Home Textiles Today articles from May 2009

Home Textiles Today archives from May 2009

Sheets and Pillowcases Show Wrinkle in Sales.
May 4, 2009... By Jill Rowen Sheets and pillowcases -- the last category in Home Textiles Today 's trio of bedding reports -- showed a significant drop in revenue for 2008. Sales for the year were $1.8 billion, down from $2.1 billion in 2007. It has...

Commerce Department to Bring Foreign Buyers to U.S. Textile Event.
May 4, 2009... Staff Atlanta-- The U.S. Commerce Dept. has selected Textile and Sewn Products Industry Week 2010 for its U.S. Commercial Service International Buyer Program (IBP). The program brings thousands of international buyers to major trade...

N.Y. Gift Fair Brings Back "SustainAbility" Program for Third Year.
May 4, 2009... Staff White Plains, N.Y.-- The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) is looking again to facilitate green business practices in the gift and home industries with the return of an environmentally focused exhibit and educational program...

Feizy Rugs Revamps Website.
May 4, 2009... Staff Dallas-- Feizy Rugs re-launched a new and improved website, www.feizy.com , at last month's the High Point Market. The revamped and redesigned site, which has been in test phase for the past several months, is "colorful,...

Big Lots' Home Category "Stabilizing".
May 4, 2009... Staff Columbus, Ohio-- Big Lots' home department, which the off-price closeout chain admitted to be its "single most challenging business," has lately been showing signs of improvement. During the 1,345-unit retailer's presentation at...

Kohl's Tops Green Energy List.
May 4, 2009... Staff Walmart, Lowe's Also Among Top 50 Washington-- Kohl's emerged is the No.1 retailer purchasing green power on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Top Partner list. Kohl's was the third largest purchaser overall,...

Pershing Square Turns up Heat on Target -- Again.(Conference news)
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Activist investor William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management is escalating its effort to seat a slate of officers on Target's board of directors, arguing Target's board lacks appropriate experience in retail,...

Ethan Allen Launches Campaign With Special Pricing Promotions.
May 4, 2009... Staff Danbury, Conn.-- High-end furniture and accessories retailer Ethan Allen is launching a national campaign through June 15 to celebrate "innovation" in American craftsmanship, service and other attributes related to the industry. ...

Sustainable Sam's Club Unit to Reopen in El Monte.
May 4, 2009... Staff El Monte, Calif.-- Daylight-harvesting skylights and an exterior bio cell water collection system are among the new sustainability features being added to a Sam's Club unit here that is being environmentally revamped. This...

Big Lots' Home Picking Up.
May 4, 2009... Staff Columbus, Ohio-- Big Lots is adjusting first-quarter expectations based on recently improved sales trends, which have been improving up to now and were expected to continue through the end of the period, which is May 2. The...

Family Dollar Faring Well in Home.(Family Dollar Stores Inc.)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Family Dollar's home department has "hung in there pretty good" in recent quarters, chairman and ceo Howard Levine told investors last week. Addressing the Barclays Capital Retail and Restaurants Conference here,...

Direction by Indigo set for August in NYC.(New York City)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- More than 80 exhibitors will take part in the upcoming Direction by Indigo show talking place Aug. 4-6 at the Penn Plaza Pavilion here. Design studios and fashion forecasters will show creative textiles designs for...

Commonwealth Home Making Hardware Show Debut.
May 4, 2009... Staff Montreal-- Commonwealth Home Fashions and subsidiary Versailles Home Fashions will present performance products to the hardware industry during the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas from May 5 to 7. This marks the company's first...

Surya gains ISO 9001 Status.(Company overview)
May 4, 2009... Staff Calhoun, Ga.-- Surya Inc. has earned ISO 9001 certification for its quality-management systems by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Surya was certified in the category of Design, Manufacture and Export of...

Pacific Coast Feather opens London office.(Pacific Coast Feather Company )(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... By Jennifer Marks Seattle-- Pacific Coast Feather Company has opened a new office in London, part of an ongoing effort to broaden its global hospitality business throughout North America, Europe, Asia and India. Over the past 18...

In the Closet Offers Made in USA Nursery Goods.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Staff Plano, Texas-- In the Closet, a company recently launched to produce and distribute baby products made of organic, natural and recycled materials, targets the boutique segment of the home furnishings and baby goods businesses. ...

