Monday, July 12, 2010

SEE SALES PAGE 18

THE BUSINESS AND FASHION NEWSPAPER OF THE HOME TEXTILES INDUSTRY | hometextilestoday.com | Vol. 31, No. 16 | $8.00

BY CECILE CORRAL

ATLANTA — While the winter market is usually the more traffi cked event, this summer’s counter-part of the bi-annual Atlanta International Area Rug Market is being anticipated with more fervor by rug suppliers as they await higher-than-usual numbers of customers to replenish inventories in expectation of improving second-half business.

“As far as July market is concerned, I think re-tailers are continuing to be hopeful and optimis-tic about the fall selling season and are continu-ing to update their assortments in anticipation of a better second half,” said Wendy Reiss, key ac-count manager of sales and marketing, Somerset,

N.J.-based Kas Rugs. “Turnout for summer mar-kets is always hard to know, as it is always slow-er than winter/spring markets, but appointments are shaping up nicely, so we are feeling very pos-itive that it will be a good market.”

Troy, N.C.-based Capel Rugs has seen this year so far, “a real upswing in the amount of re-tailer traffi c in our market showrooms,” noted Allen Robertson, vp, sales, “and we expect that

Suppliers Hopeful for Summer Rug Market

Shaw Rugs is expanding the Kathy Ireland Home International First Lady collection with 14 new traditional and transitional rugs woven in the U.S.A. with Shaw’s EverTouch recyclable nylon. Seen here is Somerset House in the empress light blue colorway.

SEE ATLANTA PAGE 8

BY JAMES MAMMARELLA

NEW YORK — .Department store chains reported fairly solid com-parable store sales gains in June, but things were ho-hum at Tar-get, while the major off-price op-erators continued to impress, and raised their profi t projections.

Home furnishings categories were a mixed bag – less than stel-lar at most merchants, quite strong at others – but soft home has clear-ly started to put years of absolute, dead-last doldrums behind.

All but two of the 13 major re-tailers tracked monthly by HTT reported positive comps in June.

JCPenney saw comp sales rise 4.5%, a sweet turnaround from the June 2009 comp decline of 8.2%. The home segment lagged behind apparel at JCP – but there was upbeat news regarding home textiles.

While the home division “continues to be a work in prog-ress,” the company said in its re-corded sales statement, “sales in soft home merchandise were pos-

itive, and considerably outper-formed the hard home and win-dow covering categories.”

The 6.5% comp gain for June at Macy’s Inc. featured a 37.6% year-over-year increase in online sales; the company includes its e-commerce sales in its comps. Terry Lundgren, chairman, presi-dent and ceo, pointed to the “My Macy’s localization and the in-creased effectiveness and effi cien-cy of our unifi ed national organi-zation” as factors in overall gains.

Soft Home Sales Help in June’s Mixed Bag

PURCHASE, N.Y. — A Master-Card Advisors survey found that while eCommerce posted a solid 9.7% gain in June, the month marked the first time this year the channel’s year-over-year growth rate fell below dou-ble digits.

“While there were spending shifts from May to June between industry sectors and segments, several sectors continue to show very modest growth, compared to

the building sales momentum in the fi rst quarter of 2010,” said Mi-chael McNamara, vp, research and analysis for the monthly SpendingPulse survey.

The survey tracks national re-tail and service sales, including restaurants and food stores.

“When analyzing the data, some of the variables to consid-er include calendar shifts relat-ed to Memorial Day that pushed some spending from May into

the retail month of June,” Mc-Namara added. “In addition, fi -nancial market performance coupled with weaker consum-er confi dence fi gures correlated with weakness in sales in high-er priced, discretionary items, as well as durable goods.”

Indeed, the SpendingPulse found luxury sales declined 3.9% in June, breaking a six-month streak of positive gains.HTT

NEW YORK — Williams-Sonoma Inc. believes the recession has reca-librated consumer attitudes about how they shop, and the company is repositioning the pricing of key merchandise categories and items.

“Above all, we believe the consumer’s focus on price and value will endure long after the economy begins to recover,” evp and chief mar-keting offi cer Pat Connolly told attendees at the William Blair 30th An-nual Growth Stock Conference here last month.

The company continues to work on reducing store costs, a plan that will entail shuttering some units, renegotiating leases on others and ex-perimenting with smaller stores, he said.

The Pottery Barn nameplate is driving traffi c through opening price point goods, and its West Elm brand is expanding opening price points along with its assort-ment of non-furniture product.

Connolly said the country is in “a reset economy that may not fully recover for three to fi ve years.” HTT

Williams-Sonoma Sees Permanent Change in

Consumer Behavior

MasterCard: Sales Slow to Modest

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2 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.com

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dol-lar’s earnings per share for the third quarter shot up 24.2% to 77 cents, with net income up 19.0% to $104.4 million.

It was the ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit earn-ings growth for the retailer.

Sales rose 8.4% to $1.8 bil-lion for the quarter ended May 29, while comps increased

7.0%. The top-performing cat-egories were seasonal, elec-tronics and consumables.

Looking ahead, “the envi-ronment remains challenging for consumers, and customers continue to buy close to need,” said Howard Levine, chairman and ceo.

With fourth-quarter comps running around 5.5% in June,

the company expects comps to climb 5% to 7% for the full quarter. EPS is estimated at 46 cent to 51 cents per share, compared to 43 cents in last year’s fourth quarter.

For the full year, Family Dollar expects EPS of $2.53 to $2.58. Earnings in the pre-vious fiscal year were $2.07. HTT

Family Dollar Rings Up Double-digit Profit Jump

ATLANTA — Luxury bedding house MarcelMiller is coming to the upcoming Atlanta Inter-national Gift & Home Mar-ket later this month with a new addition to its line.

The Bespoke bedding pro-gram represents the company’s entry into sheeting, expand-ing MarcelMiller’s signature “Marcel” collection of hand-made coverlets and shams with new classic menswear tailored duvets and hem-stitched sheets sets made of Peruvian pima per-cale cotton.

The company said it decided to add sheeting to accommodate customer requests. “The sheets are particularly pleasing,” the com-pany noted, as the designs were a collaborative effort with Peruvian

designer Natalie Barhumi.Arthur Titus, founder and

ceo of MarcelMiller, added: “We are attempting to fuse clas-sic tailoring and crisp contem-porary styling to create never-before-seen bespoke bedding. Natalie successfully executed our vision of bespoke bedding, which we believe represents a

compelling new statement of style for the discerning luxury linen buyer.”

In related news, the com-pany is also planning to unveil in August at the New York Gift Show a new organic bedding program as an extension of its award-winning organic cotton PUR collection.

These new organic cotton bedding pieces “will further establish the PUR Collection as quite frankly the most appealing Eco-luxury collection available in fi ne linens market,” the com-pany said.

MarcelMiller’s showroom in Atlanta is at the AmericasMart in Building 9, space E-5. The market is scheduled from July 16 to 20. HTT

MarcelMiller Expands Bedding Line with New Bespoke Sheet Collection

July 12, 2010

Target Opening First Manhattan Store

Target will celebrate the grand opening of its fi rst Manhattan store July 25.To commemorate the opening, Target will launch

the Harlem Designer Collection in select stores next month, mostly on the East Coast. The limited-time pro-grams include:

• Marcus Samuelsson for Target: aprons, place-mats, kitchen towels, potholders and napkins, as well as men’s, women’s and kids’ tees (available only at the East Harlem store);

• IsabelandRubenToledo for Target: psychedelic swim suits and towels;

• Stephen Burrows for Target: knitwear with an urban-street aesthetic.

Macy’s Gearing up for BTS Online

As part of its back-to-school marketing effort, Macy’s will launch on online style lab for teens.Beginning Aug. 12, www.macys.com/mstylelab.

com will cover trends through fashion videos, provide insights from Seventeen Magazine editor-in-chief Anne Shoket and allow teens to post images of themselves to show off their personal style.

Sears mobile efforts draw kudos

Digital marketing company Acquity Group’s annual Mobile Commerce Audit has deemed Sears Hold-

ings “Overall Best-in-Class” for mobile reach as well as “Best-in-Class” for mass merchants.

The audit examined metrics in 18 categories such as device detection across various browsers, mobile apps and ease of checkout. Sears’ mobile shopping options include Sears2go, Kmart2go, Sears Personal Shopper, Manage My Life and mygofer2go.

HSN Going All Out with Multi-Product “Eat Pray Love” Promo

HSN will devote three days to selling product asso-ciated with the new movie Eat Pray Love, includ-

ing goods from home textiles designer Sarita Handa.Seventy-two hours of original programming will

air Aug. 6-8, in advance of the fi lm’s Aug. 13 nation-wide release. HSN will highlight more than 400 prod-ucts in a variety of categories: beauty, electronics, home décor, travel, cooking, jewelry, accessories and ready-to-wear.

RetailBriefs

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

NA N T U C K E T, MA SS. — BJ’s Wholesale Club is increasingly counting on its consumable offerings, specifi cally perishable goods, in 2010 and beyond to drive frequent customer traffi c and transactions and grow its overall business.

At the company’s presenta-tion during the Jefferies & Co. Inaugural Consumer Confer-ence in late June, BJ’s presi-dent and ceo Laura Sen singled out supermarket business as the company’s “biggest opportunity for taking market share.”

The reason is two-pronged.“Per i shable foods dr ive

member visits. Our goal is to become the primary source for weekly shopping needs,” Sen said. “And perishable foods have higher margins than any other category of merchandise sold in our club.”

BJ’s estimates that the whole-sale club industry’s share of the $750 billion grocery market in U.S. is “still only about 10%,” Sen said. “Outside of wholesale clubs, our primary competitors include supercenters, specialty retailers and supermarkets. And of all BJ’s competitors, super-markets represent our biggest opportunity for taking market share. Based on our operational effi ciencies and of course lower

prices, our biggest advantage over supermarkets is our signif-icantly lower cost structure.”

In addition, she continued, BJ’s on average offers shoppers a 30% savings on a basket of like items, as well as a bevy of “trea-sure hunt” non-food items for added “excitement and fun.”

Also in the cards for this year: seven to nine new clubs, including one relocation, and five or six major renovations, which include installation of more refrigeration units as part of the perishable food expan-sion; and updated staff train-ing and development coupled with an upgraded ecommerce site. HTT

BJ’s Leaning on Perishable Foods to Drive Traffic, Sales in 2010

“We are attempting to fuse classic

tailoring and crisp contemporary styling

to create never-before-seen bespoke bedding.”

—ARTHUR TITUS, MarcelMiller

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4 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.comJuly 12, 2010

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

NANTUCKET, MASS. — At the Jefferies Consumer Confi dence conference here in late June, The Home Depot discussed dur-ing its presentation the details of its three-pronged strategy to boost business this year and onward.

