Home Textiles Today October 10 Issue

January 10, 2011

HIGHPOINTSHOWPLACE 3233

OCTOBER 22-27, 2011

STYLETRENDS

Surya Sets The Pace

www.surya.com

Visit us at www.facebook.com/SuryaSocialTo become a SURYA dealer please call 1.877.275.7847 or email us at [email protected]

Marmekko Steps Up U.S. Profile

TEXTILES INDUSTRY | hometextilestoday.com | Vol. 32, No. 18 | $8.00

BY JENNIFER MARKS

NEW YORK — Marimekko’s first flag-ship store in the United States offi cially opened last week in the Flatiron district, the latest move in a steady brand expan-sion that began last year with the open-ing of the fi rst store-in-store in a Crate & Barrel.

“We see the values of the American consumer are changing,” president and ceo Mika Ihamuotila told HTT during a store preview party last week. “Amer-ican want to get out of the dark, heavy, mahogany. Americans are appreciating brands that have value.”

The store, located at Fifth Ave-nue and Broadway, features an expan-sive assortment of Marimekko fabrics, with an onsite sewer on hand to whip

BY HERMINE MARIAUX

PARIS — While last month’s presenta-tions at Maison & Objet seemed a bit more subdued — perhaps in reaction to the European fi nancial malaise — there was still plenty to love, discover and take home in the currency of inspiration.

By far the most compelling and im-mediately applicable trend was seen in the concept presentation entitled “The Infl uence of Pro Sports on Design” by Francois Bertrand, one of several the M&O organization sponsors each sea-son to spark visitors’ imagination.

His premise was that “our age is one of High Performance – required at every level,” not just in sports. On the human level “to look our best, stay young, fi t and healthy to be ready for and capable of high performance.

His proposition: that such require-ments will infect consumer goods in-cluding furnishings with an athletic feel, quality and functionality import-

ed variously from soccer, baseball, ten-nis, mountain biking, horseback riding and other competitive sports.

Proof came the next day with reports from the New York Spring apparel col-lections where several of the young fashion designers already displayed ex-amples of materials and shapes adapted from pro sports.

What bearing might these develop-ments have on home products? Well, for one thing, they already have with more

Textiles a Bright Spot at M&O

SEE EXPANSION PAGE 14

Inside This IssueTarget Marketing Chief Hired as New JCP President ............................page 2

Faribault Blanket Mill Back On Line.....page 2

JCP: The One to Watch ..........................page 4

S’more .....................................................page 4

High Point Introductions ...................... page 11

Most Key Retailers Post Reasonable Comp Gains ...................... page 24

North American chief Lynn Shannahan, left, with ceo Mika Ihamuotila, center, and creative director Minna Kemell-Kutvohen.

SEE M&O PAGE 15

Monday, October 10, 2011

BY JENNIFER WHITE KARP

NEW YORK — Shoppers who hit Walmart and Target searching for solid-colored sheets may think they’re seeing double.

Jersey-knit t-shirt-style sheets? Check. A wall of open stock sheets in a rainbow of colors? Dou-ble check. High-end 600-thread count damask-stripe sheets. Check again.

Target and Walmart appear to have made similar buying decisions for solid-col-ored sheet programs. HTT focused on a comparison of this segment of the bedding category at the retailers’ brick-and-mortar stores as part of a continuing series called “Face to Face,” which compares merchandise at competing retailers.

A visit to Target and Walmart stores in Valley Stream, Long Island revealed many similarities in assortment, construction and merchandising. However, there were some signifi cant differences.

Target offers a broader assortment with at least 11 solid-color sheet collections, compared to Walmart’s approximately eight collections. And Target hits a few high-er-end notes, offering, for example, an organic cotton line under the Target Home brand, a wider range of licensed lines and steeper pricepoints. Nearly all sheet col-lections at Target were 100% cotton, while half of Walmart’s consisted of cotton and polyester blends. Neither retailer responded to questions as of deadline.

Seeing Double

SEE SHEETS PAGE 6

Sheet selection at Walmart, Target Hits Similar Notes

Target’s Room Essentials

sheets filled a vast back wall

display.

The Mainstays collection at Walmart is available open stock.


OCTOBER 22-27, 2011

THESURYA

EXPERIENCE

January 10, 2011


OCTOBER 22-27, 2011

STYLETRENDS

Surya Sets The Pace

www.surya.com

Visit us at www.facebook.com/SuryaSocialTo become a SURYA dealer please call 1.877.275.7847 or email us at [email protected]

Marmekko Steps Up U.S. Profile

TEXTILES INDUSTRY | hometextilestoday.com | Vol. 32, No. 18 | $8.00

BY JENNIFER MARKS

NEW YORK — Marimekko’s first flag-ship store in the United States offi cially opened last week in the Flatiron district, the latest move in a steady brand expan-sion that began last year with the open-ing of the fi rst store-in-store in a Crate & Barrel.

“We see the values of the American consumer are changing,” president and ceo Mika Ihamuotila told HTT during a store preview party last week. “Amer-ican want to get out of the dark, heavy, mahogany. Americans are appreciating brands that have value.”

The store, located at Fifth Ave-nue and Broadway, features an expan-sive assortment of Marimekko fabrics, with an onsite sewer on hand to whip

BY HERMINE MARIAUX

PARIS — While last month’s presenta-tions at Maison & Objet seemed a bit more subdued — perhaps in reaction to the European fi nancial malaise — there was still plenty to love, discover and take home in the currency of inspiration.

By far the most compelling and im-mediately applicable trend was seen in the concept presentation entitled “The Infl uence of Pro Sports on Design” by Francois Bertrand, one of several the M&O organization sponsors each sea-son to spark visitors’ imagination.

His premise was that “our age is one of High Performance – required at every level,” not just in sports. On the human level “to look our best, stay young, fi t and healthy to be ready for and capable of high performance.

His proposition: that such require-ments will infect consumer goods in-cluding furnishings with an athletic feel, quality and functionality import-

ed variously from soccer, baseball, ten-nis, mountain biking, horseback riding and other competitive sports.

Proof came the next day with reports from the New York Spring apparel col-lections where several of the young fashion designers already displayed ex-amples of materials and shapes adapted from pro sports.

What bearing might these develop-ments have on home products? Well, for one thing, they already have with more

Textiles a Bright Spot at M&O

SEE EXPANSION PAGE 14

Inside This IssueTarget Marketing Chief Hired as New JCP President ............................page 2

Faribault Blanket Mill Back On Line.....page 2

JCP: The One to Watch ..........................page 4

S’more .....................................................page 4

High Point Introductions ...................... page 11

Most Key Retailers Post Reasonable Comp Gains ...................... page 24

North American chief Lynn Shannahan, left, with ceo Mika Ihamuotila, center, and creative director Minna Kemell-Kutvohen.

SEE M&O PAGE 15

HTT_Cvr for Wrap_final.indd 1 10/7/2011 2:45:03 PM

2 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.com

NRF Predicts a Moderate Holiday Sales Increase

The National Retail Federation is projecting a 2.8% year-over-year gain in holiday sales this year. Last

year, holiday sales rose 5.2% - exceeding most expec-tations.

“The 2011 holiday season can be summed up in one word: average,” NRF said in its press release.

Association president and ceo Matthew Shaw said the season will be characterized by heavy promotions and lean inventory.

“While businesses remain concerned over the via-bility of the economic recovery, there is no doubt that the retail industry is in a better position this year to handle consumer uncertainty than it was in 2008 and 2009,” he said.

Agent Provacateur Adds Bedding

Luxury lingerie retailer Agent Provacateur has expanded its ecommerce site into home textiles.Several of the items shown on the website are

listed as “coming soon,” and sizing appears to favor king-sized beds. Pricing on open stock sheets run up to $1,100, with duvet cover prices topping out at $1,660.