Showtime to Add Window Fashion Segment.
May 4, 2009... Staff Will Debut at June Fabric Fair in High Point High Point, N.C.-- June's Showtime fabric fair here will add a new market segment featuring exhibitors that supply workrooms and manufacturers of window fabrics and bedding. The...

AmericasMart Adds Exhibitors to Home Floor.
May 4, 2009... Staff Atlanta-- Four home accessories, furnishings and furniture exhibitors recently signed on to relocate from existing space new and larger showrooms in the 14th floor Home area of the AmericasMart here. The four companies are: home...

Macy's Partners with National Park Foundation.
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Macy's celebrated National Park Week and Earth Day last month by partnering with the National Park Foundation and local nonprofit organizations that work to protect and conserve the environment to help raise awareness and...

Peking Handicraft Adds Vintage-Look Christmas Line.
May 4, 2009... Staff San Francisco.-- Peking Handicraft's home decor and gift division has partnered with artist Lynn Haney to create a holiday collection of vintage Santa-themed looks for decorative pillows and Christmas stockings. Since 1987,...

Sphinx to Debut Axminster Area Rugs.
May 4, 2009... Staff Dalton, Ga.-- Sphinx, the U.S. flagship of Oriental Weavers, is preparing to launch a new axminster area rug line. "With significant axminster weaving capabilities on 14 looms, each beautifully crafted rug will be woven in Egypt...

Tuesday Morning Posts Third-Quarter Loss.(Financial report)
May 4, 2009... Staff Dallas-- Tuesday Morning's net loss for the third quarter widened to $6.8 million, or 16 cents per share compared to a net loss of $4.7 million or 11 cents per share in the year-ago period. For the quarter ended March 31, sales...

Commerce Dept: Housing Starts Fell in March.
May 4, 2009... Staff Washington-- After showing strength in February, housing starts in the U.S. reversed course last month, the Commerce Department reported last week. Housing starts tumbled 10.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000...

Confidence Index Rises, Especially ShortTerm Outlook.
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Consumers in April were feeling better than they had in several weeks. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index jumped 12 points in April after a slight improvement in March, posting its highest reading so far in...

Mohawk Posts First-Quarter Loss.
May 4, 2009... Staff Calhoun, Ga.-- Reduced demand and restructuring charges resulted in a first-quarter net loss at Mohawk Industries of $106 million, or $1.55 per share. The results for the quarter ended March 28 include a $122 million charge for...

Comps Make Small Gain in April's Third Week.(Financial report)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Retail same-store sales were up 0.7% during the third week of April following a 0.1% the prior week, the Johnson Redbook reported last week. Month-to-date for the period ended April 25, comps in the Johnson Redbook...

Wal-Mart: Home is Hopping.
May 4, 2009... By Cecile B. Corral Bentonville, Ark.-- Wal-Mart is experiencing recent and notable successes in its enhanced home department -- with specifically bedding and towels, among its best performing categories right now, the chain said last week...

Hollander Home Fashions Restructures Executives.
May 4, 2009... Staff Boca Raton, Fla.-- Hollander Home Fashions new executive structure is designed to position the company for growth despite the faltering economy. "This is a time to get stronger," said Jeff Hollander, who is stepping into the...

J.C. Penney Raises Outlook.
May 4, 2009... By Jennifer Marks New York-- J.C. Penney took a new tack at its annual analysts meeting here last month. A series of full-day presentations by each division head was replaced by a set of 45-minute round-table discussions with various...

Hospitality Outlook Mixed.
May 4, 2009... By Carole Sloan Las Vegas-- Heading into the spring hospitality show season -- HD Expo as well as company-oriented vendor conferences -- suppliers of textiles to the hospitality industry offered divergent views on the state of the...

Shaw, DAK Partner to Produce Recycled PET Fibers.
May 4, 2009... Staff Dalton, Ga-- Shaw Industries Group Inc. and PET resin and polyester staple fiber producer DAK Americas LLC have teamed up to create a new joint venture company, Clear Path Recycling LLC, to produce recycled PET (RPET) from...

CARE Awards Shaw, Mohawk for Recycling.
May 4, 2009... Staff Lansdowne, Va.-- The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) this week honored four innovators from the growing world of post-consumer carpet recycling -- including Shaw and Mohawk -- at the organization's seventh annual conference....