Marvin Ellison, evp, U.S. stores, explained that Home Depot views 2010 as a transi-tional year, as reflected by the home improvement chain’s pos-itive fi rst quarter results.

“For us, we defi ne transitional as sales moving from negative to positive territories. [In the fi rst quarter] we exceeded our inter-nal expectations. We had posi-tive comps in U.S. stores for the fi rst time since the fourth quar-ter of 2005. We grew transac-tions and we had year-over-year positive inventory turnover.”

Ellison offered an outline of the strategy, which includes: supply chain transformation; merchandise transformation;

and customer service.“From a store operations per-

spective, each of these initiatives will assist us to drive not only improvements in customer ser-vice and simplifi cation of stores. We think it will help us to just drive a better business in gen-eral,” he said, adding the ini-tiatives will also “continue to allow us to improve our perfor-mance and create a better shop-ping environment for our cus-tomers.”

The supply chain transforma-tion relates to the rollout of com-pany’s new rapid deployment centers (RDC). With 14 in place to date, about 70% of Home Depot’s stores are being serviced by these RDCs. The company expects to have all units serviced by RDCs by yearend.

“Our RDC network has dra-matically improved the store environment already,” Ellison said. “For example, it allows us to shift payroll from just mov-ing freight to taking care of cus-tomers. They’ve improved our

in-stock levels to 99%, they’ve improved our lead times, and they’ve improved our overall turns. And we think this will continue quarter by quarter.”

The merchandising trans-formation initiative focuses on providing “great value and rees-tablishing product authority.” Specifically, this includes an assortment maintenance tool that allows merchants to set assortments below market level for a more productive inventory and fewer markdowns in sea-sonal business, and an automated clearance process in which markdowns are applied based on weeks of supply by store to shorten the clearance cycle and reduced clearances.

At the core of the strategy is the customer service initia-tive, which is broken into two segments: “taking care of asso-ciates” with improved benefi ts; and “taking care of customers,” with an easier return process, guaranteed price matching and other bonuses. HTT

Home Depot on Path to Recovery with

Three-Pronged Initiative

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Perfect Fit Industries has been acquired through an entity created by pri-vate equity fi rm The Anderson Group in an asset sale/purchase transaction. Financial details were not disclosed.

The Anderson Group’s hold-ings also include home textiles supplier Tex-Style and awning pro-ducer King Canopy as well as companies that produce piston rings, sausage, marine pro-pellers, logging ser-vices, and other diverse products.

Industry veteran Dan Hammer has joined the company as ceo.

Most recently, Hammer has been running his own consult-ing business. Prior to that, he served as president of Dan River, Global Consumer Products; president of The Bibb Com-pany; and held various manage-ment positions at Springs Indus-tries, Consumer Products.

“I look forward to working with the company’s highly capa-ble staff to build a ‘best in class’ company,” said Hammer.

Jeff Chilton, most recently senior vp, was promoted to pres-ident of the company.

“For a long time, the com-pany has been constrained by financial issues. Now, with a new infusion of capital and Anderson’s aggressive growth

strategies all of us are highly energized,” said Chilton.

Last week, Perfect Fit Industries named John Believeau senior vp of operations.

With more than 25 years overseeing manu-facturing operations in the United States and

China, Believeau previously worked in the aerospace and construction industries. He also developed a patented system for improving indoor air quality and energy effi ciency for residential and commercial structures.

The company also announced it is relocating its New York show-room to 230 Fifth Avenue, tak-ing a 5,300 square foot space in Suite 1305.

The utility bedding producer has been in business since 1932. HTT

Perfect Fit Has New Owner, New Execs

JEFF CHILTON

Perfect Fit

BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart earlier this month promoted chief operating offi cer Bill Simon pres-ident and ceo of Walmart U.S., effective immediately.

Vice chairman Eduardo Cas-tro-Wright will become pres-ident and ceo of Global.com and Global Sourcing as of Aug. 1. He will also maintain his cur-rent title. The appointment will allow him to relocate to Califor-nia to be with his ailing wife, the company said.

“As we continue to become a truly global company and address the business challenges of a rap-idly changing world, it is clear that Global.com and Global Sourcing are critical to our future growth and success,” said Walmart pres-ident and ceo Mike Duke, to whom both men report.

Simon joined Walmart U.S. in March 2006 from Brinker Inter-

national, where he was senior vice president of global business development and was responsible for the growth of the company’s restaurant portfolio outside the United States.

Prior to Brinker, he served as Secretary of the Florida Depart-ment of Management Services, appointed by then-Governor Jeb Bush. There he oversaw the state’s operations and administra-tive functions, including health care benefi ts, human resources, the Florida retirement system and facilities management. He is also a retired offi cer from the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves after 25 years of service.

“Bill transformed the cus-tomer experience at Walmart through faster service, a friend-lier shopping environment and cleaner stores. He also helped develop and launch our game-

changing $4 prescription drug program and has continued to drive innovation and improve-ment throughout Walmart U.S.,” said Duke.

In the af termath of the announcement, chief merchan-dizing officer for Walmart U.S. John Fleming resigned from the company after 10 years.

In a letter to Walmart ’s employees, Walmart US pres-ident and ceo Bill Simon said Fleming had made “a personal decision” to step down.

Fleming’s former duties will be divided. John Westling, exec-utive vp of planning, pricing and replenishment, will take on the general merchandising and replenishment teams. John Sin-clair, exec vp and general man-ager for grocery, will also oversee the food and health & wellness merchandizing staffs. HTT

New Chief for Walmart U.S. Stores

BENTONVILLE, ARK. — As Wal-Mart Stores continues making inroads in fi nancial services, its Sam’s Club division is testing a program through which it will lend up to $25,000 to its small business members.

Sam’s Club is working with Superior Financial Group, one of 13 federally licensed nonbank

lenders. The program focuses on businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans.

The retailer said its research found 15% of the club’s business members reported being denied a loan in fall 2009, up from 12% earlier in the spring.

Business membership at Sam’s Club costs $35. HTT

Sam’s Club to Offer Small Business Loans

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — eCommerce solutions provider Shopatron Inc. is reporting that sales conversion rates on the rel-atively new Apple iPad are run-ning much higher than rates for standard mobile devices, and in some cases, double PC conver-sion rates.

The iPad’s average conver-sion rate of 2.04% far outstripped the average 0.37% for mobile devices such as iPhone, Android and iPod, according to analysts of more than 800 branded stores in 35 industries that use Shopa-tron’s eCommerce platform. HTT

iPad Leaps Ahead as Shopping Device

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6 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

ATLANTA RUG MARKET

July 12, 2010 Rugs

trend to continue this summer in Atlanta.”

Feizy Rugs, based in Dallas, has already booked “quite a few appointments,” according to vp sales, Cameron Feizy. “We defi -nitely expect retailer traffi c to be

stronger than last year’s turnout — as has been the case with all of this year’s markets thus far.”

More guardedly optimistic about the retail attendance at market is John Shepherd, pres-ident of Greenville, S.C.-based 828 International Trading Co.

While 828 is preparing for a “good July market,” he neverthe-

less said he expects “some of the same trends of the last two mar-kets — such as slow traffi c — to continue as the industry bounces back from the recession.”

Lynne Minchello, market-ing director for Pawtucket, R.I.-based cmi (Colonial Mills Inc.), also noticed a slow start to 2010 in the fi rst half. But business has

picked up lately for the braided texture rug company’s signa-ture offerings, with a “signifi cant increase in customer spending,” she said. The company has cause to expect “a positive turnout for our customer base” in Atlanta.

For high-end rug house Obeetee Inc., retailer traffi c at market will be about quality,

not quantity.“Summer markets are not

as well attended as the January markets. We are not expecting very high traffi c. But any buyer present at the market would be serious about adding fresh prod-ucts to their inventory for the fall and winter high season,” said Sheila Rahmanan, product manager of the Secaucus, N.J.-based company. “We have seen an increase in business in 2010, and we are optimistic that the trend will continue.”

Encouraged by its custom-ers’ taking more and more of an interest in working more col-laboratively “to find solutions of how to sell more product at retail” is Calhoun, Ga.-based Surya Inc.

“That is our major focus,” explained Seth King, vp, sales and marketing. “Although we have high expectations, we don’t neces-sarily expect to write large orders [at market]. We want to be able to review our current customers per-formance and learn about what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong, and most impor-tantly develop programs to make them more successful in the com-ing months. We gauge our market performance on the number of customers and the caliber of cus-tomer who come into the show-room.”

What will ultimately deter-mine the outcome of the sum-mer market is suppliers’ tilt on its offerings. And this July, most suppliers agree, the focus will be value.

“We have some solid appoint-ments in all categories, so I am very positive on the out-come. Business has picked up but mostly on the valued rugs,”

ATLANTA FROM PAGE 1

Rug Market

Obeetee Inc. emphasizes texture in its new Luxe collection.

SEE ATLANTA PAGE 7

ATLANTA RUG MARKET

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7 Home Textiles Today> hometextilestoday.com Rugs

828 INTERNATIONAL TRADING CO.Greenville, S.C. (800) 733-0828828 is introducing new collec-tions and making additions to existing ones this market.

The company is adding several new styles to its Rhine collection of traditional Persian and Euro-pean designs updated with tran-sitional patterns. These are 100% heat-set polypropylene, machine-made rugs from Turkey.

There are four new hand-hooked designs in the Accents collection of hand-hooked, 100% cotton rugs made in a cut-and-loop construction.

Sienna, a new collection, fea-tures fl oral designs set on a two-toned background for a space-dyed effect. Sienna rugs are made of 100% polyester and are hand-hooked in China.

Like Rhine, the new Talas col-lection mixes traditional Per-sian and European designs with transitional patterns for a new batch of runners that are Turk-ish-made of 100% heat-set poly-propylene.

Smithfield is a green, red, cream, chocolate and ebony color story interpreted on 100% heat-set polypropylene, stain-resistant rugs produced in turkey.

The machine-made Triton col-lection of roll-runners from Tur-key of heat-set polypropylene is designed to look high-end with its floral patterns in red, blue, green and ivory.

Laguna, a top-selling collec-tion for 828, is being expand-ed with new patterns. The rugs are machine-made in Belgium of 100% heat-set polypropylene with point-on-point construction paired with drop stitching.

The Momentum collection is another new 100% heat-set poly-propylene grouping. Its designs span transitional, kaleidoscopic, Art Deco and garden fl oral looks enhanced with hand-carved ef-fects.

CAPEL RUGSTroy, N.C. (800) 334-3711The Hampton collection is Ca-pel’s new basket weave-style woven rug grouping. Reminis-cent of menswear-inspired fur-nishing fabrics,

Hampton rugs are woven by hand with sturdy wool blend

yarns and are crafted with a low pile for comfort and durability.