HSN First on Air With QR

HSN has become the fi rst television retailer to incorporate QR code technology into its on air

sales efforts.The Quick Response codes launched Oct. 7 as part

of the retailer’s Innovation Weekend special event and were applied to hundreds of products. Consum-ers were invited to use their mobile devices to scan the codes from the television screen to learn more about the products.

They could also purchase directly from their mobiles after scanning.

Frette, Rheinstein Raise Funds in Beverly Hills

Luxury design house Frette teamed with Los Ange-les interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein to support

Children’s Institute Inc., a social services organization that works with children traumatized by violence. The fundraiser took place at Frette’s recently opened store on North Rodeo Drive.

Décor a Big Component of Halloween Celebrations

Nearly half of the 161 million consumers plan-ning to celebrate Halloween this year will deco-

rate their home and/or yard this year, according to the National Retail Federaton’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions survey.

Seven in 10 Americans (68.6%) plan to celebrate Halloween, up from 63.8% last year — the most in the 10-year history of the survey, which is conducted by BigResearch.

The average consumer will spend $72.31 on Hallow-een goods this year, up from $66.28 last year. NRF proj-ects Halloween spending to reach $6.86 billion this year.

RetailBriefs

October 10, 2011

Target Marketing Chief Hired as New JCP President

PLANO, TEXAS — Michael Fran-cis, previously Target’s chief marketing offi cer, has become JCPenney’s new president.

He will report directly to incoming ceo Ron Johnson, who developed and helmed Apple’s retail division.

Francis has spent most of his 25-year retail career at Target. At Penney, he will oversee mer-chandising, marketing, plan-ning, allocation, product devel-opment and sourcing. Johnson said Francis’s “ability to inno-vate and deep understanding of the industry will be invalu-

able as we set out to transform jcpenney into America’s favor-ite store.”

Said Francis: “I began my career working on the sales fl oor of the State Street Marshall Field’s in Chicago. It was there where my passion for retail began and my understanding of the power and potential of the department store was formed. I am delighted to join jcpen-ney and work with Ron and the talented jcpenney team to help accelerate the momentum already taking place.”

He joined Field’s in 1986

as an executive trainee, then joined Dayton-Hudson Corpo-ration in 1990, when it acquired Marshall Field’s, holding a vari-ety of senior marketing posi-tions in the department store division.

He was promoted to exec-utive vice president of Tar-get Corporation in 2001 and chief marketing off icer in August 2008. In January 2011, he became the executive com-mittee sponsor for Target Can-ada, a role in which he oversaw Target’s expansion beyond the United States. HTT

FARIBAULT, MINN. — Faribault Woolen Mill Co. has reopened under new ownership and just shipped its fi rst order of woolen blankets, with its inaugural ship-ment of Ingeo blankets expected within weeks.

“We saw a unique opportunity as well as a chance to bring back a legendary brand,” said Chuck Mooty, president and ceo, who purchased the business earlier this year along with his cousin Paul Mooty. “Thankfully, the brand has a wonderful image of quality and durability. We believe we can sustain that.”

Faribault, established in 1865, closed in 2009. Mooty spent the past 21 years at Inter-national Dairy Queen, most

recently as chairman, ceo and president.

The plant reopened with a workforce of 35 – most of them former employees. The staff should ramp up to 50 by year-end, said Mooty.

Faribault is targeting the retail, hospitality and medi-cal segments, the latter with its Ingeo fi ber products made from corn. The plant’s initial order shipped to the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan. “We will be in that premium quality player category,” said Mooty.

The company is also selling directly to consumers through its website, faribaultmill.com. Avail-able product comprises a limited run of Faribault’s double-woven,

fi ne merino Rivival Stripe Voya-geur Blanket at $279 for a queen and its Pure & Simple washable wool solid color blanket at $150 for a queen.

The mill has been the sell-in period for fall/winter 2011/2012 and so is concentrating on build-ing the business for next year’s blanket season, said Mooty. Faribault will attend the Interna-tional Hotel/Motel + Restaurant Show in New York next month to get the lay of the land, and will consider exhibiting in trade shows in 2012, he said.

Faribault will also work on brand building by opening a store in the Mall of American in Minneapolis in November. HTT

Faribault Blanket Mill Back On Line

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Surtex, the trade show for surface design-ers, will hold its 2012 exhibition May 20 to 22 at the Javits Conven-tion Center in New York City.

The show also announced the theme for its 26th annual designext student design contest, which is open to college students around the world. This year, stu-dents are to create a collection of original surface designs to be

used in an outdoor setting in the year 2012. The work of four win-ners will be featured at the show, where the grand prize winner will be announced.

Next year’s Surtex expects to draw roughly 350 exhibitors more than 6,000 attendees, according to Penny Sikalis, GLM vp and Sur-tex manager.

“We expect a broader and deeper range of attendees this

year – there’s virtually no limit on the variety of products that make use of surface designs,” Sikalis said.

Deadline for designext entries is Jan. 25. For details and an on-line entry form, visit www.SUR-TEX.com. For more informa-tion the show, contact Sikalis at 914-421-3297, [email protected], or visit www.SUR-TEX.com. HTT

Surtex Sets 2012 Dates, Opens Student Competition

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4 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

... the ultimate luxury

www.hollander.com

OPINIONTodaY

SO, A NOT H ER M A R K E T week is over and the home textiles industry is feel-ing pretty good about things, dare we say even a bit smug. Sure, business is

still tough and margins remain as squeezed as an overused, near-dead tube of Crest.

But the cotton crisis seems to have subsided, or at least it’s stepped down from Defcom 5 lev-els and most companies have fi gured out how to bob and weave when it comes to bobbing and

weaving.Likewise, market atten-

dance was acceptable, at least according to most ex-hibitors. Unlike some mar-ket weeks when one or two retailers decide to proclaim their eminent sovereignty and not bother to show up, there were no big stores con-spicuous by their absence.

And business, though still not terrifi c, remains ba-

sically OK. Whatever is happening to the rest of the American economy, retail sales continue to hold up, and for some reason, we’re a nation still out there buying consumer products. Maybe not as much as some would like, but probably more than most expected given what’s going on in the world. Put it all together and the home textiles industry believes it had a successful mar-ket week.

Think again, sheet-and-towel boys. Those empty elevators, sparsely occupied showrooms and lightly attended events could very well be a sign of things to come for this market.

The New York market week has evolved into a highly concentrated appointment-driven show for the big boys. Walk-in traffi c and smaller ac-counts are not only frowned upon, they are often

ignored. Vendors will tell you that if they’ve seen their top eight accounts they consider it a good market. All others need not show up.

Make no mistake about it: The American home textiles industry is very much a business of big stores. Those top eight or ten accounts do more than half of the business. But there has to be more.

The New York textiles market needs more customers, and it has to make some sort of an effort to attract those stores to come in for the show. Having decided its future is not in Atlan-ta or Las Vegas or anywhere but New York, it needs to fi nd a way to expand its horizons. With-out a strong central organizing entity like a mar-ket center or a trade association, that’s easier said than done. But its very future depends on it.

Maybe it’s a coordinated marketing effort to attract stores from the edges of the home indus-try to come to New York. Are the drug chains, the super markets, the DIY stores, the lifestyle furnishings stores and the larger independents really solicited as they should be? What about the international retailer? Shouldn’t New York be trying to get stores from South America, the Middle East, Europe and even Asia to attend, as High Point, Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas have all successfully done?

And is it time to revisit coordinating the New York showroom show with the Javits temporary textiles show that is now part of the New York Gift Fair? That divorce always seemed to be much more about bad bravado than good business.

Anyone who’s ever had a campfi re in their history knows about s’mores, the chocolaty, gooey dessert that gets its name from those al-ways wanting some more…or s’mores. This is hardly the time for the New York market to sit back and get complacent. It should be time to ask for s’more. That would be sweet. HTT

S’more

JCPE N N E Y DE L I V E R E D A NO T H E R not-so-hot monthly comp sales performance last week, one suffi ciently discourag-ing that it announced it is now projecting a loss for the third quarter.