Glimmers of Hope.
May 4, 2009... Jennifer Marks, Editor-in-Chief Wal-Mart says home is hot. J.C. Penney and Big Lots each say home is stabilizing. Family Dollar says home is hanging in there. A series of announcements over the final two weeks of last month paired up...

Managing the Supply Chain.
May 4, 2009... Carole Sloan, Founding Editor-in-Chief During the many executive presentations at last month's JCPenney annual analysts meeting, one of the key messages that came forth was the growing sophistication and streamlining for efficiency and...

Retail Briefs.
May 4, 2009... Staff Sears Launches EcoSites Staff Sears Holdings introduced two new eco-conscious websites -- www.sears.com/green and www.kmart.com/green -- and is positioning them as resources for shoppers seeking to reduce their carbon...

Kmart Wind-down Hits MSLO Results.
May 4, 2009... Staff Company Hints at New Mass Partner for 2010 New York-- As the Martha Stewart Everyday home program phases out at Kmart, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's merchandising division took a $5 million haircut in the first quarter. ...

MSLO's Millard exiting company.(Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.)(Wenda Harris Millard)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced that Wenda Harris Millard is stepping down from as president of media and co-ceo to join a public relations firm. MSLO said it has no plans to replace her. "Wenda has been a...

JPMA Elects New Board.(Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Staff Mt. Laurel, N.J.-- The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association has elected its new board of directors for 2009-2010. Greg Mansker of Chicco USA, chairman, succeeds Tony DeSimone of Fisher Price, who is now immediate past...

Mascioni Chairman Exits Company.
May 4, 2009... Staff Cuvio, Italy-- Alberto Mascioni has stepped down as chairman of the 52-year-old fabric printing and bedding manufacturing company, effective April 26. His brother, Carlo Mascioni, is now ceo. He had been co-ceo. In a letter to...

Hospitality Watch: HTT Launches New Site.
May 4, 2009... Staff New York-- Home Textiles Today this week is launching a new web site, Hospitality Furnishings Today, with news about upcoming new product releases, executive changes and hospitality shows. The launch site also features a report on...

Greenspitation Home Goes with Karastan for Eco Rugs.
May 4, 2009... Staff Greensboro, N.C.-- Four Karastan area rugs have been chosen to be included in a newly built home here positioned as an example of modern green building practices in the city. The Holder-Raines family owns this house -- dubbed the...

Surtex 2009 Scheduled for May 17 to 19.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Staff White Plains, N.Y.-- For its 23rd year, original artwork licensing trade show Surtex is returning to New York City in mid May with "hundreds" of top-level designers from the U.S. and abroad participating in this three-day event. ...

Beach Towels Strong Seller in Short Season.
May 4, 2009... By Cecile B. Corral New York-- Beach towel suppliers feel retailers too often undervalue the catory. While a fleeting business in the grander scope of the overall home furnishings business, the category -- which comes and goes in the...

Bath Industry Down in Tough Environment.
May 18, 2009... By Cecile B. Corral New York-- The bath industry took a 7.5% hit in total retail sales in 2008 -- dipping to $3,420.0 million from $3,699.0 million the prior year -- when several factors worked against the category. As it did with all...

Retail Import Volume Remains Low.
May 18, 2009... Staff Washington-- Import cargo volume improved in March at the nation's major retail container ports, but still hovered at its lowest level in five years, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released last week by the National...

ABC Moves Kids Expo to Louisville for 2011, 2012.
May 18, 2009... Jenny Heinzen York Louisville, Ky.-- All Baby & Child will move its ABC Kids Expo trade show to Louisville, Ky., in 2011 and 2012, officials announced earlier this month. The show has an option to return to Louisville through 2015,...

Jaipur Rugs Earns Social Accountability Certification.
May 18, 2009... Staff Atlanta-- Area and accent rug house Jaipur Rugs' facility at its headquarters in India has been certified to the Social Accountability International SA 8000 Workplace and Human Rights standards. The certification covers Jaipur's...

CHF Industries Lands Dockers License.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Diversified home furnishings producer CHF Industries has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Dockers San Francisco to manufacture, market and distribute the Dockers Home Collection. The license was previously...

Duralee Fabrics Teams with Clodagh for Eco Fabric Line.
May 18, 2009... Gary Evans Bay Shore, N.Y.-- Decorative fabric supplier Duralee Fabrics has partnered with Clodagh, the author and interior design guru known for eco-conscious interiors, to launch a "green" collection at the fall High Point Market. ...