Floral Silhouette is a collec-tion of sweeping fl oral patterns created on high-cut viscose over a fi eld of 100% wool for a tex-tured effect. The low-cut loop, hand knotted ground is woven by hand in an ancient Nepalese construction in India.

Graphique collection rugs from India are hand-tufted and carved.

American Legacy is a braided collection using a Capel design that dates back to the 1800s. Re-versible and made in the United States, American Legacy rugs are made of wool blend yarns in rich colors.

COURISTANFort Lee, N.J. (800) 223-6186The company is adding near-ly two dozen new rugs — both power-loomed and handmade — to its assortment, with a heavy focus on casual-contem-porary looks at affordable price points. Couristan is also building its outdoor/indoor category with several new additions to the Five Seasons, Recife and Urbane col-lections.

An example of a new hand-made rug is Oleander, which is from the new Super Indo-Colors collection. It is made of 100% wool in a heavy pile and features bold, over-sized fl oral patterns

In the power-loomed catego-ry, the new Everest collection is made in a one-million-point con-struction. Patterns replicate the look of traditional antique Persian panel rugs, such as the Basheer de-sign. The surface of these rugs is made of 100% heat-set, Courtron-branded polypropylene.

FEIZY RUGSDallas (214) 747-6000Feizy has divided its new prod-uct introductions into three life-style trends — Nomad, Ethereal and Alchemy.

In Nomad, rich spice tones col-or traditional, tribal and eclec-tic patchwork designs. Casual in style, these pieces evoke visions of gypsy camps and vagabonds.

Ethereal’s transitional pat-terns and soft colors are mini-malist in feel.

Alchemy styles include revital-ized traditional and tribal looks

that feature an updated pal-ette.

Also new are the Saphir Mah, Zam and Azar collections, all of which are being added to the Fei-zy Home collection. These power-loomed groupings feature transi-tional and contemporary designs in a high/low pile in three distinct color palettes.

KALEENDalton, Ga. (888) 452-5336The company is expanding its Paula Deen Home & Porch collec-tion with several new designs re-fl ective of the Food Network ce-lebrity chef’s Savannah lifestyle. The rugs, all hand made in China of 100% polypropylene, are UV treated against excessive fading and are water protected.

Also at market, Kaleen is launching two new collections: Regale, a monochromatic soft backed Tibetan look made of 100% wool in 12 colorations, and Premier, a poly-acrylic collection in 12 designs.

KARASTANDalton, Ga. (800) 234-1120Karastan is introducing the Can-tilena design to the Shapura col-

lection. Designed to coordinate with the Bel Canto rug, also from the Sahpura collection, Cantile-na features a subtle palette of honey, pepper red, yellow, gold, aqua and ocean blues on a classic composition of branches, leaves, and stylized fl oral motifs that are more formally framed within a

sophisticated border. Cantilena is woven on Axminster looms in the United States of fully wor-sted New Zealand wool.

KAS RUGSSomerset, N.J. (732) 545-1900Kas is showing more than 100 new rugs that mainly focus on relaxed and casual looks in both machine-made and handmade constructions.

There are introductions to the popular Florence and super-soft Shag Bliss collections as well as some new trend traditional handmade looks at “amazing price points,” the company said.

The new Chateau rug is an updated look for a border

Atlanta Rug Introductions

SEE INTROS PAGE 8

July 12, 2010

explained Steve Mazarakis, vp, rug division, Mineola, N.Y.-based Linon Home Décor Prod-ucts. “We have been focusing on rugs that retail for less than $199 for a 5-by-8 that looks good, is a good quality, and works with today’s furniture price points. This will change, though, as the economy gets better.”

Long-lasting products are part of the value equation, Robertson said. “Right now consumers are looking for home furnishings that are fashionable, but also durable,” he said, which is why Capel is “considerably” increas-ing its assortments in braided and transitional categories.

But the value message is ulti-mately relayed through price points, suppliers said.

That is why Fort Lee, N.J.-based Couristan said it is add-ing almost two dozen new rugs that lean on the casual and contemporary design side and are priced affordably for mar-ket, explained Donielle Ara-bia, director of public relations. Outdoor rugs, which also retail aggressively and have been a strong point for Couristan for the past several years, are being enhanced with new offerings for the existing Five Seasons, Recife and Urbane collections.

At 828 International Trading Co., Shepherd said, “product development is geared toward creating value for the retail cus-tomer — as always, color and quality are important with price points being a big factor.”

828 emphasized that price-conscious retailers shopping for handmade rugs specifically will need to practice patience this market

“Customers may have to be patient as handmade manufac-turers are experiencing slower order fulfillment and freight costs are rising with longer tran-sit times,” Shepherd said.

Getting a headstart for next winter market is cmi, which is making its largest new product introduction for a market in its 32-year existence. The compa-ny’s new lineup comprises new product prototypes for 2011 – a new direction for cmi, which typically only presents new prod-uct offerings once a year during the January Atlanta rug market. HTT

ATLANTA FROM PAGE 6

Rug Market

Kas Rugs’ new Chateau represents the company’s updated look for a border rug. Hand-tufted in 100% wool, the rugs come in seven sizes.

Karastan’s new Cantilena is the latest addition to the company’s Shapura collection. Meant to coordinate with its predecessor, Bel Canto, Cantilena also features of palette of honey, pepper red, yellow, gold, aqua and ocean blues depicted on a design of branches, leaves, and stylized floral motifs framed with a border.

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8 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comJuly 12, 2010 Rugs

rug. Hand-tufted in 100% wool, it comes in seven sizes.

LINON HOME DÉCOR PRODUCTSMineola, NY (516) 699-1000Linon’s area rug division is un-veiling several new collections as well as additions to strong selling existing programs.

The Trio traditional collection is getting 10 new designs. Unlike the Trio contemporary and tran-sitional rugs, which are made in China of poly-acrylic, new Trio traditional rugs are made of 100% wool and are hand-tuft-ed in India. This collection now has more than 60 designs in stock and an additional 140 designs for private label.

The Westervelt collection is a new licensed group of rugs by artist Dan Westervelt. They fea-ture his eclectic designs of tran-sitional elements using nature and cotemporary trends such as rays of rainbows. They are pow-er loomed in a 13-mm pile height and are hand-carved for a fine defi nition to the designs.

The Gem collection is a ma-chine-made group that resem-bles classical tribal and tradition-al hand-knotted rugs.

For the younger set, Linon is

debuting many new concepts for children and teens. New styles in-clude hand-tufted rugs made of 100% polyester in cut and shag and 100% wool reversible hand-woven berber rugs in youthful colors. 5 by 8’s retail for $199.

To its Southern Living Home collection with the shelter mag-azine by the same name, Linon is making several new design addi-tions to the various rug catego-ries, including indoor/outdoor.

MOMENICarlstadt, N.J .(201) 549-7238Conscious of pricing demands, Mo-meni is presenting a new selection of machine-made rugs that can sell at affordable price points.

The new Dream collection is power-loomed of 100% polypro-pylene and features an abrash-like effect for a rich fi nish.

The new Magic collection fea-tures a drop-stitch technique that gives each design added texture.

Momeni is also introducing a whimsical group of polyester hooked rugs to compliment its Spencer and Old World collec-tions.

In addition, new designs are being added to the Elements, Ve-randa, and Zarin collections.

NOURISONSaddle Brook, N.J. (201) 368-6900Nourison’s new Symphony col-lection features an extra-dense premium wool pile. Its designs are sophisticated and tradition-al and feature borders that are highlighted by art silk.

Skyland, another new col-lection, presents contemporary and transitional designs that are hand-tufted of 100% wool with hand-carved lines that accentu-ate patterns such as eclectic fl o-rals and animal prints.

From Nourison’s “Fifty To In-finity” program, which offers custom sized area rugs from the company’s best-selling broad-loom collections, the new Miami presents hand-embossed, tone-on-tone, eye-teasing designs in extra-densely woven wool blend pile with an abrashed effect.

OBEETEE INC.New York (212) 633-9744

Obeetee is introducing its Luxe collection, which spans eight tex-ture-driven designs in a range of subtle neutrals to vibrant colors.

Also new are additions to sev-eral existing collections: fi ve new colorways and designs to the Gabbeh collection; three new designs to the Fine Gabbeh col-lection; and two new designs to the Shiraz collection.

Obeetee is also expanding the breadth of its growing custom-made and private label-oriented offerings with new weaves and constructions.

ORIAN RUGSAnderson, S.C. (864) 224-0271Orian is building on the response to many of its existing collections with new design additions.

The Big City collection now in-cludes Kyoto among other new patterns. The jacquard woven polypropylene rugs are made in the United States.

Carolina Wild, also a jacquard woven polypropylene group, is being enhanced with new col-ors and styles like Logan Rouge. Made in the United States, the rugs feature organic patterns in serene hues and rich texture.

In the Shakespeare collection, new looks include Westbury. Jac-quard woven in the United States of polypropylene fiber, the 1.5 million-point constructed rugs are densely woven with Orian’s fi ne-denier, twisted and heat set yarns to create distinct design defi nition.

In Visions, another jacquard woven polypropylene collection made domestically, new looks in-clude Parthenon

RIZZY HOMECalhoun, Ga. (706) 602-8857The new Colours collection was deigned to blend colors of yarn like brush strokes in a paint-ing. Hand-tufted with New Zea-land-blended wools, the rugs are made in India and come in a rain-bow palette.

Rizzy’s latest addition to its area rug line-up is its new ma-chine-made offerings. The Gal-leria collection is an example of this. Made of heat-set polypropyl-ene with drop stitch detail, these rugs come is a range of sizes.

SHAW LIVINGDalton, Ga. (706) 965-0954Woven Expressions is a new broadloom and area rug collec-tion that represents the fi rst col-laboration between the compa-ny’s two fl oor-covering divisions. The collection is available in two levels of luxury: “Platinum” and “Gold” — respectively 1.5 mil-lion points of density per square meter and 500,000 points, which features a softer sweep.

Woven Expressions designs are woven of Marquesa Solution Dyed olefi n, a synthetic fi ber that is inherently fade and stain-resis-tant. All Woven Expressions wall-to-wall carpet styles are available in rug sizes.

Shaw’s Kathy Ireland Home In-ternational First Lady collection is expanding with 14 new tradition-al and transitional styling rugs. The palette consists of rich col-ors like vivid ancient red, earthen brown, deep corals, warm greens, glowing brown, true gold and turquoise blue. Machine woven in the United States with Shaw’s EverTouch recyclable nylon, each rug is soft and durable.

Tranquility is a new collection of transitional and soft contem-porary styles in cool shades of beige, silvery gray, taupe, fresh green, tobacco brown, amethyst, and mid-tone blue. The rugs are machine woven in the United States of 100% olefi n.

Shaw Living is also adding sev-eral new shag offerings with its Artistry collection, comprising machine tufted in the United States of 100% recyclable Anso nylon.