But last week the retailer also announced another hiring coup: Target marketing ace Micahael Francis will join the company as president. This follows the July news that former Apple retail vp Ron Johnson will offi cially take the helm as the company’s new

ceo on Nov. 1.The one-two punch recalls the frisson a de-

cade ago that surrounded the hiring of legend-ary retail impresario Allen Questrom as chair-man and ceo alongside the arrival of Walmart merchandising whiz Vanessa Castagna, who ul-timately became chairman, president and ceo of stores, catalog and Internet operations.

The question: Can lightening strike twice?JCPenney concluded the last fi scal year with

a tepid 1.2% sales increase after three consecu-tive years of annual sales declines. But its worth remembering that what Questrom and Castag-

na inherited was a truly moribund retail entity, a veritable beached whale saddled with musty backend systems, an antiquated network of catalog distribution centers and a dearth of anything akin to mer-chandising panache.

What Johnson and Francis have on their hands is a retail opera-tion in the doldrums rather than in distress. Still, it’s going to be fun to see what they do with this project.

You see the words “Apple” and “Target” and you can’t help but think: “sexy,” “cool,” “hip.”

Can JCPenney become sexy? Should it become sexy? How are they going to handle the two biggest brand exclusives to

come in-house: Liz Claiborne and American Living?To what extent – if any – will they alter the “we are the world”

structure for in-house product development and sourcing?Will home regain its former primacy in the JCP constellation? There’s a lot of interesting stuff coming down the pike at retail

in 2012. But for my money, JCPenney is going to be the most fas-cinating to watch. HTT

JenniferMarks

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

JCP: The One to Watch

October 10, 2011

Warren Shoulberg

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

htt111002_004.indd 4 10/7/2011 1:47:33 PM

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Untitled-3 1 8/4/2011 11:23:13 AM

6 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.comOctober 10, 2011

BRAND CONSTRUCTION PRICE FOR QUEEN SET COLORS MERCHANDISING

RE Style (private label) 100% cotton jersey* $24.99 white, gray, navy drawstring sheet bagTarget@Home holiday theme 100% cotton flannel* $29.99 white, gray, red, blue plastic enclosuresRE Style (private label) 60% cotton, 40% poly 225 TC $29.99 11 colors, brights + neutrals drawstring sheet bagRE Style (private label) 100% cotton, 250 TC $37.99 (open stock) 11 colors, brights + neutrals drawstring sheet bag Target Home 100% cotton, 325 TC $39.59 approx 10 colors sheet envelopeTarget Home 100% organic cotton, 325 TC $43.99 brown, white sheet envelopeSpringmaid (licensed) 100% cotton, 300 TC $49.99 orange, green, blue, yellow, white open boxSimply Shabby Chic (licensed) 100% cotton, 250 TC $49.99 pastel pink + blue, ivory sheet envelopes + plasticFieldcrest Luxury (licensed) 100% cotton, 400 TC $49.99 ** white sheet envelopeFieldcrest Luxury 100% cotton, 450 TC $59.99 blue, green, brown, ivory, white sheet envelope Fieldcrest Luxury 100% cotton, 600 TC $79.99 purple, brown, white, gray, teal sheet envelope

* Thread count not available

**Online price. Price could not be determined on store shelf.

Target: How the sheets stack up

Face to Face SHEETS FROM PAGE 1

Most of the sheets at Walmart carried the retailer’s own private labels: Mainstays, Your Zone, Canopy and Select Edition. The one licensed brand is Better Homes & Gardens, priced in the middle of Walmart’s assort-ment and made from a cotton and polyester brand. The vibrant solid sheet palette, with colors like pink, purple, turquoise and crimson, coordinates with sheets printed with paisleys and stripes. The sheets come wrapped with a band printed with magazine-like tips for “how to make a beautiful bed.”

At Target, there were more licensed lines, includ-ing Simply Shabby Chic, Springmaid and Fieldcrest Luxury. Several collections from these licensees were on clearance in the store. For example the Springmaid sheets were 50% off at the time of HTT’s visit.

Both retailers appeared to be on the same page when it comes to merchandising — most sheet collections were sold in packaging that appeared to be made of the same sheeting material as the contents — in the form of a casual drawstring bag for the jersey sheets or a more refi ned envelope-like enclosure for many of the other collections.

Both retailers set up displays with dizzying variety. At Target in Valley Stream, the back wall of the bedding department, about 45 feet, was devoted to sheets orga-nized by thread count, with a wide range of about 11 colors, both brights and neutrals, mostly from the Room Essentials line, a private label, including the 250 thread count sheets, which is Target’s only blended construc-tion and which was the only collection that appeared to come in both sets and open stock.

Walmart’s display was smaller, an aisle about 10 feet long. It also featured sheets sold open stock from its Mainstays line in about 13 colors, jewel tones and neutrals.

In terms of price points, both retailers start in the same place, each offering a t-shirt-style collection in

the same price range: $23.96 at Walmart and $24.99 at Target, regardless of size. Target reached higher with a 600 thread-count Fieldcrest Luxury line for $79.99 for a queen set, while Walmart’s highest price for a queen sheet set was $60.88 for the Select Edition line of 600 thread count sheets.

BRAND CONSTRUCTION PRICE FOR QUEEN SET COLORS MERCHANDISING

Mainstays (private label) 80% cotton 20% poly t-shirt style, 200 TC $23.96 beige, gray, black, white, red drawstring sheet bag Your Zone (private label) 60% cotton, 40% poly, 200 TC $30.88 lime, turquoise, hot pink sheet envelopeMainstays (private label) 60% cotton, 40% poly, 200 TC $34.44 (sold open stock) 13 colors – jewel tones + neutrals sheet envelopeBetter Homes & Gardens (license) 60% cotton, 40% poly, 250 TC $36.94 nine colors – fall + tropical palettes sheet envelopeCanopy (private label) 100% cotton, 300 TC $44.88 10 colors, mostly neutrals plastic enclosure Canopy (private label) 100% cotton, 400 TC $49.88 beige, white, sand, red, light green plastic enclosureCanopy (private label) 100% cotton, 500 TC $59.88 brown, green, teal, white, ivory sheet envelopeSelect Edition (private label) 100% cotton, 600 TC $60.88 pastel pink + blue, white, ivory plastic enclosure

Walmart: How the sheets stack up

SEE FACE TO FACE PAGE 8Walmart’s jersey sheets are also packaged in drawstring bags.

Some Canopy sheets at Walmart are packaged in plastic.

Springmaid sheets were packaged in an open top box.

Jersey sheets from Target came in drawstring bags.

htt111002_006_008 6 10/7/2011 2:03:20 PM


For mid-priced sheets, Tar-get had slightly more selection, with two collections priced in the $30-plus range and four col-lections priced in the $40-plus range. Walmart had three col-lections in the $30-plus range and two in the $40-plus range.

Cotton prices have been rising for the past year and a

half but still neither retailer stocked non-cotton sheets on its stores shelves. Both retail-ers offered budget consumers cotton and polyester blends. Walmart had four such col-lections, while Target showed one. Accordingly, the blends are priced at the lower-end of the scale.

For all-cotton sheets, Tar-get had an organic line in a 325 thread count construc-

tion, and its Fieldcrest Luxury lines featured Egyptian cotton. At Walmart, the Select Edition private label and some of the sheets from the Canopy private label lines used Egyptian cot-ton.

In soft - jersey knit l ines, Walmart offered a blend of 80% cotton and 20% polyester while at Target the construction was 100% cotton.

Other similarities in style showed up. Walmart’s Canopy label included tone on tone Damask striped sheets. Accord-ing to stocking instructions left taped to store shelves, new col-ors for the style in a 400 thread count are beige, white, sand, red and light green. Target also had this rich-looking sheet style from its Fieldcrest Luxury line. Both stores offered the Damask style in a selection of higher thread counts.