Texlynx Hired by Company Character World UK textiles.
May 18, 2009... Staff Lahore, Pakistan-- Texlynx has been hired by juvenile bedding and bath developer Company Character World as its sourcing agent in Pakistan. Company Character World is the UK licensee for Disney, Nickelodeon, 20th Century Fox,...

Iconix Buys 50% Stake of Ed Hardy brand.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Iconix Brand Group Inc. has acquired a 50% interest in Hardy Way LLC, the owner of tattoo-inspired designer lifestyle brand and trademark Ed Hardy. "Obviously, we would have loved to own 100%," said Neil Cole,...

Creative Bath Moves into Larger Space at 7W New York.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Creative Bath Products is relocating into a new and larger showroom at 7 West 34th St. to accommodate an expanded assortment of offerings and new categories of products for fall debut. The new showroom measures 10,000...

Surtex Events Planned.(Conference news)(Brief article)
May 18, 2009... Staff White Plains, N.Y.-- When it comes to New York this week, Surtex 2009 will offer attendees a slew of educational sessions where industry experts offer their business advice and share their knowledge about the applied art industry....

Robert Allen Group and Sherwin-Williams Collaborating.
May 18, 2009... Staff Foxboro, Mass.-- Fabrics and furnishings designer and marketer The Robert Allen Group has partnered with Sherwin-Williams for a shared palette to help interior designers and shoppers match fabrics to wall hues. As of late March,...

Orian Rugs Debut New Collection.
May 18, 2009... Staff Anderson, S.C.-- Domestic manufacturer of area and accent rugs Orian Rugs has created a new collection of machine-made soft floor coverings that combine Greek flokati fleece styles with thick shag constructions. Titled...

Supply Chain Vet Rodriguez Joins WestPoint.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Rafael Rodriguez has joined WestPoint Home as executive vp of operations and supply chain, effective immediately. He succeeds Chris Baker, who left the company last month to join Hollander Home Fashions as ceo. Baker...

Couristan Hires Kuehnel.
May 18, 2009... Staff Fort Lee, N.J.-- Area and accent rug supplier Couristan has hired Andy Kuehnel as its western regional manager for the residential division. Kuehnel began his career in the telecommunications field before transitioning into the...

Long to Lead Wearbest Sales.(Linda H. Long has appointed by Wearbest/Sil-tex Mills Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 18, 2009... Staff Garfield, N.J-- Linda H. Long has assumed the sales responsibilities for all markets in the southeast for Wearbest Sil-tex Mills. She succeeds David McCoy, who has been the sales representative in the southeast for Wearbest. He...

Jaipur Rugs Appoints Josh Roberts.
May 18, 2009... Staff Atlanta-- Jaipur Rugs has hired Josh Roberts, a former Ameriwood executive, as vice president of sales and marketing, a new position at the company. He reports to Asha Chaudhary, CEO. "Josh is a focused, proven individual...

Sam's Club, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Partner.
May 18, 2009... Staff Bentonville, Ark.-- Wal-Mart's warehouse club division Sam's Club has partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for a joint member benefits program aimed at broadening both organizations' abilities to be advocates for small...

Easter a Boon for Some Retailers' April Sales.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- The shift of Easter from March last year into April this year was a boon to some retailers and no help to others in April. Aside from Walmart, most retailers that mentioned home in their April reports included the...

Survey Says: Kohl's, Costco Make Biggest Online Satisfaction Improvements.
May 18, 2009... Staff Ann Arbor, Mich.-- Customer satisfaction with major online retailers is on the wane, falling 3% since last year. The big factor: price. The annual Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index from ForeSee Results and FGI Research...

Iconix First-Quarter Profit off by 5%.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Coming off a first quarter driven by the rollout of its Op, Danskin and Starter brands exclusively at Wal-Mart, Iconix Brand Group Inc. says it's in a position to build more direct-to-retailer deals this fiscal year and...

Big Lots Q1 Sales Fairly Flat.
May 18, 2009... Staff Columbus, Ohio-- Big Lots reported sales for the first quarter ended May 2 slipped 0.8% to $1.1 billion. Comps declined 0.5%. "While sales trends in our home and seasonal categories improved in the first quarter compared to the...