SPHINX BY ORIENTAL WEAVERSDalton, Ga. (800) 832-8020The new Lotus by Sphinx collec-tion is a collection of handcraft-ed pieces boasting soft shades of lilac, birch and warm linen with accents of darker violet, peacock and gold.

Styling is simple and organic in nature and the inherent tex-ture of the construction adds sur-face interest. The rugs are made of 100% polyester.

SURYA INC.Calhoun, Ga. (706) 625-4823 A set of 18 new rug designs from Surya for market include 12 hand-tufted pieces from the licensed Smithsonian collection and six hand-knotted rugs in the New Heritage collection, which are also part of the Smithson-ian line of rugs. All of the de-signs were inspired by artifacts selected from the Smithsonian Institution’s vast archives and libraries. These elegant rugs are direct, modern translations of some of the museum’s collec-tions, including Japanese Art, Early American Arts and Crafts, and Classic American tile work and wallpaper from the early 20th century.

Also included is an array of 22 artfully designed and craft-ed decorative accent pillows that were created to coordi-nate with Surya’s Smithsonian rug lines. Each pillow is available in an 18-by-18 size and all cov-ers are fi tted with zippers. They feature custom details such as embroidery, piping and fl anged ribbon.

INTROS FROM PAGE 7

Atlanta Rug Introductions

Surya’s latest best-selling collection is Summit, a grouping of rugs that are hand-knotted in felted wool that is bundled and arranged into rows for a textured, pebbled look. These rugs are available in steel gray, white, and black.

Linon Home Décor Products is introducing the Westervelt collection, a licensed program with artist Dan Westervelt. The rugs are power-loomed in a 13-mm pile height and are made of heat-set polypropylene, with hand carving on the nature-inspired designs by the artist.

ATLANTA RUG MARKET

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9 Home Textiles Today> hometextilestoday.com

ATLANTA RUG MARKET

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1. Nourison’s Fantasy collection of contemporary and transitional designs in striking palettes and made with high-density hand-hooked yarns. The rugs are 100% poly-acrylic.

2. Feizy Rugs’ new Saphire line of power-loomed high-low pile constructed rugs in transitional and contemporary looks come in three design groups — Mah, Zam and Azar — all of which are being added to the company’s Home collection. Seen here is an example of the Mah collection in a dark gray and green color combination.

3. Peking Handicraft’s new Yellow Sun Flower rug, designed by artist Trina Turk, is made in a hooked construction of a 100% wool-and-cotton blend.

4. Mystique from Central Oriental is a heavy weight transitional collection featuring metallic colors mixed with earth tones. The designs feature extensive double point and drop stitch giving the collection added depth and texture

5. Texcraft Innovation India Pvt. Ltd. is offering a new line of rubber-backed wool rugs that are hand-loomed and are offered in a range of shapes, colors and design patterns, like this colorful striped and star pattern.

6. Rizzy Home’s new Colours Collection of area rugs is hand-tufted with New Zealand-blended wool and is made in India. Using what the company described as a “rainbow” of colors, the designs include this one titled Fluxe.

Rugs July 12, 2010

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10 Home Textiles Today July 12, 2010 > hometextilestoday.com

ATLANTA RUG MARKET

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1. Capel Rugs’ Floral Silhouette rug is meant to portray design on a striking palette, emphasized on high-cut viscose woven onto a 100% wool ground. The construction is hand-knotted and low-cut loop, and the rugs are woven in India in a Nepalese style.

2. Couristan is introducing the new handmade Super Indo-Colors collection, which is made in India and constructed of 100% wool, two-ply yarns. Seen here is the Oleander design in the beige-and-white colorway.

3. Orian Rugs is building on its Carolina Wild collection of domestically made polypropylene jacquard woven rugs with this new Logan Rouge design.

4. Oriental Weavers’ new Lotus By Sphinx collection, a 100% polyester grouping, encompasses handcrafted pieces in soft shades of lilac, birch and linen accented with darker violet, peacock and gold colorways.

5. Jaipur adds Blossom to its Blue Collection. It is hand-tufted in handspun wool with accents of art silk and large-scale floral patterns.

Rugs

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11 Home Textiles TodayJuly 12, 2010> hometextilestoday.com

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6. Momeni’s new Dream collection comprises power-loomed rugs made of 100% polypropylene. The contemporary designs feature an abrash-like effect for a rich finish.

7. Harounian Rug International is emphasizing a new custom-made rug program, offering within it the new Himalaya and Artistic collection of rugs that are hand-woven in India. Rugs can be ordered as wool with artificial silk or wool and pure silk blends.

8. 828 International Trading Co. debuts Sienna, one of at least six new collections the company is unveiling at market. Sienna comprises floral designs on a two-toned background for a space-dyed effect. They are made of 100% polyester and are hand-hooked in China.

9. CMI is expanding its indoor/outdoor accent and area rug program with several new solid and striped looks.Seen here is the Wide Stripe in the lake blue palette.

Rugs

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10. Mohawk Home is featuring new additions to the Woolrich-branded program. This is Cedar Run, a 5-by-8 indoor rug set to retail for $199.

11. Trans-Ocean Inc’s Liora Manne collection continues to grow this market with several new additions. This is the Koi design from the new Ravella collection of indoor/outdoor 100% poly-acrylic rugs that are hand-tufted in China.

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12 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.comJuly 12, 2010

Arrow Home Fetes House of Dereon

Arrow Home Fashions threw a party to celebrate the unveiling of its Dereon/House of Dereon bedding collections - the first foray into home for the Beyonce and Tina Knowles fashion house. Above, Arrow’s Doug Hartman, Jody Folino and Peter Weintraub. Below, Tina Knowles flanked by Weintraub and his wife, Ellen.

CONOVER, N.C. — Home fur-nishings supply chain provider Zenith Global Logistics has opened a regional freight hub in Atlanta to support its home delivery service and its split con-tainer program.

“Increased demand for our home-delivery service in the Atlanta area was a key factor in

establishing our latest hub in that region,” said Jack Hawn, president and ceo.

The new facility becomes Zenith Global’s third domestic expansion within the last year. Now with six facilities, the com-pany is planning additions in Seattle, Chicago, Orlando and Elizabethtown, N.J. HTT

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Store at MAD (Museum of Arts and Design) will open a pop-up location this summer at New York’s Javits Center dur-

ing the New York International Gift Fair.

The store will offer exclu-sives to fair participants on a

cash and carry basis from Aug. 14 to Aug. 19.

Product categor ies wi l l include jewelry, glass, ceram-ics, wood, home design and fashion accessories as well as a select children’s products and books.

“Our product se lect ion appeals to a sophisticated cus-tomer who appreciates work-manship and design. NYIGF buyers fi t this profi le, making the Fair an ideal platform for MAD to have a pop up store,” said Franci Sagar, MAD vice president and director of retail and brand development.

In addition, NYIGF partic-ipants will receive free admis-sion to the museum, located at 2 Columbus Circle, during the week of August 14-19, with a NYIGF badge. HTT

Museum of Arts and Designs

Plans Pop-store at NYIGF

Zenith Global Opens Atlanta Warehouse

HONG KONG — B-to-B ecom-merce provider Alibaba.com has signed a deal to acquire Ven-dio, which allows merchants to sell through multiple channels including eBay, Amazon and their own Vendio store.

Vendio services more than 80,000 small businesses in the U.S., according to Alibaba.com. Alibaba.com claims 50 million

registered users in more than 240 countries and regions.

After the transaction closes, the Vendio platform will add and AliExpress tab allowing Vendio’s users to access sources on the Alibaba.com site. Ven-dio users will also be eligible for promotions and special deals on AliExpress wholesale prod-ucts. HTT

Alibaba.com Acquires Vendio

“Our product selection appeals to a sophisticated cus-tomer who appreci-ates workmanship and design. NYIGF

buyers fi t this profi le”—FRANCI SAGAR,

Museum of Arts and Design

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13 Home Textiles TodayNews> hometextilestoday.com July 12, 2010

NEW YORK — Iconix Brand Group, owner of several home brands, and its joint venture partner in China plan to open free-standing Candie’s stores there.

Iconix China Limited, owned 50-50 by Iconix and Novel Fash-ion Brands, are working with Shanghai La Chapelle Carment and Accessories Co. Lt. and pri-vate equity group Trust Bridge Partners on the store project.

The fi rst Candie’s store will open this August in Shanghai, to be followed by 50 more open-ings before the end of the year. Markets will include Beijing and Chongjing, according to Iconix.

Over fi ve years, the JV plans

to open more than 500 Candie’s units in China.

“We are extremely pleased with the early progress of our current partnerships in China for Rampage, London Fog, Rocawear and Badgley Mischka, and excited about our new busi-ness with Candie’s and the well established business of Peanuts in the region,” stated Neil Cole, ceo, Iconix Brand Group.

Pe a nu t s , w h i c h I c o ni x recently acquired, through Ico-nix China operates 700 Snoopy Stores, Charlie Brown Cafes and Snoopy Bakeries in China. Over the next three years, Iconix Brand Group hopes to open up to 5,000 stores or shop-in-shops in the country. HTT

Iconix Plans Candie’s Stores in

China

PLANO, TEXAS — Springs Global won the home furnishings divi-sion 2009 Supplier Summit Award presented last month at the company’s Supplier Summit Meeting here.

Springs Global received the award for its participation in the Cindy Crawford Home collec-tion, which launched last fall across the division’s product cat-egories.

Extreme Linen received the bedding and bath award. Regal Home won for window cover-

ings. Yu Wei Co. took the furni-ture award, and Senglo won for housewares.

In addition, Fabricut received an award for “outstanding per-formance and an outstanding partner” in 2009 in the Custom Decorating department.

Going forward, the JCPen-ney Summit program will take place every two years. This year, participants contributed $3.4 million to the JCPenney After-school Program, a new record. HTT

Springs Global Takes Top JCP Home

Vendor Prize

WA SH I N GTO N — While the private sector added 83,000 jobs in June, the termination of 225,000 temporary cen-sus worker positions resulted in a net loss of 125,000 jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

The unemployment rate declined slightly to 9.5%.

“While this steady private

sector job growth is encourag-ing, the large number of Amer-icans without a job reminds us we need to continue working to create jobs and grow the economy,” said U.S. Secre-tary of Labor Hilda Solis.

During the first half of the year, the private sector has cre-ated 600,000 jobs, she said. HTT

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The New York International Gift Fair in August will include new government-sponsored groups of suppliers from Egypt, India, Spain and Thailand in addition to more than 300 international exhibitors exhibiting indepen-dently.

The upcoming shows exhib-itors include companies from: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Colom-bia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong,

India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Neth-erlands, Niger, Peru, Philip-pines, Portugal, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tai-wan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom (England and Scot-land) and the United States of America.

“No other U.S. market pro-vides such an extensive collec-tion of international resources,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF

director and GLM senior vice president. “NYIGF gives retail-ers unparalleled access to a wide range of export-ready suppliers with top-quality goods.”