Thread counts are of course the old way to compare the quality of sheets. Today they are just one item on a list of attri-butes. Another way to compare sheet collections is look at how deep a mattress they will fi t, the “princess test” let’s call it.

Target’s sheets fit plusher mattresses. The lowest-priced sheets from Target, the Room Essential cotton jersey line fi t mattresses 15-inch deep. The 400-thread count sheets from Fieldcrest Luxury fi t mattresses that are 18-inch deep and the 600 thread count sheets from Fieldcrest Luxury fi t mattresses that are 20 inches deep.

Walmart’s Mainstays’ lowest-priced line fi ts mattresses that are 14-inch deep while its high-end Select Edition sheets, fit mattresses 18-inch deep. HTT

Face to Face SHEETS FROM PAGE 6

Better Homes & Gardens is Walmart’s sole licensed brand.

Simply Shabby Chic is one of Target’s licensed brands.

htt111002_006_008.indd 8 10/6/2011 5:37:20 PM


PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — Safavieh and David Easton, its designer license partner, archi-tect and interior decorator, will jointly present their new Indian Sojourn collection of upscale area rugs during the upcoming High Point Market.

Indian Sojourn comprises eight colorful ikat designs that have been hand-knotted in India of 100% wool for Safavieh Cou-ture. The company said it devel-oped a special Soumak weave to capture the handmade character of ikat textiles that Easton had collected during his travels.

The collection’s launch kicks off with a themed party featuring Indian-style refreshments and a signing event for Easton’s book “Timeless Elegance,” at 3 p.m. Oct. 23 at Safavieh’s Market Square showroom in suite 120.

The names of the rug patterns

– including Bengal Diamond, Jaipur Zig Zag, Goya Stripe and Hyderabad Garden -- refl ect the Indian heritage of the design.

A 6-b-9 is set to retail for $999.

The Indian Sojourn collec-tion follows Easton’s African–inspired Peshawar rug series

introduced in 2010, and the 2009 debut collection of designs “tracing the cultural diffusion of

weaving crafts as far back as the Silk Road travels of Marco Polo,” Safavieh said. HTT

BY ALEX LEMONDE-GRAY

HIGH POINT, N.C. — Jaipur Rugs will be showing in its more than 5,000-square-foot, expanded showroom on the third floor of Showplace, Space 3415, at the October market here.

“Jaipur Rugs Inc. has been a stellar tenant at Showplace for many markets,” said Tammy Idol, director of leasing for Showplace. “With the perpetually changing economy, it is really a story to be told for an exhibitor to nearly double their showroom size.”

Asha Chaudhary, president

of Jaipur Rugs, and her corpo-rate team will cut the ribbon on the company’s nearly doubled-in-size space at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22.

“We’re excited to be broaden-ing our High Point presence with this new expansion to our exist-ing Showplace location,” Chaud-hary said. “With almost twice the amount of square footage, we will be able to bring a much broader spectrum of new product intro-ductions to our customers and present a more complete life-style package of the Jaipur pro-gram.” HTT

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

CULVER CITY, CALIF. — Contem-porary rug supplier The Rug Market America is set to launch its latest batch of collections for youth and family decor during the upcoming High Point Mar-ket this fall.

The company said “artis-tic images and whimsical ele-ments” are the focus of this sea-son’s offering.

“Once again, our design team has created a wide range of

styles, from soft and whimsical to bold and artsy, in response to retailer and consumer requests,” said Mike Shabtai, owner.

Each new entry into The Rug Market Kids lineup is con-structed of 100% cotton in hook or tufted designs for optimum comfort and soft hand.

The 1853 pattern maps out a destination to tropical isles in blue and white with a con-trasting sailing vessel skimming across the rug. Color bursts forth from Burst in an active con-

temporary design. Three color options are available in the cot-ton hook rug, including violet, pink and a yellow-gray combi-nation. And vintage book illus-trations served as the inspiration for Old McDonald, which fea-tures a storybook motif to help create a welcoming playroom spot.

The Rug Market America will be exhibiting at High Point Market in the Suites at Market Square, showroom M-1000A. HTT

Rug Market America Focuses on Youth, Family-Style Designs

for High Point

Safavieh, Easton to Launch Indian Sojourn ikat Collection at High Point

Jaipur to Show in Nearly Doubled High Point Space

Safavieh and David Easton are presenting their Indian Sojourn collection at High Point, including Jaipur Zig Zag.

ATLANTAAmericasmart 3-F-3

HIGH POINTShowplace 3515

LAS VEGASWMC B520

NEW YORK7W 733

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11 Home Textiles TodayHigh Point> hometextilestoday.com

1. Woolrich by JLA is being expanded with nature-inspired looks, including this one titled Allegheny Forest. The bedding ensemble evokes bright sky blue complemented with cloud white and khaki accents in an all-cotton construction.

2. C&F Enterprises takes the riches from the sea to create its new Gold Coast Shells beach-inspired bedding in warm tans, golden cream and dark coffee shades.

3. Textillery Weavers gives its new Indiana Citrus luxury throw a juicy color and texture with a bamboo-and-cotton, hand-woven construction made in the USA

4. Corona Décor Co.’s new Dragonfly decorative pillow is a 19-inch square style with tapestry panels woven in France. Each piece is embellished with a hand-tied fringe and velvet backing, and filled with a removable poly-fill insert.

5. Michaelian Home is showing the Mallard with Cattails decorative pillow handmade of needlepoint and backed in cotton velvet with a zipper. The insert can be either poly or down.

6. Company C’s In Bloom quilt collection features a canvas of painterly blossoms spread across a cotton reversible quilt as an ode to summer. Cross-coordinating items include shams.

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1. Foreign Accents is bringing out colorful streamers for its new Festive collection, a hand-tufted rug made of the company’s Favriel modified acrylic fiber – a shed- and spill-proof product.

2. Kaleen Rugs takes to the stars with the Astronomy collection of space-inspired designs hand-tufted in India of 100% wool.

3. Surya has partnered with pottery maven Jill Rosenwald to create the new India-made Zuna collection of 100% New Zealand wool. The hand-tufted rugs have details such as hard-twist texture and hand-carving to highlight the style and simplicity of the designs.

4. Feizy Rugs’ Saphir Callo, among its latest additions to the company’s Home Collection, consists of power-loomed, high-low designs woven in a palette of grays and black, accented by shades of blue and ecru to complement transitional and contemporary themes.

5. The Rug Market’s new ArtRose offers a vibrant canvas of a bold and artistically rendered florals.

6. Karastan is introducing the Prewett Ranch Fog rug, part of the Knightsen collection. It reinterprets classic botanical design themes into fresh color schemes. The rugs are woven on Wilton looms in the U.S.A. of premium two-ply nylon yarn.

7. Safavieh and interior designer/architect David Easton have created a new collection of upscale area rugs called Indian Sojourn. A bevy of colorful ikat designs that have

been hand-knotted in India for Safavieh Couture are available in eight patterns.

8. Jaipur Rugs tells a story that reinterprets classic designs into transitional looks in contemporary palettes with its Narratives collection of hand-tufted 100% wool rugs from India.

9. Traditions by Pamela Kline is introducing Ferguson toile Highlands bedding design, inspired by an old tradition of long weekends in the countryside.

10. Abigails is presenting a colorful and hand-crafted India-inspired Bengal textiles collection, including: the Vintage Suzani traditional embroidery throw, seen here as a wall hanging; Vintage Fabric Kantha throws, made of recycled vintage sari r; and Vintage Fabric Kantha pillow covers, which use the same antique fabrics and measure18-by-18.

11. Azra Imports is touting green manufacturing with its hand-knotted area rug offerings created from recycled materials and employing organic dyes. Dubbed the Patchwork collection, the designs stem from vintage pieces of 80-year-old rugs.

12. Tapestries Ltd. uses Old World paper-and-ink colors to reinterpret the original 1570-made map by Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius onto cotton cloth.

