil, has undergone a fundamen-tal change that has to be ac-knowledged and accommo-dated. The segment hasn’t arrived at a tipping point but passed it, the Hazzards point-ed out.

Hazz Office Chairs Focus On Gender

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desire to establish a more chal-lenging environment.

“Stark,” was a term that Pro-pac Images’ vp/marketing, Samantha Floyd, used to describe new popular looks even as she pointed out that mellower bird motifs re-main popular.

Metal is becoming more important. Metallic ac-cents already have be-come popular in wall art. Recently, in desks and accent furniture, metal, in hardware, accents

and even legs has contrasted with often bulkier wood to pro-vide worn or slightly unfinished looks.

Similar rugged styling has mi-grated to lamps, and it was in ev-idence at Pacific Coast Lighting, which has taken the trends in a number of directions including an expanding line of industrial-look lamps and, recently, items that use material in a style that suggests building construction. The company also is introduc-ing more textured lampshades, which are becoming an increas-ingly important decorative ele-ment in and of themselves.

Lately, Nova has combined wood and metal in lamps, then topping them with slubby shades.

Adesso has made it a mission to revive interest in lampshades, even using Velcro clasps to make fastening shades easy.

A popular item among Linon Home Décor Products’ decora-tive accessories, said Penney Lange, product manager, are bulky, used-looking metal mail-boxes, which the company of-fered among a range of décor accessories combing metal and wood in rustic proportions.

In the meantime, Midwest-CBK has been combining historical and natural themes, but adding bulkier pieces, metal accents and bright colors in various collec-tions to provide forceful enhance-ments to the company’s estab-lished lineups.

Above: Pacific Coast Lighting developed a line of lighting that is reminiscent of a construction motif.

Linon is combining media to refine antique and rustic looks, such as metal mailboxes.

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Left: Propac focused on stark imagery and highly

textured frames.

Left: As it paces trends, Nova is combining wood, metal and more visually compelling shades.

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