Two new international pavil-ions - the Egyptian Exporters Association-Expolink and the Thai Silk Association - will show home textiles within At Home featuring Home Textiles.

The fair will take place Aug. 14-19 at the Jacob K. Javits Con-vention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 and 94 in New York. HTT

International Exhibitors Prep for NYIGF

BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Designer and television personality Thom Felicia has signed on to produce a collection of fabrics for Kravet for its to-the-trade home furnish-ings, including furniture, fabric, wall coverings, trimmings, car-pet and accessories

The collection is available in Kravet showrooms in North America, the company said.

Felicia is known for richly

layered textures and colors. He said the Kravet collection intro-duces a style that is “fresh, mod-ern and accessible and empow-ers consumers to express their unique personalities through design.”

It features prints and weaves in patterns and colors such as yellow, grey, blue, orange and natural.

“I chose to partner with Kra-

vet for this collection because they really allowed me to con-vey my point of view and design aesthetic,” said Felicia.

Felicia is best known for his design work for clients such as Jennifer Lopez and the W Hotel chain, as well his roles as a pro-ducer and designer on television shows including “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” “Dress My Nest” and “Tacky House.” HTT

Employment Drops as Census Jobs Evaporate

Thom Felicia Designs Fabric Line for Kravat

LAS VEGAS — Contemporary rug resource Foreign Accents will move to a new showroom for the August 2010 Las Vegas Market.

The new showroom location is in Building B, Suite 707. The company formerly exhibited in Building B, Suite 749.

“We are extremely pleased with our new location,” said Trish Rem-

pen, president and CEO of For-eign Accents. “It gives us a larger area to display new designs and expands our ability to showcase various sizes. It is also very easy for market attendees to fi nd, being on the same fl oor as we were previ-ously, in the same ‘neighborhood’ as many of our contemporary case good and upholstery peers, which

works well for us and our mutual customers.”

To celebrate the new loca-tion, Foreign Accents will have refreshments and live entertain-ment during the late afternoon hours every day during market. A special market promotion will also be offered to all existing and new dealers. HTT

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Yarn pro-ducer Unifi Inc, is investing in equipment that will expand its recycling capabilities.

The company said the new technology will allow it to recy-cle post-consumer and post-industrial waste into its Repreve family of fi bers. The investment will improve the availability of recycled raw materials and pro-vide greater control over produc-

tion of the recycled chip used to make Repreve polyester fi bers, the company said.

Unifi currently sources the recycled chip from suppliers. The new equipment is sched-uled to come on line in Febru-ary.

“Bringing the extrusion pro-cess in-house is a natural next step for us,” said Roger Berrier, executive vice president. “Being

more vertically integrated will signifi cantly increase our prod-uct development and capacity.”

Unifi has been recycling goods like paper tubes, pal-lets and corrugated boxes for more than a decade, and also donates bio-solids to area farm-ers. It also has been selling the Repreve family of fi bers, using 100% recycled polyester, for several years. HTT

Foreign Accents Takes New Vegas Showroom

Unifi Inc. Investing in Recycling Equipment

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14 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

PEOPLETodaY

Nourison Appoints Woods to Account

Executive NEW YORK — Jeff Kantor, cur-rently Macy’s president and gmm for home, has been named president, merchandising for macys.com. He will oversee all merchandising for macys.com and succeeds Helaine Suval, evp, merchandising, who announced her retirement effective spring 2011.

Kantor will report to Peter Sachse, chairman of macys.com.

Li sa Magann has been named Macy’s evp, gmm for home replacing Kantor. She will report to Jeff Gennette, chief merchandising offi cer in her new role.

Suval will assume a new role until her retirement and will oversee the development of an accelerated growth strategy in

the e-commerce business. She will work with Sachse and Kent Anderson, president operations for macys.com.

Kantor has been pres i -dent merchandising home since May 2009. Previously, he was president for furniture for Macy’s Home Store from February 2006. He was pres-ident of Hecht/Strawbridge’s from November 2004 to Feb-ruary 2006. Earlier he held senior merchandising positions in non-home areas at Filene’s/Kaufmann’s. He joined Filene’s, then a division of Federated, in 1981. In the mid-90s he was a dvp for mens furnishings at T.J.Maxx.

Magann has been gvp-dmm of housewares/confections since May 2009. She began her career

at G.Fox and later developed her merchandising career through-out the home organizations at May Co. and Macy’s. In 1992 she was promoted to dmm of home textiles at Filene’s, given a larger assignment at Robinson’s/May as vp/dmm housewares and in 2008 she was named vp dmm mattresses and rugs at Macy’s Home Store.

Suval has played an instru-mental role in the growth of Macy’s e-commerce business since joining the organization in 2000. Prior to joining macys.com, she had extensive experi-ence both in store and e-com-merce retailing with living.com, Avon, Bloomingdale’s and Bullock’s.

The executive changes are effective Aug. 1. HTT

Macy’s Shuffles Execs

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — At the annual shareholders’ meeting last month, mid-tier department store chain Stein Mart Inc.’s shareholders elected 12 mem-bers of the board of directors.

Re-elected for one-year terms each were: Jay Stein, chairman of the board, Stein Mart; David Stovall Jr., presi-dent and ceo, Stein Mart; Alvin “Pete” Carpenter, former vice chairman of CSX Corpora-tion and lead director; Ralph

Alexander, managing direc-tor of Riverstone and former ceo of Innovene; Irwin Cohen, senior advisor with the Peter J. Solomon Company and for-mer global managing partner, retail and consumer products practice, Deloitte and Tou-che LLP; Susan Falk, former group president of Womens-wear, Hartmarx Corporation; Linda McFarland Farthing, former president/ceo, Stein Mart; Mitchell Legler, Esq.,

general counsel to Stein Mart; Richard L. Sisisky, president of The Shircliff and Sisisky Com-pany; Martin “Hap” Stein Jr., chairman and ceo of Regency Centers Corporation; and John “Jack” Williams Jr., vice chair-man of the board and former ceo, Stein Mart.

Also re-elected was Bob Mettler, former chairman/ceo, Macy’s West, who was appointed to the board in August 2009. HTT

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — Floor covering sales representative fi rm Lane Sales is expanding its reach to now include all of Con-necticut.

The company previously focused only on Southern Con-necticut.

Heading the effort is Ken Benson, territory manager, who is based in Stamford. He has been with Lane Sales since 2006, when joined with the com-pany managing the Lower New York State and southern Con-necticut territories. Earlier in his career, Benson owned Car-

pet Kingdom, a Flooring Amer-ica store, in Brooklyn.

“Our formula is to provide better comprehensive sales cov-erage to the mills we represent and better service to the deal-ers we serve by having more concentrated local sales cover-age than normally provided by other agencies,” explained Larry Lane, president. “We added this area on to our servicing territory to expand our businesses.”

Many manufacturers Lane Sales represents “wanted us to cover more area,” Lane contin-ued. HTT

SADDLE BROOK, N.J. — Nouri-son has appointed Theolene Woods to account executive, covering a territory tat includes Connecticut, Rhode Island and Upstate New York.

Woods is responsible for ser-vicing and developing business with Nourison’s dealer base in the area, handling the com-pany’s extensive rug line that includes more than 60 active collections, Nourison’s broad-loom and runner lines that span thousands of skus, and its growing Nourtex brand, which includes more moderately priced decorative broadloom and runners.

Woods comes to Nourison with more than a decade of

industry experience, including several years in sales and manage-ment positions in upscale retail and decorative supply environ-ments in the Fairfield County, Conn., region. Earlier in her career, Woods earned wholesale experience abroad, handling out-side sales for a ceramic tile dis-tributor overseas.

“Along with her strong dec-orative background and proven sales talent, [Woods] also brings extensive experience in the local market and a passion for the Nourison product line,” said Gerard O’Keefe, vp, sales. “We fully expect her to add to the success of this traditionally strong and important territory.” HTT

LOS ANGELES — Continuing to expand its brand in the indus-try, The Rug Market recently partnered with three new rep groups to help sustain good business relationships in the Southeast, Midwest and West Coast regions.

Casa Bella, a Midwest sales agency developed by a team of sales associates, will be respon-sible for covering a nine-state territory. The area includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,

Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Southern Accessories Today, an Atlanta-based rep agency, will be responsible in the South-east area. SAT’s 34 years of experience in the home decor industry is expected to boost sales in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Car-olina, North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Florida, West Vir-ginia and Washington, D.C.

Rep organization Bassman-Blain will oversee sales in the states of California, Nevada and Arizona.

“We are pleased to have Casa Bella, SAT and Bassman-Blaine as part of our growing sales force. Their experience and dedication will be an asset to The Rug Market,” said Mike Shabtai, president, The Rug Market. “We will do whatever it takes to support their needs and achieve our goals.” HTT

July 12, 2010

Lane Sales Expands Reach in Connecticut

Stein Mart Re-elects 12 Board Members at Shareholders’ Meeting

The Rug Market Adds Rep Groups

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16 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

BUSINESSTodaY

NEW YORK — Summer heat helped drive sales during the fi nal week of June, according to the Johnson Redbook.

Comps rose 3.1% for the week ended July 3, with a 4.1% same-store sales boost in the discount channel offsetting a more ane-mic 0.8% gain at department stores.

Month-over-month, June’s comps fell 0.5% compared to May. Redbook had projected a 0.3% decline.

Redbook analyst Catlin Levis characterized July as “typically a relatively low volume period, with sales driven by discounting as stores clear summer goods and restock for fall.”

Redbook’s preliminary target for July comps is a year-over-year gain of 2.9% and a month-over-month decline of 0.6%. HTT

Same-store sales

Steamy Weather Drives Sales

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath & Be-yond experienced increases in sales, comparable store sales and earnings – the latter show-ing the biggest double-digit leap during the home textiles spe-cialty chain’s fi rst quarter.

The company reported earn-ings of 52 cents per share, or $137.6 million, in its fi rst quar-ter ended May 29, up about 53% compared to 34 cents per share, or $87.2 million, in the year-ago period.

Sales climbed 13.5% to $1.923 billion, and comps made a turnaround, rising 8.4%, com-pared with a 1.6% decrease in the fi rst quarter of 2009.

BBB remains “cautiously op-timistic” about fi scal 2010, said Leonard Feinstein, co-chair-

man, during the company’s quarterly earnings call in late June.

“While the economic envi-ronment appears to be showing some signs of stabilizing, it ap-pears the consumer continues to face some economic chal-lenges, and the pressures of the macro economic environment persists,” he continued.

Store count stands today at 1,105 units, comprised of: 968 BBBs in 49 U.S. states, Wash-ington D.C., Puerto Rico and Canada; 61 Christmas Tree Shops, 31 buybuy Baby, and 45 Harmon and/or Harmon Face Values. Additionally, the com-pany is a partner in a joint ven-ture in Mexico to operate stores under the “Home & More” nameplate.