13. Libeco Home’s Manon is a printed pattern collection made of 100% Belgian linen. The duvet cover, shams and cases are available in the rose pattern, while sheeting, shams and cases come in the solid celadon color.

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14 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comNewsOctober 10, 2011

them into table cloths, window treat-ments or other constructions consum-ers may order.

The store also offers bedding (adult and juvenile), bath, tabletop, women’s and kids’ apparel, and accessories such as tote bags and umbrellas.

The company launched its online

store during the summer and already operates Marimekko in-store bou-tiques in six Crate and Barrel stores, with 17 more planned.

“The new store and our other in-vestments in the United States are important to Marimekko, but they can’t be expected to pay off in the very short term. However, I believe that they will bear fruit in the longer term,” said Ihamuotila.

Lynn Shannahan, president of Marimekko North America, said the store site provides “an opportunity to engage the consumers who live here, work here and travel here.”

The fl agship — based on the de-sign concept used in the company’s recently opened Helsinki store – is lo-cated next door to Eataly, the much-heralded food emporium opened last year by chef Mario Batali. HTT

MarimekkoEXPANSION FROM PAGE 1

Juvenile bedding, top, employs the same classic Marimekko designs as adult bedding, above center. The store stocks numerous rolls of print fabrics, above right, for in-store conversion into tablecloths, curtains and other products. Left, color sheet patterns.

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15 Home Textiles TodayNewsNews> hometextilestoday.com October 10, 2011

inevitably to come. The many new, and often

man-made fabrications shown on the runways including lac-quered latex, light-as-air nylon, high performance blends and bonded materials might well usher in a new era for man-made materials.

Noteworthy trends continu-ing into 2012/13 included:

• Color: The brightest spot belonged to home textiles this season. It’s where color came to life in bed and bath products, table linens and all manner of textile accessories.

• Berry and spicy Reds were especially strong, and purples re-mained important.

• Blues continued to move away from long popular tur-quoise, gaining strength and depth from ultramarine.

• The citrus family, once dominated by acid greens, now prefers clear to golden yellows and orange for punch.

• Greens on the other hand are beginning to show a distinct blue cast as in emerald.

• Prints outnumbered sol-ids by a mile. Large scale fl orals were predictable crowd pleasers, bringing romance and drama to the bedroom.

•Digitally manipulated geo-metrics and dots added an edge to contemporary.

•Even “solids” displayed nu-anced printing as in ombre ef-fects.

•Asian influences contin-ued to gain ground as did dra-matic baroque scroll motifs, the latter carrying over from textiles into home accessories, especial-ly mirrors, even home fragrance packaging.

• Embellishments and em-broideries were rarely seen as

seemingly everyone all at once swore off ornamentation. Even “glitz” was diminished.

• Crisp sheeting replaced the more fluid and languid charmeuse and sateens favored for so many years.

• An ocean of linen seen in interior settings reached a satura-tion point as did the neutral color schemes and massive amounts of black virtually universal in almost all room settings. Linen uphol-stery, however, echoed the “dry” hand and look seen in ready-made textiles.

• Worsted wools and fl annels followed in the spirit of men’s wear fabrications but this time eschewed texture for smooth and patternless surfaces. Only dressmaker details – such as contrast piping used to deco-rative effect and inserts of con-trasting fabrics – added a much needed touch of color and visu-al interest. HTT

MaisonM&O FROM PAGE 1

DVF Baroque Scroll with Edward Cardimona, creative director, and Cindy McKenzie, marketing, for Springs Global.

Above: Dots by Christian Fischbacher Below: Mega blossoms by Sonia Rykiel

Above: Graphic by Alexandre TurpaultBelow: Purple floral by Boss

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Fall 2011 Rug Preview

1. Surya Inc. is introducing the Matmi collection of classic Ikat fabric-inspired looks interpreted in bold and contemporary color palettes. The rugs are made of 100% wool and are hand-tufted in India.

2. Orian Rugs is building its Carolina Wild collection of sophisticated woven shag rugs with new colors and styles. Made in a thick 35mm pile height, these rugs are made in the USA of 100% olefin.

3. Capel Rugs is taking the animal skins trend to contemporary heights with this new interpretation dubbed Wildlife Zebra. Made in Belgium, this olefin-and-polypropylene blended rug comes in other skin styles and colors.

4. Rizzy Home is showing its Country collection of hand-tufted loop rugs made of New Zealand wool-blend in India.

5. Company C commissioned artist Jennifer Hansen to paint an abstract scenic oil painting to recreate it on this hooked and tufted wool rug titled Landscape, seen here in the crimson colorway.

6. Peking Handicraft broadens the scope of the holidays with several new hooked novelty accent rugs by artist Scott Church, whose work depicts animals in festive scenes, like these elephants toting a Christmas tree.

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Area rug suppliers are giving retail buyers a reason to attend the various markets this fall. Their latest batch of soft fl oor covering offerings demonstrate varied sources of inspiration but similar efforts to execute design innovatively.

From Ikats to fi ne art paintings to foreign lands to nature’s subtleties, the gallery of new rug styles demonstrates how suppliers are broadening their design scope, looking for beauty in some-times unexpected places to then reinterpret it for the fl oor.

Blue and gray shades are this season’s anchor palettes with the help of more saturated neu-tral like taupes and browns. Brighter pops of color – bright corals, crimsons and chartreuse are still important, except in less overt ways. HTT

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1. Angela Adams’ Sea Fantasy design depicts a vivid underwater scene on a hand-tufted 100% New Zealand wool construction. The piece can be used as a rug or wall tapestry.

2. Momeni is looking to reach a meditative state with a new collection of natural-fiber rugs called Zen. The rugs are hand-tufted of 100% wool with bamboo silk highlights.

3. Safavieh’s latest Martha Stewart-branded offerings include an Oriental field of poppies in bloom. This intricate 100% wool rug, a canvas of cut-pile blossoms on a loop-pile background, is hand-knotted in India.

4. The Creative Touch is showing an assortment of contemporary hand-knotted rugs made of wool, such as Blue Modern, which is part of the company’s Ikat collection.

5. C&F Enterprises is introducing more than 20 new accent rug designs spanning coastal, nautical and lodge as well as harvest and spring styles.

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Fall 2011 Rug Preview

October 10, 2011

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1. Jaipur Rugs’ new Barcelona collection of indoor and outdoor rugs is hand-hooked from 100% polypropylene. Designs, like Figuera here, and draws inspiration from the Catalan region in Spain’s northern Mediterranean coast.

2. Oriental Weavers’ Salerno collection of Persian patterns spans antique palettes through contemporary color stories to offer a range of interpretations on these machine-woven 100% space-dyed nylon rugs manufacturer in the United States.

3. Nourison takes its cues from nature’s organic lines to create the new Contour collection of hand-tufted area rugs in transitional and contemporary patterns in rich palettes. Design details are carved deeply into the dense, cut-and-loop pile for a dramatic texture and bold contrast on these 100% polyester rugs that are made in China.

4. 828 International Trading Co.’s Sienna collection of floral rugs is blooming with several new designs that feature flowers set on two-toned backgrounds for a space-dyed look on a 100% polyester hand-hooked construction.

5. Karastan Rugs takes wisteria vines in shades of plum and camel and lets them meander across a taupe field in this new addition – Forest Hills Taupe – to its Wilton-woven, USA-made Carmel collection of nylon rugs.

6. Kalaty Rugs’ new Echo collection of modern geometric rugs comprises tone-on-tone patterns on a handcrafted and hand-carved 100% wool construction.

7. Dynamic Rugs’ new Dynamak collection employs a construction the company created to offer the look of hand-woven Soumaks but at aggressive retail prices. Handmade in India of 100% wool yarn, the rugs are flat woven with pile thickness and the backing strength of hand-tufted rugs and feature traditional Oriental and transitional designs.

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Fall 2011 Rug PreviewOctober 10, 2011

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PEOPLETodaY

INDIANAPOLIS — Newly launched textiles converter Vision Fabrics has hired Ron Heinz to cover the Midwest region of the United States.