Walmart: Market Share Gains to Stay.
May 18, 2009... By Cecile B. Corral Bentonville, Ark.-- Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s president and ceo, Mike Duke, tried to dispel suspicions that the discount department store chain's recent performance "is just a result of the economic downturn and if it will...

Bedding Stands Out in Home at Kohl's.
May 18, 2009... Staff Menomonee Falls, Wis.-- Bedding was among the best performing categories in Kohl's home business, the mid-tier department store said during its first-quarter earnings call last week. The small appliance category was the other...

My Macy's Gaining Ground.
May 18, 2009... By Cecile B. Corral Cincinnati-- Macy's soft home offerings -- "what we call our non-big ticket home items" -- improved their performance during the first quarter at Macy's, the retailer said during its first quarter earnings call last...

JCP: Home Better, but Still Slack.(J.C. Penney Corporation Inc.)(Brief article)
May 18, 2009... By Jennifer Marks Plano, Texas-- The first-quarter message from J.C. Penney Inc. echoed former President George W. Bush's assessment that the country was "safer, but not yet safe." Profits plunged 79.2%, but beat expectations. Comps...

The Battle for Target.
May 18, 2009... Jennifer Marks, Editor-in-Chief Target shareholder Pershing Square Capital Management and the retailer's board are lobbying shareholders hard over a proposal that would eject four legacy directors in favor of a Pershing-proferred slate of...

Creativity Counts.
May 18, 2009... Carole Sloan, Founding Editor-in-Chief In recent weeks there have been a couple of vibrations in the decorative fabrics world that may be an indicator of how business in the home textiles world will evolve over the next few years. ...

Retail Briefs.
May 18, 2009... Staff Jo-Ann Sales up in First Quarter Staff Jo-Ann Stores reported sales for the first quarter ended May 2 rose 3.1% for $460 million. Comps rose 1.0% on top of a 4.5% comp gain in last year's first quarter. The company will...

Designer Kevin O'Brien Launches into Bedding.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Kevin O'Brien Studio earlier this month opened at ABC Home featuring the designer's first full bedding collection. O'Brien, known for hand-made, hand-painted fabrics -- particularly velvets -- has had decorative...

Pershing Square Introduces Nominees to Target Shareholders.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Last week, Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman outlined for Target shareholders why he thought five board nominees put forward by the private equity firm represent better choices than Target's sitting directors now up for...

cmi Introduces Sunbrella-branded Collection.
May 18, 2009... Staff Pawtucket, R.I.-- Braided texture rug manufacturer cmi (Colonial Mills Inc.) has created another collection of area rugs under the Sunbrella indoor-outdoor brand. The new domestically made grouping, titled Renaissance, employs...

Peking Handicraft to Debut Holiday Collections by Anaa Maria Horner.
May 18, 2009... Staff San Francisco-- Home decor and furnishings and gift manufacturer Peking Handicraft, Inc. this summer will introduce two new holiday collections of decorative pillows, Christmas stockings and tree skirts designed by artist Anna Maria...

Kate Spain Partners with Moda for Fabric Collection.
May 18, 2009... Staff Dallas-- Moda Fabrics and artist Kate Spain have inked a two-year licensing agreement for a line of branded fabrics. The initial collection, titled Verna, is set to hit retail shelves of independent fabric and quilting shops...

Sears/Kmart Sponsors Design on a Dime Fundraiser.
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Sears/Kmart was the major sponsor of the 5th annual Design on a Dime benefit earlier this month in Manhattan. The charity is Housing Works, which provides services to homeless and low-income New Yorkers with HIV and...

JVS Export Earns Target's Partner Award of Excellence.
May 18, 2009... Staff Minneapolis-- India-based kitchen textiles and table linens manufacturer JVS Export was recently awarded Target Corp.'s Partner Award of Excellence for 2008. In business for almost two decades, JVS has worked with Target on...

Off-Shore Factories Pursuing Domestic Markets.(Company overview)
May 18, 2009... Staff New York-- Off-shore factories are pursuing a number of strategies to address the market downtown, chasing new channels, pursuing new markets and paying more attention to domestic markets. Small wonder. According to data from...

Retail Sales Fell Back in April.
May 18, 2009... Staff Washington-- With consumers cutting back even on necessities such as gas and groceries, the U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that April sales slipped 0.4% seasonally adjusted from March and dropped 9.4% on a year-over-year...