Feinstein said the company

still sees an opportunity to grow to excess of 1,300 stores with-in the United States and Cana-da as well as grow its other con-cepts.

Real estate developments to come in the second quarter in-clude the opening of BBB’s fi rst store in Hawaii – representing its 50th U.S. state presence.

For all of fiscal 2010, the company expects to open 55 to 60 stores in all concepts – in-cluding the five units opened to date this year – as well as re-model, renovated and/or relo-cate existing sites.

The outlook for the second quarter calls for earnings per share of approximately 59 to 63 cents. For fi scal 2010, earn-ings per share are expected to increase by approximately 15%.HTT

BBB Comps Revive and Earnings Jump in Q1

Johnson Redbook IndexFifth week of June, year-over-year % change

WEEK ENDED 6/5 6/12 6/19 6/26 7/3 MONTH TARGET

Department stores* 1.3 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.8 0.7 1.3Discounters 4.4 3.9 4.2 3.7 4.1 4.1 4.2Redbook Index 3.4 2.7 3.2 2.5 3.1 3.0 *Including chain stores and traditional department storesSource: Johnson Redbook Index

July 12, 2010

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Despite a more comfortable fi nancial po-sition, upper income consum-ers are feeling the effects of the sluggish economy like their more modest-income counterparts.

That is what consumer re-search fi rm BigResearch found in its June Consumer Intentions and Actions (CIA) Survey. Al-though confi dence among con-sumers with an annual house-hold income of $100,000 or more (35.3%) is higher than adults 18 and older (30.2%), levels for both segments remain fl at since June 2009, when the rate was 34.5% versus 30.2%, re-spectively, “a point that appears to be reflected in purchase in-tentions,” BigResearch noted.

A higher percent age of $100,000-plus household in-come consumers plan to make big dollar purchases compared to adults 18 and older, but over-

all percentages for both seg-ments remain relatively fl at from June 2009.

Year-over-year, planned pur-chases are flat for car/truck and home improvement/repair among the $100,000-plus set, after having increased for a short time as a re-sult of stimulus packages.

However, BigResearch added, “there seems to be a glimmer of hope” for the electronics cate-gory, as more high-income con-sumers are planning to buy com-puters and TVs, representing a slight up-tick from last year but down slightly from pre-recession levels in June 2007.

With the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, tight lending standards and overall high unemployment rates, the housing market is also slow to rebound. Purchase intentions for homes among high-income consumers is up slightly — by

4.0% — from June 2009, when it was 3.1%, while 3.4% of adults 18 and older said they plan to buy a home (versus 3.3% a year ago).

Reluctance to spend is fur-ther shown by the percentage of consumers keeping an eye on their budget: 33.9% of $100,000-plus income consumers have be-come more budget conscious in the last six months, compared to 40.7% of adults 18 and older.

Almost half, or 44.5%, of upper-income consumers say they are focusing more on needs over wants, compared to 53.8% of adults 18 and older.

“While fewer upper income consumers are tightening their purse strings compared to con-sumers overall, it is evident that the current economic state is impacting consumers at all in-come levels,” BigResearch said. HTT

GONZALES, LA. — Crown Crafts fi scal year net income rose 22.2% to $4.8 million, or 52 cents per share.

In the previous fiscal year, net income was $4.5 million or 47 cents per share – exclud-ing charges. Including a good-will impairment charge, Crown Crafts reported a net loss for fi s-cal 2009 of $17.1 million, or $1.83 per share.

Sales for the fi scal year ended March 28 fell 1.5% to $86.1 mil-lion.

Sales of bed, blankets and ac-cessories decreased to $66.4 mil-lion vs. $71.9 million due to dis-continued programs and lower replenishment orders, the com-pany reported during its quarter-ly conference call.

Because the company already holds 25% of the market in those categories, making it more diffi -cult to grow, said Randall Chest-nut, chairman, president and ceo.

“So growth is going to come organically from product line ex-

pansion to complement what we do. Our room décor items have grown exponentially over the last few years,” he said.

$352 to $619 – there is a sur-charge related to one major cus-tomer. Factoring fees. We hope is can be resolved and reduced later.

Sales of bibs, bath and dispos-able products expanded to $19.7 million vs. $15.5 million during the year.

Asked during Q&A about China, Chestnut said Crown Crafts over the past six months has been moving orders into some other countries to spread risk.

For the fourth quarter, net in-come rose 15% to $2.3 million, or 25 cents per share, from the year-earlier period’s $2.0 mil-lion, or 21 cents per share, after excluding a one-time charge.

Including the charge, Crown Crafts reported a loss of $10.6 million during the comparative fourth quarter.

Sales for the quarter increased 5.7% to $26.0 million. HTT

BigResearch: High-income Shoppers Still Hesitant

Crown Crafts Wraps Fiscal Year with

Profit Bump

htt100701_016_018 16htt100701_016_018 16 7/8/2010 5:46:44 PM7/8/2010 5:46:44 PM

Coming July 19, 2010

HOME TEXTILES TODAY’S

ANNUAL TOP HOME TEXTILES

RETAILER REPORTOnce a year, the industry comes to a stop when

Home Textiles Today’s top retailer report is published.

Now’s the time for suppliers to highlight their products and services by advertising in the top retailers report.

Key positions are now available.

Space close: July 2, 2010Ad material due: July 9, 2010

Contact your Home Textiles Today manager early.Joe Carena, Publisher, 203 321 0232

jcarena@hometextilestoday.comJeff Reeves, Manager, 336 554 5009

jreeves@hometextilestoday.comMary McLoughlin, Manager, 646 805 0227

mmcloughlin@hometextilestoday.com

18 Home Textiles Today Business > hometextilestoday.com

Noting calendar shifts, Lun-dgren stated, “It is important to note that Macy’s, Inc.’s same-store sales in May/June com-bined, plus the Sunday and Monday of Independence Day weekend, were up approximate-ly 5% over the prior year. This is consistent with our year-to-date trend. We are optimistic as we look ahead to our fall mer-chandise offerings.”

Kohl’s posted a 5.9% comp gain for the month, led by the

footwear and men’s divisions. Kevin Mansell , chairman, president and ceo of the 1,067-unit mid-tier retailer, said that e-commerce sales are running “almost 50%” above 2009, year-to-date. Kohl’s called its cur-rent inventory position “com-fortable.”

Dillards posted a 2.0% comp gain for June; the southern re-gional department store oper-ator’s terse sales statement did not mention home as either above or below trend.

Bon-Ton Stores saw a comp gain of 1.4%, with home among the weaker-performing depart-ments. Tony Buccina, vice chairman and president – mer-chandising, still waxed optimis-tic as he said the 278-store re-tailer anticipates “new home assortments for our July semi-annual Home Sale.”

Home performed in the middle of the merchandise seg-ments at Target, as the big up-scale discounter posted a mod-est comp store gain of 1.7% for June. “Comparable store sales in home were down slightly,” the 1,740-store company said

in its recorded sales statement, “with a mid-single-digit increase in lawn and patio, and the soft-est performance in domestics.”

In sharp contrast, both lead-ing off-price operators sounded a high note on home. At TJX Cos., June comps rose 3% — but home convincingly outper-formed this gain.

At the 328-store Home-Goods unit, June comps were up 8%, and that was against a robust 10% comp gain in June 2009, said Sherry Lang, senior

vp, global communications. “We are extremely pleased with the consistency of Home-Goods’ performance, particu-larly as this division begins to anniversary very challenging comparisons,” Lang said, add-ing that comps were also up 8% in home fashions at the corner-stone MarMaxx Group (Mar-shalls and T.J. Maxx).

TJX raised its second-quar-ter earnings guidance to 70 cents to 73 cents per share (in the range of 15% to 20% over the same period one year ago),

and its full-year EPS to $3.24 to $3.33 (up 14% to 17% over last year).

Ross Stores’ comps climbed 5% in June. “Home, dresses and shoes were our strongest merchandise categories,” said Michael Balmuth, vice chair-man and ceo.

The gains for these segments were “in the low-double-digit percentage range,” added John Hall, senior vp and cfo.

Ross raised its second-quar-ter earnings guidance to $1.00 to $1.02 per share. Hall said, “This updated guidance repre-sents a projected 22% to 24% increase on top of a 52% gain in last year’s second-quarter when EPS were 82 cents.”

The warehouse membership clubs fared well, although Cost-co saw much of its June comp increase of 3% coming from its

international unit, which posted a comp gain of 8%; cutting out the effect of infl ation in gasoline prices, the U.S. division gained just 1% in merchandise comps.

Subtracting for infl ation in gasoline prices, Eastern region-al club BJ’s posted a June comp gain of 3.2% in merchandise.

Neighborhood discount-er Fred’s Inc. reported a comp sales gain of 1.7% for the month, compared to an in-crease of 0.2% in June 2009. That brought the year-to-date comp gain to 2.3% at the 672-store chain, on top of a first-five-months gain of 1.7% last year.

At soft lines specialty chain Stein Mart, comps were off 0.6% in June — but home was among the stronger performing categories, the company said.

Rural general merchandis-

er Duckwall-ALCO Stores saw comps dip 6.6% in June; comps are down 4.9% year-to-date. Rich Wilson, president and ceo, said the 256-store company’s in-ventory position is favorable for the coming back-to-school sea-son, and that “recent organiza-tional re-alignment has signifi -cantly improved our operational disciplines and effi ciencies.”

The 31-company John-son Redbook Same-store Sales Index (SSI) for June was up 3.1%, coming after a 2.6% gain in May and a 0.9% gain in April. About three-fourths of the 31 merchants posted posi-tive comps for June. Depart-ment stores were the standout for the month; this eight-com-pany group posted a 5.9% comp gain, dramatically reversing its 9.1% comp decline in the June 2009 SSI. HTT

MAR APR MAYJUN JUNJUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEBSource: Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Average, a unit of Instinet, a Reuters company.

3.1%2010

year-over-year

-5.0%

-3.5%

-2.0%

-0.5%

1.0%

2.5%

4.0%

5.5%

7.0%

8.5%

10.0%June Same-Store SalesJohnson Redbook Index

Same-store sales % change

WINNERSCostco. 9.0%Macy’s 6.5Kohl’s 5.9Ross Stores 5.0JCPenney 4.5BJ’s Wholesale 3.8TJX Cos. 3.0Dillard’s 2.0Target 1.7Fred’s 1.7

LOSERSDuckwall-ALCO (6.6)Stein Mart (0.6

WINNERS

JUNE SALES FOR KEY RETAILERSFive weeks ended July 3 (dollar amounts in millions) a

2010 2009 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES %CHG. %CHG.