Vision Fabrics, a division of J. Ennis Fabrics, launched this past December and caters to the upholstered furniture, jobbing and retail market segments.

“Ron is a great addition to our team of sales professionals. His experience, innovative approach to the market and proven track record makes him an ideal fi t for the culture of our com-pany” said Tom Carter, Vision Fabrics national market manager. HTT

Heinz Joins Vision Fabrics

October 10, 2011

CONCORD, N.C. — Jeff Veach has joined Heritage House Fabrics as national sales manager.

Veach previously spent 15 years at Brentwood Textiles, the last seven as vice president.

He also serves on the board of the ITMA (International Tex-tile Market Association), which organizes the Showtime fabric fair. HTT

DA L L A S — Loloi Rugs has appointed Shawn Johnson-Burns, a 20-plus year veteran of retail and wholesale man-agement sales in the area rug industry, to the position of sales manager for rep groups.

In her new role, she is responsible for building Loloi’s account base and growing exist-ing business. She is based here at headquarters and reports to company owner Amir Loloi.

“We are thrilled to have Shawn as a member of our team,” said Amir Loloi. “Her practical retail and wholesale sales experi-ence will be assets to us on many levels as we continue to move Loloi to the next level.”

Johnson-Burns was most recently with Arteriors Home. Her career experience includes more than 10 years of retail sales management and 10 years of wholesale sales manage-

ment.“I believe selling and ser-

vice are inherently linked and dependent on one another to maintain prosperous business relationships,” Johnson-Burns said. “I strive to offer the most timely and comprehensive information to the reps, equip-ping them to face the many challenges of the wholesale/retail and design trade selling environment.” HTT

NEW YORK — Trend and design fi rm Stylesight is rounding out its senior executive team with the appointment of Sue Childs to the post of senior vice pres-ident and chief marketing offi -cer.

Most recently, she was exec-

utive vice president of market-ing and business development at Edgar Online, where she oversaw corporate, product and online marketing efforts, in addi-tion to global business develop-ment and partner relationship efforts. Prior to that, Childs

held positions with Simon and Schuster/Viacom, Philip Mor-ris and Condé Nast Publica-tions, and has worked as a con-sultant in the areas of strategy and business development for media, information, and educa-tional organizations. HTT

RON HEINZ

Vision Fabrics Loloi Hires Veteran Johnson-Burns for Sales Manager Post

Stylesight Taps Childs for svp, cmo Post

Veach to Lead Sales at Heritage House

ATLANTA — The AmericasMart here has promoted Kevin Mal-kiewicz to vice president of area rug leasing and sales, with full responsibility for all area rug category management.

Malkiewicz was previously executive director of area rug leasing, trade shows and buyer relations and continues a 12-year tenure dating to his 1999 appointment as area rug buyer relations manager.

In his new post, he will direct the leasing of the 350,000 square-foot AmericasMart area rug center and will help to lead sales of the National Oriental Rug Show, the area rug tem-poraries staged in partnership

with the Oriental Rug Import-ers Association during the Jan-uary Atlanta International Area Rug Market

“Kevin brings to his new role experience and expertise per-fectly matched to the needs of exhibitor and buyer customers and to the industry at large,” said Jeffrey Portman Sr., president and coo of AmericasMart Atlanta and its AMC Inc. parent entity.

“He is a superb steward of our customers’ business and of the resources we continue to invest in an industry of vital importance to our market-place and the greater home fur-nishings community,” Portman added. HTT

AmericasMart Adds Malkiewicz to Head Area Rug Business

DODGEVILLE, WIS. — Lands’ End has promoted Chris Kolbe to brand president from his for-mer post as chief merchandising and design offi cer.

The appointment brings “real strength to our team and

uniquely position us to grow the company in new directions,” said Edgar Huber, ceo and pres-ident of the retailer, which is owned by Sears Holding.

Kolbe will will oversee mer-chandising, design, brand mar-

keting, public relations and cre-ative services.

Based here at the Lands’ End headquarters, Kolbe is a mem-ber of the company’s senior leadership team and reports to Huber. HTT

BENTONVILLE, ARK. — The chief of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Canadian division will now helm a new regional post that gives him oversight of the company’s retailing in Canada, the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa as well business development efforts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada.

David Cheesewright has been appointed evp,

president and ceo of the group.Shelley Broader will succeed Cheesewright

as president and ceo of Walmart Canada, effec-tive immediately. Prior to joining the company last December, she held management positions at Michael’s and Hannaford Bros.

Cheeswright joined Asda, Wal-Mart’s UK busi-ness, in 1999 from Mars Confectionary. HTT

Wal-Mart Creates New International Role

Lands’ End Names Kolbe Brand President

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Untitled-12 1 3/24/2010 2:24:04 PM


JUN JUL AUGSEPT SEPTOCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAYSource: Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Average, a unit of Instinet, a Reuters company.

5.5%2011

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%

September Same-Store SalesJohnson Redbook Index

Same-store sales % change

WINNERSCostco Wholesale Corp. 7.0%Target Corp. 5.3%Ross Stores 5.0%Macy’s Inc. 4.9%Kohl’s Corp. 4.1%TJX Cos. 4.0%

LOSERSThe Bon-Ton Stores (3.6)%Stein Mart Inc. (1.7)%J.C.Penney Co. (0.6)%

WINNERS AND LOSERS

SEPTEMBER SALES FOR KEY RETAILERS

Five weeks ended October 1, 2011 (dollar amounts in millions) a

2011 2010 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES % CHG. % CHG.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. $286.9 $299.2 (4.1) (3.6)Costco Wholesale Corp. b c $8,610.0 $7,510.0 15.0 7.0 Dillard’s Inc. $542.5 $532.3 2.0 3.0 Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. $41.7 $40.1 4.0 3.0 Fred’s Inc. $170.5 $169.5 1.0 1.1 J. C. Penney Company Inc. $1,426.0 $1,480.0 (3.6) (0.6)Kohl’s Corp. $1,631.0 $1,542.0 5.8 4.1 Macy’s Inc. $2,298.0 $2,181.0 5.3 4.9 Ross Stores Inc. $726.0 $666.0 9.0 5.0 Stein Mart Inc. $98.9 $101.5 (2.5) (1.7)Target Corp. $5,923.0 $5,562.0 6.5 5.3 The TJX Companies Inc. $2,200.0 $2,100.0 6.0 4.0

35 WEEKS 2011 2010 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES % CHG. % CHG.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. $1,709.4 $1,756.3 (2.7) (2.1)Costco Wholesale Corp. (d) $87,050.0 $76,250.0 14.0 5.0 Dillard’s Inc. $3,869.6 $3,749.6 3.0 4.0 Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. $311.4 $293.8 6.0 4.6 Fred’s Inc. $1,245.0 $1,225.0 2.0 0.6 J. C. Penney Company Inc. $10,649.0 $10,785.0 (1.3) 1.6 Kohl’s Corp. $11,455.0 $11,093.0 3.3 1.5 Macy’s Inc. $15,840.0 $14,928.0 6.1 5.6 Ross Stores Inc. $5,549.0 $5,121.0 8.0 5.0 Stein Mart Inc. $746.5 $759.3 (1.7) (0.8)Target Corp. $42,690.0 $40,868.0 4.5 3.4 The TJX Companies Inc. $14,600.0 $13,800.0 6.0 3.0

a. Reporting priod vary among key retailers.b. Total sales results in September include sales from the company’s

Mexico joint venture.c. These comp results are for the U.S. division and do not include

Costco’s Mexico operations or the positive impacts of inflation in gasoline prices and strengthening foreign currencies. Including those impacts, comps for the month were up 11.0% in the U.S. division, 14.0% in the international division, and 12.0% for the total company.

d. Because it is on a different fiscal calendar than the other key retail-ers on this list, Costco’s year-to-date sales and comp results reflect the past 52-week period, or full year. Comp results for fiscal 2011 here are for the U.S. division and do not include Costco’s Mexico oprations or the positive impact of inflation in gasoline and strengthening foreign currencies. Including those impacts, comps were up 5.0% in the U.S., 10.0% in the international division, and 6.0% for the total company.

October 10, 2011

Most Key Retailers Post Reasonable Comp Gains

BUSINESSTodaY

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

NEW YORK — The majority of key retailers tracked by HTT slid through September with fair gains in comparable store sales, in the 3.0% to 7.0% range.

Only three — Bon-Ton, Stein Mart and JCP — posted nega-tive comps over the fi ve weeks.

JCP’s modest 0.6% comp de-cline marked an improvement from its 1.9% dip in August.

For Bon-Ton and Stein Mart, September contributed to both retailers’ ongoing monthly comp losing streak. But like JCP, their September results were better than those in August: for Bon-Ton, a 3.6% decline versus a 4.7 drop, and for Stein Mart a 1.7% dip compared to a 7.5% decline.

Another feather in Stein Mart’s September cap: the home textiles category was among the areas that posted positive compa-

rable store sales in the month.Turning to September’s win-

ners, Costco continued to lead the pack with a 7.0% comp.

Target Corp. came in sec-ond with a 5.3% comp increase, “somewhat ahead of expecta-tions,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and ceo.

“We experienced strong sales results throughout the month and across a broad array of mer-chandise categories, demonstrat-ing Target’s ability to deliver on both sides of our ‘Expect More.

Pay Less’ brand promise and generate strong fi nancial perfor-mance even in this soft econom-ic environment,” he added.

Target’s home furnishings and décor comps increased in the low-single digit range, led by mid-single digit increase in domestics. The softest perfor-mance in the department came from decorative home.

Ross Stores beat its closest competitor, TJX Cos., by 1 per-centage point with a 5.0% gain.

Michael Balmuth, Ross’ vice chairman and ceo, said the chain’s same-store sales best-ed expectations “for a 1% to 2% gain as our value-focused offerings continue to resonate with customers.” Home was not among the lead businesses for the fi ve weeks. Rather, juniors, dresses and shoes were the stron-gest merchandise categories.

However, home was a bright

spot for TJX Cos. in September, when the company’s Home-Goods nameplate experienced an 8% comp increase.

“It’s terrific to see Home-Goods’ consistently strong per-formance continue,” said Sherry Lang, svp, global communica-tions.

The home category was also a plus for the company’s Mar-maxx division with a 3% comp gain in the month.

Macy’s Inc. enjoyed 4.9% comp increase with “strong sales trends” at both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s — both in stores and online. E-commerce sales for macys.com and blooming-dales.com combined were up

43.3% in September and 39.4% year to date.

“This underscores that our business remains on track, de-spite the persistently negative macroeconomic news,” noted Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and ceo. “We are feel-ing quite confi dent that we will continue to gain market share as we head toward the holiday sell-ing season.”

At Kohl’s, Jennifer Lopez and her ex, Marc Anthony, were credited with helping along the “significant improvement” — up 4.1% — in comps for Sep-tember.

Chairman, president and ceo Kevin Mansell said that “as ex-

pected, the Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony launches — the largest launches in our history — and the opening of 31 new stores, generated excitement which resulted in improved cus-tomer traffi c.”

For Duckwall-Alco, Septem-ber provided its eighth consecu-tive month of positive year-over-year sales results.

Rich Wilson, president and ceo, said: “The improvement continues to come from sever-al areas of the business, includ-ing commodities, softlines, and housewares divisions, with par-ticularly solid performances in girlswear, ladies bottoms, in-fants, and shoes.” HTT

htt111002_024 24 10/6/2011 4:47:35 PM

HAS THE ANSWER

Untitled-1 1 8/31/2011 12:50:57 PM

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National Sales Manager and Sales Representatives36-yr privately held mfr and importer of home textiles and general merchandise seeks qualifi ed NY based Nat’l Sales Manager, and, nationwide Sales Reps for a developing/expanding new division of company. Division focuses exclusively on

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October 10, 2011

NEW YORK — The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 4.1% in the fi fth and fi nal week of September following a 4.2% gain the previous week.

Month-to-date, September was up 4.4% compared to September of last year, relative to a target of a 4.6% gain. Month-over-month showed a 0.1% drop compared to August, relative to a target of a 0.1% gain.

Catlin Levis of Redbook Research noted, “Sales were somewhat slower for most stores in our model in the fi nal week of September.”

Consumables and other basics generally led business. Several stores said business improved up toward the end of the week as temperatures in parts of the country turned cooler, driving demand for fall apparel, said Levis. HTT

Same-store sales

September Ends with Slower sales

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

WEEK ENDED 9/3 9/10 9/17 9/24 10/01 MONTH TARGET

Department stores* 3.2 3.0 2.7 2.5 2.1 2.7 3.8Discounters 5.9 5.4 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.1Redbook Index 4.9 4.5 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.4 4.6*Including chain stores and traditional department storesSource: Johnson Redbook Index

NEW YORK — September re-sults prompted four retailers to alter their guidance for future quarters.

JCPenney now expects third quarter comps to come in fl at to last year. After charges, the retail-ers is forecasting a loss of 12 to 7 cents per share. Previously, Pen-

ney has expected earnings per share of up to 25 cents.

Kohl’s said lease accounting changes will reduce earnings to 73 cents to 79 cents per share for the third quarter. Fiscal year earnings are now expected to be $4.34 to $4.49 per share versus the previous guidance of $4.45

to $4.60 per diluted share.Macy’s Inc. now believes its

third quarter same-store sales will hit the high end of its earli-er guidance of 4% to 4.5%

Ross Stores raised its projected third quarter earnings per share to $1.16 to $1.18. It previously fore-casted EPS of $1 to $1.04. HTT

Retailers Update Guidance

ISSAQUAH, WASH. — Cost-co Wholesale’s profi t jumped 10.6% during its recently con-cluded fourth quarter — fall-ing just shy of expectations but marking the third straight quar-ter of strong growth.

Net income for the quarter

ended Aug. 28 was $478 mil-lion, or $1.08 per shared, com-pared to net income of $432 million, or 97 cents per share, during the year-ago period.

Sales jumped 17% to $23.6 billion, with U.S. merchandise comps (excluding the impact

of gasoline sales) up 6%.Net income for the fiscal

year climbed 12.3% to $1.46 billion, or $3.30 per share.

Sales rose 14% to $87 bil-lion, with merchandise comps in the United States up 5%. HTT

Costco Earnings up in 4Q

Business


27 Home Textiles TodayNews October 10, 2011

October 22 – 27High Point MarketInternational Home Furnishings Center (IHFC), High Point, N.C.(336) 869-1000www.highpointmarket.org

November12 – 15International Hotel/Motel ShowJacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(914) 421-3200www.ihmrs.com

December4 – 7Showtime Fabric FairMarket Square, Textile Tower, High Point, N.C.(336) 885-6842

January 20129 – 10Dallas Fabric ShowDallas Market Hall, Dallas(214) 655-6100www.dallasmarketcenter.com

11 – 14HeimtextilFrankfurt Fair & Exhibition CenterFrankfurt am Main, Germany (770) 984-8016heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com

11 – 18Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(404) 220-3000www.americasmart.com

12 – 15The Atlanta International Area Rug MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(404) 220-3000www.americasmart.com

14 – 17The Canadian Home Furnish-ings Market (TCHFM)The International CentreMississauga, Ontario(514) 866-3631

14 – 17Domotex HannoverHannover Fairgrounds, Hannover, Germany (609) 987-1202www.domotex.de

15 – 18

National Retail Federation Convention & EXPOJacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(202) 626-8162www.nrf.com

16 – 20imm cologneThe Exhibition CenterCologne, Germany (773) 326-9920 or +49-221-821-0www.imm-cologne.com

18 – 20Texworld USA Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(770) 984-8016www.texworldusa.com