BJ’s Wholesale Club b $1,080.0 $1,001.1 7.9 3.8 The Bon-Ton Stores $244.4 $241.5 1.2 1.4

Costco Wholesale Corp. c $7,330.0 $6,870.0 7.0 9.0 Dillard’s Inc. $506.4 $497.2 2.0 2.0

Duckwall-ALCO d $45.3 $47.9 (5.4) (6.6)Fred’s Inc. $178.3 $174.7 2.0 1.7 J.C. Penney Company Inc. $1,550.0 $1,495.0 3.7 4.5 Kohl’s Corp. $1,605.0 $1,471.0 9.1 5.9 Macy’s Inc. $2,229.0 $2,044.0 9.0 6.5 Ross Stores $725.0 $666.0 9.0 5.0 Stein Mart $107.2 $108.8 (1.5) (0.6)Target Corp $5,918.0 $5,690.0 4.0 1.7 TJX Cos. $2,000.0 $1,800.0 7.0 3.0

22 WEEKS 2010 2009 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES %CHG. %CHG.

BJ’s Wholesale Club b $4,500.8 $4,043.1 11.3 6.6 The Bon-Ton Stores $1,092.4 $1,075.0 1.6 1.9

Costco Wholesale Corp. e $57,170.0 $52,150.0 10.0 7.0 Dillard’s Inc $2,365.3 $2,344.3 1.0 2.0 Duckwall-ALCO (d) $195.7 $204.0 (4.1) (4.9)Fred’s Inc. $791.5 $768.0 3.0 2.3 J.C. Penney Company Inc. $6,707.0 $6,633.0 1.1 1.6 Kohl’s Corp. $6,978.0 $6,365.0 9.6 6.2 Macy’s Inc. $9,589.0 $8,987.0 6.7 4.9 Ross Stores $3,274.0 $2,922.0 12.0 8.0 Stein Mart $506.9 $533.7 (5.0) (3.1)Target Corp. $25,698.0 $24,509.0 4.9 2.3 TJX Cos. $8,600.0 $7,700.0 12.0 7.0

a. Reporting periods may vary from chain to chain.b. BJ’s: Excluding gasoline sales, June merchandise coms increased

3.2%; YTD merchandise comps increased 3.8%.c. Costco: 5 weeks ended July 4. Excluding inflation in gasoline prices

and stronger foreign currencies, comps were up 3% for the total company, up 1% in the U.S. division and up 8% in the interna-tional division.

d. Duckwall: 5 weeks and 22 weeks ended July 4.

e. Costco: 44 weeks ending July 4. Excluding inflation in gasoline prices and stronger foreign currencies, YTD comps were up 3% for the total company, up 2% in the U.S. and up 9% in international.

June Sales

July 12, 2010

SALES FROM PAGE 1

htt100701_016_018 18htt100701_016_018 18 7/8/2010 5:36:14 PM7/8/2010 5:36:14 PM

Capture their attention by advertising in

SPENCER WHITTLE:swhittle@sandowmedia.comph 336.605.1027 fax 336.605.1143

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Lines Offered (Reps)Help Wanted

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20 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

CalendarJuly14 – 21 The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(800) ATL-MART or (404) 220-2435www.americasmart.com

15 – 18 The Atlanta International Area Rug MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(800) ATL-MART or (404) 220-2437www.americasmart.com

August2 – 6Las Vegas Market World Market Center and Pavilions, Las Vegas(702) 599-9621www.lasvegasmarket.com

2 – 6Gift+HomeWorld Market Center and Pavilions, Las Vegas(702)599-3064 or (702)599-9621www.giftandhomelv.com

2 – 6Vegas KidsWorld Market Center and Pavilions, Las Vegas(702)599-3064 or (702)599-9621www.vegaskidslv.com

7 – 9 Gourmet Housewares ShowThe Moscone Center, San Francisco(914) 421-3200www.thegourmetshow.com

8 – 11 ASD/AMD Las VegasSands Expo Center & Las Vegas Con-vention Center, Las Vegas(310) 481-7300 www.asdamd.com

13 – 19New York Home Textiles Market Week7 W New York, 230 Fifth Avenue, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(914) 421-3200 www.nyhometextilesmarketweek.com

14– 19New York International Gift FairJacob K. Javits Convention Center, Pas-senger Ship Terminal Pier 94New York, (914) 421-3200www.nyigf.com

24 – 26 Intertextil Shanghai Home Textiles, ChinaShanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China(852) 2238 9983www.messefrankfurt.com/hk

September3 – 7Meuble Paris / Maison & ObjetParc des Expositions, Paris-Nord Villepinte, Paris, France(888) 522-5001www.maison-objet.com

11 – 13Atlanta Fall Gift & Home Furnishings MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(404) 220-3000www.americasmart.com

11 – 13Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas Market Center, Dallas(800) DAL-MKTSwww.dallasmarketcenter.com

11 – 13F!NDS Dallas Temp ShowWorld Trade Center, Market HallDallas, (214) 655-6116www.dmcfinds.com

11 – 15JSWB Shanghai Furniture Sourcing ShowJSWB Global Home Furnishing Center, Shanghai, China

12HTT Market Kick-Off Party6 p.m-8 p.m.Penthouse & Roof, 230 Fifth Ave.(646) 746-7421 www.hometextilestoday.com

13 – 18New York Home Fashions MarketHome Fashion Products AssociationN.Y. Showrooms and hotels(212) 297-2122 (Kellen Co.)www.homefashionproducts.com

13 – 14HD Boutique Exposition & ConferenceMiami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Fla.(770) 291-5400www.hdboutique.com

14 – 16Mood BrusselsTextirama, vzw34 9 243 8450www.moodbrussels.com

14 – 16Heimtextil RussiaIEC Crocus Expo Exhibition Center, Moscow, Russia+7 (495) 721 1058www.messefrankfurt.ru

14 – 17Indigo (Home Furnishing Edition)Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium+33 (0) 1 70 38 7000www.indigo-salon.com

14 – 17Expolfil DecoBrussels BelgiumPremier Vision S.A.33 (0) 4 72 606500

15 – 17 Textile Expo UzbekistanUzExpo Center, Tashkent, Uzbekistan+998 71 113 01 80www.textileexpo.uz

15 – 17CAITMEUzExpo Center, Tashkent, Uzbekistan+998 71 113 01 80www.textileexpo.uz

16 – 18China Textile & ApparelTrade ShowJacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(718) 261-1181www.nychinashow.com

20 – 23China (Dalian) International Garment & Textile FairWorld Expo Center (Dalian)Dalian Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation Bureauwww. Cigf.com.cn

26 – 28Cmc Gift & Home MarketLos Angeleswww.californiamarketcenter.com

October6 – 8 Interstoff Asia Essential – Autumn Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong(852) 2238 9917www.interstoff-asia.com4 – 6Heimtextil IndiaBombay Expo CenterMesse Frankfurt Trade Fairs India, Pvt. 91 (0) 22 2202 1377mllie.contractor@india.messefrankfurt.com

10 – 13ABC Kids ExpoLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, (210) 691-4848www.theabcshow.com

16 – 21 High Point MarketInternational Home Furnishings Cen-ter (IHFC), High Point, N.C.(336) 869-1000www.highpointmarket.org

November8 – 11 Index DubaiDubai International Exhibition Centre, DubaiUnited Arab Emirates+971 4 885 0854www.indexexhibition.com

13 – 16 International Hotel / Motel ShowJacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(914) 421-3200www.ihmrs.com

24 – 25 The Sleep EventBusiness Design Center, London, UKwww.thesleepevent.com

December5 – 8 Showtime Fabric FairMarket Square, Textile Tower, High Point, N.C., (336) 885-6842www.itma-showtime.com

July 12, 2010

htt100701_020_021 20htt100701_020_021 20 7/8/2010 1:12:46 PM7/8/2010 1:12:46 PM

21 Home Textiles Today> hometextilestoday.com July 12, 2010

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National Retailer Seeking Senior Buyer for HousewaresAnna’s Linens located in Costa Mesa, CA; seeks a Senior Buyer

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SHANGHAI – At this year’s Inter-textile Shanghai Home Textiles show here in August, the event will expand from nine to ten halls.

“Exhibitors who benefi t from the expansion include suppliers exhibiting in the international hall, especially those partici-pating under the Taiwanese and Turkish pavilions, which have signifi cantly increased by 40% in scale,” according to fair organizer Messe Frankfurt.

With the Chinese market becoming more important and

sophisticated, Mr Ibrahim Bur-kay, the president for Uludag Exporters’ Association and the person in-charge of the Turkish Pavilion will bring more leading home textile brands to exhibit in the 2010 show. Among them include Verdi, Vanelli, Demor, Elvin and Guleser.

“We are seeing an outstand-ing increase in Turkish home textile exports to China, up 44% in the fi rst quarter of 2010,” said Ibrahim Burkay, the president for Uludag Exporters’ Associa-tion and the coordinator for the

Turkish PavilionIn addition, the fair said

Ikea and Target (U.S.) have both confirmed their atten-dance and will be participat-ing in the business-matching program.

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles will take place Aug. 24 – 26 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Co-organizers with Messe Frank-furt include the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and China Home Textile Asso-ciation (CHTA). HTT

SHELTON, CONN. — Latex Inter-national, a producer of Talalay latex mattresses and pillows, has broken ground on a 251,000-square-foot latex plant in Malay-sia to support its growth in the Asian and European markets.

The new facility, Dunlop Latex Foam (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, will be a subsidiary of Latex International.

It will be operational in the summer of 2011, and will be the only facility by a major latex supplier to produce both Tala-lay and Dunlop process latex foams, the company said.

“This is a major step in our company’s expansion,” said Latex International CEO Kevin Coleman. “We are building a worldwide infrastructure to sup-port the growth we are experi-encing.

“With the North American

market headwinds that we have seen over the past two years, the company has focused on new opportunities internationally,” Coleman said. “We have estab-lished sales and service orga-nizations in South America, Europe and Asia during this time period and our sales to markets outside the U.S. have grown to over 25% of our total revenue. This plant is neces-sary to better serve the needs of these customers both from a latex production perspective but also from a delivery per-spective.”

The new Malaysian facil-ity will feature an eco-friendly design, including a waste water treatment plant that will recycle water for use in the production process, a power management system, and high-effi ciency pro-duction equipment. HTT

Latex International Building Plant in

Malaysia

Intertextil Shanghai Adds Another Hall

NEW YORK — Two forecast pre-sentations related to home will be among the trend seminars scheduled for the Printsource show, which takes place here at 7W New York from Aug. 2-4.

On Tuesday, Aug. 3 the subject will be “PantoneView Home + Interiors 2011 - Color Trends: The Catalysts That Cre-

ate Change,” presented by Lau-rie Pressman, vp for fashion, home and interiors at Pantone. The session takes place at 2:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Aug. 4, Joanna Feeley, founder and cre-ative director of the Trend Bible, will offer “Home Interior Trends for Fall 2011/Winter 2012.” The

presentation takes place at 12:30 p.m.