18 – 24Dallas Holiday & Home ExpoDallas Market Center, Dallas(214) 655-6100www.dmcfinds.com

18 – 24 Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas Market Center, Dallas(214) 655-6100www.dallasmarketcenter.com

20 – 23F!NDS Dallas Temp ShowWorld Trade Center, Market Hall, Dallas(214) 655-6100

www.dmcfinds.com

20 – 24Maison & ObjetParc des Expositions, Paris-Nord Villepinte, Paris(888) 522-5001www.maison-objet.com

22 – 25Interiors BirminghamThe National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, UK+44 (0) 20 7921 8408www.interiorsbirmingham.com

24 – 26SurfacesMandalay Bay Convention CenterLas Vegas(866) 860-1975www.surfaces.com

28 – February 2New York International Gift FairJacob K. Javits Convention Center, Passenger Ship Terminal Piers, New York(800) 272-7469www.nyigf.com

29 – February 1IntirioFlanders Expo, Gent, Belgium+32 9-243-84-50www.intirio.be

29 – February 2

CGTA Gift ShowToronto International Centre; To-ronto Congress Centre, Toronto(416) 679-0170www.cgta.org/Assoc/Home.aspx

29 – February 3 New York Home Textiles Market Week At the New York International Gift Fair, Jan. 29 - Feb. 3 At 230 Fifth Avenue, Jan. 30 - Feb. 4 At 7 W New York, Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 (800) 272-7469www.nyhometextilesmarketweek.com

30 – February 3Las Vegas MarketWorld Market Center, Las Vegas(702) 599-9621lasvegasmarket.com

February 20125 – 9Spring FairThe National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, UK(609) 921-0222www.springfair.com

7 – 10 TexworldParis Le Bourget Exhibition Centre, Paris+33-155-268-989www.texworld.messefrankfurt.com

March 20124Home Textiles Today’s New York Winter Market Kickoff Party(646) 805-0226www.hometextilestoday.com

5 – 8New York Home Fashions MarketHome Fashion Products Association(212) 297-2122 (Kellen Co.)www.homefashionproducts.com

8 – 10ExpofilParc des Expositions, Paris-Nord Villepinte, France+33 (0)-472-606-500www.expofil.com

10 – 14AmbienteFrankfurt Fair & Exhibition Center, Frankfurt am Main, Germany(770) 984-8016www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt

11 –14ASD Las VegasLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas (310) 481-7300www.asdamd.com

14 – 16Interstoff Asia Essential—SpringHong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong KongMesse Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. (852) 2238-9917www.interstoff.messefrankfurt.com

22 – 25Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas Market Center, Dallas(800) 325-6587www.dallasmarketcenter.com

27 – 29Domotex asia/CHINAFLOORShanghai New International Con-vention Center, Shanghai, China+86-21-6247-7668www.domotexasiachinafloor.com

April 20126 – 8 LineapelleFair District, Bologna, Italy+39-02-880-7711www.lineapelle-fair.it

21 – 26 High Point MarketInternational Home Furnishings Center (IHFC), High Point, N.C.(336) 869-1000www.highpointmarket.org

26 – 28gulfBIDBahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Manama King-dom of Bahrain+973-1729-3131www.gulfbidexhibition.com

26 – 28Vision10: International Win-dow Coverings EXPOGeorgia World Congress Center, Atlanta (651) 293-1544www.wf-vision.com

May 20128 – 10Proposte Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Como, Italy+39-02-643-4054www.propostefair.it

Calendar


28 Home Textiles Today News

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EVP, GROUP PUBLISHER James N. Dimonekas

October 10, 2011

TROY, N.C. — Capel Rugs has ap-pointed Dave Calderwood to fi ll the regional sales manager post for the company’s Midwest marketing area.

Calderwood comes to Capel from the retail side of the business, hav-ing most recently served as manager of area rug sales for a large Ohio fur-niture retailer. Earlier, he was a sales and product developer for a large im-porter of hand-knotted and tufted

rugs.Capel noted that Calderwood has

been recognized as “one of the area rug industry’s best sales trainers. His knowledge of retail and wholesale markets will help him advance Ca-pel’s national dealer business.”

Added Allen Robertson, vp, sales: “Dave’s skills as sales person, com-bined with his experience as a sales trainer, make him a unique and valu-

able addition to the Capel team. We are excited to now offer dealers in the Midwest region even greater support as Dave helps them increase their sales.”

Calderwood is based in Akron, Ohio, and is charged with manag-ing Capel’s sales in the six-state re-gion that includes Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. HTT

DALTON, GA. — Shaw Industries Inc. is launching its new Shaw Design-A-Rug Challenge, open to all athletes taking part in the Special Olympics Georgia 2011 State Fall Games Oct. 21 to 23.

The company said this new chal-lenge is “designed to provide a unique Dalton, Georgia-inspired educational experience through enticing creativity and fun” for the 1,500 athletes expect-ed to participate in the games.

Shaw is an event sponsor this year, supporting the Opening Ceremony on Oct. 21 at the Dalton Trade Cen-ter, and awards presentations for all sporting competitions.

From the pool of Design-A-Rug Challenge creative submissions, one design will be chosen to appear on a

5-x-8 Shaw-made area rug. This spe-cially designed rug will be awarded to the winning participant and will also be displayed in the Special Olympics Georgia headquarters for visitors to enjoy for years to come. Athletes can fi nd a form in the Special Olympics Georgia 2011 program or in the Octo-ber Special Olympics Georgia e-news-letter, and will also have a chance to design on-premises during the Open-ing Ceremony event.

Forms must be postmarked by No-vember 11, and the winning design will be announced by November 30. Shaw said it will begin accepting sub-missions now.

“We hope that the Shaw Design-A-Rug Challenge will provide an ex-citing opportunity for the athletes to

participate in a creative challenge as-sociated with the flooring industry, which is such an integral part of the Dalton, Ga. community,” said Vance Bell, ceo, Shaw. “The priority is to ensure that the participants have fun, and that their families feel welcomed by our community. We are eager to see the designs the athletes create for a Shaw area rug.”

This year’s State Fall Games will consist of a variety of sports compe-titions, including softball, bocce, cy-cling, long-distance walking and run-ning, and golf. Shaw associates will volunteer during competitions at se-lect venues throughout Dalton, in-cluding Heritage Point Park, Knob North Golf Club and Downtown Dal-ton Square. HTT

WORTHINGTON, OHIO — Consum-ers appear to still be cautious about their spending heading into the fourth quarter.

That is according to the Septem-ber ForecastIQ survey, a service from Prosper Technologies, which proj-ects same store sales growth/decline through November.

“Just when you think consumers would be gearing up, it seems that they are tightening their purse strings causing overall predictions to be down from last month,” ForecastIQ said.

With consumer confidence at

22.7%, representing the lowest Sep-tember reading in the survey’s 10-year history, “Lack of faith in the economy is likely a factor in this retrenchment,” the survey concluded.

Of the 22 retailers tracked, eight are projected to almost certainly see an increase in same-store sales over last year, while five are likely to ex-perience an increase. On the other hand, comparable sales are likely to decline for six retailers and almost certain for three.

Forecasts for value-oriented and luxury retailers are promising, but the

road ahead for middle market retail-ers looks more challenging, according to the girm. As was the case during Holiday 2010, consumers intend to be budget-focused and sale-oriented.

ForecastIQ predicted BJ’s, Costco, and Ross are among those almost cer-tain to see a comp increase while Dil-lard’s, Fred’s and TJX are likely to ex-perience same-store sales gains.

Bon-Ton and JCPenney are among those likely to see a decline over last year; Gap and Stage are the two on the list who are predicted to almost certainly see a decline. HTT

ForecastIQ: September Consumer Confidence Pre-holiday Hits

Lowest Reading in 10 years

Shaw Kicks off New Design-A-Rug Challenge for Special Olympics Athletes

Capel Names Calderwood Regional Sales Manager


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