Pre-registration is required and a $125 entry fee covers access to all seminars taking place during the show. 7W New York is located at 7 W. 34th St.

For information email info@printsourcenewyork.com or call (212) 352-1005. HTT

PrintSource to Offer Home Forecasts

News

htt100701_020_021.indd 21htt100701_020_021.indd 21 7/9/2010 4:33:02 PM7/9/2010 4:33:02 PM

22 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

OPINIONTodaY

LOOK I NG AT T HE June same store sales results from most of the major players in a number of retail segments, it almost seemed to be a ban-quet of good news.

But stepping back a bit and looking at the numbers, we shouldn’t be getting ready to party like it’s New Year’s Eve.

Yes, for those retailers that sell home fur-nishings — and home textiles in particular on the listings — June wasn’t a bad month. But be-fore the celebrations begin, let’s look at where these companies are — and where they were a year ago— and just sneak a peek back two years ago.

Looks like all of the reporting department stores in the home textiles world came out ahead of 2009 in comps. But if they hadn’t there would be even more of a crisis. Even a couple of the most challenged managed to pull into the plus lane for June.

And in the mass merchant/discounter segment, the same held true — and here with more emphasis on gains.

Even Stein Mart, which has been struggling, appears to be regaining traction under a new management team and approach to business.

But still, the results need to be compared with 2008, which for many retailers was not an all-bad year. When

looking at those numbers compared with June 2010, there’s still a long way to go to get back to a “normal” sales pace.

Add to this what seems to be a universal at-titude that the recovery is not here in a broad brush manner — and it looks like we’re back to “recovery” not growth for the next few quar-

ters.Back-to-School is not going to hack it for the home

world in the next quarter, so we can defi nitely expect to see more coupons, more bottom of the barrel promos and more degradation of price points.

For this business, it’s a recovery that isn’t quite hap-pening yet – and needs a lot more creativity in product and marketing to make it happen. HTT

“For this business, it’s a recovery that isn’t quite happening yet – and needs a lot more creativity in product and marketing to make it happen.”

CaroleSloanFOUNDING

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Growth vs. Recovery

HE R E W E GO AGA I N. Now that we’ve gone through the Independence Day holiday week-end, it’s time to prepare for the cycle of late summer and fall shows that whiz by so quick-

ly the next thing you know it’s October 1 and everybody’s wondering why they didn’t get more out of the summer.

We’ll also get a indication of second-half buying inten-tions in a few weeks when the Back-to-School season kicks off. Will consumers hold off on buying until the very last minute, the way they did last year? My guess is yes. Retailers may sus-pect as much, too, because they’re really gear-ing up the marketing.

Macy’s is pulling out all the stops, launching eight BTS-targeting apparel lines — including Glee, Jessica Simpson as well as lines created by Madonna and Kimora Lee Simmons — de-buting the Kinect for Xbox 360 in select stores with gaming stations for the new controller-free games and launching an online style lab where fashion lovers can interact.

Kohl’s is combining digital with do-goodery, driv-ing fans to its Facbook page to vote on which 20 schools should split a $10 million charitable donation from the

retailer. Kohl’s fans can nominate and vote for any pub-lic or private schools that serve kindergarten through 12 grade students.

My favorite BTS promotion is American Eagle Outfi t-ters, which plans to give a free smartphone to every custom-er who tries on a pair of AE jeans from July 21 to August 3. (In truth, the phone is free after a rebate.) I initially had two

reactions to this news: 1) How crappy are those free phones? And 2) Don’t most of American Ea-gles customers already have smartpones?

But according to ComScore, which amass-es demographic data related to online browsing and buying, smartphone penetration in the Unit-ed States is around 20% overall, though growing rapidly. So maybe this is a genius plan.

No doubt we’ll see more promotions an-nounced in the next few weeks. I expect a lot of campaigns tied to Facebook and mCommerce. According to the Forrester Research, 75% of on-line retailers are ramping up their mobile mar-

keting initiatives, while one-fi fth claim to already operate a fully fl edged mobile operation.

That’s good news for the American Eagle kids, now that they’ll all be running around with free smartphones. HTT

JenniferMarks

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

“We’ll also get a indication of second-half buying intentions in a few weeks when the Back-to-School season kicks off. “

Back to School’s in Session

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July 12, 2010

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23 Home Textiles TodayNewsNews> hometextilestoday.com July 12, 2010

DALTON, GA. — Shaw Floors recently launched the Shaw Web Studio program for fl oor-ing retailer customers.

Shaw Web Studio compris-es new web products that allow Shaw’s customers to create new web sites or add Shaw product catalogs and other content to existing web sites.

Misty Hodge, Shaw’s web services manager, said Shaw Web Studio is designed to ad-dress retailers’ hurdles – such as diffi culty with time, cost and technology expertise – related to using the Internet as a busi-

ness tool. “Research indicates that al-

most 70% of consumers shop online before entering the store,” she said. “Shaw Web Studio allows Shaw’s retailers to become a virtual storefront that is always open.”

Shaw’s program helps re-tailers customize websites, au-tomatically update product catalogs, create micro-sites within existing sites, and auto-mate delivery of product imag-es and data, among other capa-bilities.

Retailers can choose from

20 design templates and get the site up and running in minutes at a cost that starts at $95 per plan monthly.

To enhance an existing site, tools include a Shaw-powered product catalog that is custom-izable and maintenance-free and is continuously updated with carpet, area rug, hard-wood, laminate and tile and stone products.

Additionally, data stream automatically delivers product data and images so retailers can keep their Shaw product infor-mation up to date. HTT

Shaw Launches “Web Studio” Online Tools Program

WASHINGTON — As more Amer-ican use their cell phones for web browsing, m-commerce is creating “a paradigm shift” in retailing, according to the Na-tional Retail Federation.

“Americans expect more from their phones than the abil-ity to talk to family and friends,” said NRF president and ceo Matt Shay. “Aside from send-ing pictures and sharing stories and experiences over social net-working sites, consumers want to be able to connect with their favorite retailers in a way they never have been able to before - instantaneously.”

Nine in 10 americans now have cell phones, according to a recent survey by BigResearch for the National Retail Federa-tion’s Mobile Retail Initiative.

The survey found 41.5 per-

cent of adults want a cell phone with internet access, compared to just under one-third (32.6%) who said so in July 2008. More than half (51.4%) of adults 18-34 years old say they want to be able to surf the web on their phone, compared to the 41.0 percent who said so in July 2008.

“The combination of new technologies coupled with consumers’ desire to adopt these new apps are redefi ning the cell phone into a ‘consum-er communicator’,” said Phil Rist, executive vp of strategy, BIGresearch. “Marketers and retailers should leverage shop-per’s needs to stay connected by providing information and communications to assist them with their purchase decisions.” HTT

Increasingly Plugged in Cell Phone Users Spell

Opportunity

GREENSBORO, N.C. — WithIt, the women’s leadership network serving the home and furnishings industries, has awarded Jena and Stephen B. Hall Scholarships to two students pursuing degrees in careers related to design and home and furnishings industries.

The 2010 recipients are: Sarah K. Callaham, an Appalachian State University student pursuing degrees in architectural tech-

nology/design and interior design; and Amarinh Kongmanivong, an interior design student at-tending Randolph Community College.

Both are being awarded $2,500 each, which is to be applied toward tuition expenses.

“WithIt is pleased to award this year’s ambi-tious recipients, one of whom is just beginning her college experience, while the other is a ca-reer-change professional who is following her passion for design after a multi-year military ca-reer,” said Cameron Cook, WithIt’s Scholarship Foundation vice president and public relations manager for Four Hands.

Scholarships are presented annually by With-It - www.WithIt.org - in July to college students enrolled full-time in fields of study that will lead to careers in the home and furnishing industries, including decorative accessory design, architec-tural design, forestry, furniture design, textiles design, graphic design, interior architecture, sus-tainable design or other majors related to the home and furnishings industries. HTT

AMARINH KONGMANIVONG

WithIt Announces 2010 Scholarship

Winners

SARAH CALLAHAM

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation said last month that it welcomed a House-Sen-ate conference committee’s de-cision to include a fi x for rapid-ly rising debit card swipe fees in the fi nal version of fi nancial ser-vices reform legislation approved early this morning.

“The conference commit-tee has struck a blow for small retailers and their customers,” said Mallory Duncan, svp and general counsel, NRF. “For years, these soaring fees have been taking billions of dollars out of consumers’ pockets and driving up prices.”

If adopted by Congress and implemented by the Federal Re-serve, he continued, “this legis-lation will put an end to retail-ers being forced to accept ‘Visa dollars’ that are only worth 98 cents today and whatever Visa decides they’re worth tomorrow. This bill will take us a lot clos-

er to a dollar really being a dol-lar again.”

In late June, a House-Sen-ate conference committee ne-gotiating over fi nancial servic-es reform legislation voted 27 to 16 in favor of its fi nal version of the bill. A House vote was ex-pected to take place June 29 followed by a Senate vote later next week.

The conference report in-cludes an amendment sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Rich-ard Durbin, D-Ill., that would require the Federal Reserve to set regulations resulting in “rea-sonable and proportional” swipe fees for debit cards. Specifi cal-ly, the Fed would be required to take into account banks’ actu-al costs for processing the trans-actions and the fact that paper checks drawn on the same ac-counts are paid at face value.

The amendment would also make it easier for merchants to

offer discounts or other ben-efits for customers who don’t use credit cards, and to set min-imum purchase amounts for credit cards.

Swipe fees, which are offi-cially known as “interchange fees,” are a percentage of the transaction charged by card company banks each time a card is swiped to pay for a pur-chase. The fees average be-tween 1% and 2% for debit cards and 2% or more for cred-it cards.

Overall swipe fees charged to retailers and other business by Visa and MasterCard banks totaled $48 billion in 2008. The pass-along to consumers resulted in higher prices esti-mated by NRF at $427 for the average household, according to the association. Debit swipe fees alone amount to about $20 billion of the annual total, the NRF noted. HTT

NRF Backs House-Senate Conference Committee Approval

of Debit Card-related Fee

NEW YORK — Harlequin Enter-prises Limited, publisher of se-ries romance books for women, has signed with Brandgenuity to develop a strategic licensing program in home, gifts, collect-ibles and other merchandise categories.

“We are thrilled to be working with Harlequin, a brand that en-compasses excitement, inspira-tion and, best of all, romance,” said Adina Avery-Grossman, man-aging director at Brandgenuity. “Through extraordinary licensing partnerships and brand-right prod-

ucts and experiences, we hope to transport Harlequin beyond books and further into the lives of women who love to read.”

Harlequin, which releas-es more than 110 titles each month, has sold nearly 6 bil-lion books. HTT

Harlequin Seeking Licenses in Home

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