Monday, February 13, 2012

THE BUSINESS AND FASHION NEWSPAPER OF THE HOME TEXTILES INDUSTRY | hometextilestoday.com | Vol. 33, No. 5 | $8.00

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Penney by the Numbers

H&M Fast Forwarding Into Home

SEE H&M PAGE14

BY WARREN SHOULBERG

FRANKFURT, GERMANY — If you think H&M shook up the appar-el retailing world, you should see what they are trying to do in home furnishings.

H&M — more fo rmal -ly Hennes & Mauritz AB, the

Swedish-based retailer best known for helping to create the “fast retailing” merchandising style of fast turnarounds of fash-ion at a price — began selling home textiles and accessories online in Europe in 2009 but has now begun to open H&M Home stores as well.

While the company says it will begin selling its products online in the United States this fall, it has not announced any plans to open American stores.

But a visit to an H&M Home store here in the downtown shopping district of this finan-cial center of Germany reveals a merchandising concept total-ly unique and apart from any-thing else being done in the home furnishings arena. Com-bining the display techniques of a wholesale showroom with the fulfi llment process of a cata-

BY JENNIFER MARKS

NEW YORK — JCPenney’s leadership team took to the stage here in late January to lay out a bold vision to transform the 110-year-old department store into a leading edge retail empori-um fi lled with branded specialty shops encirling an interactive “town square” offering as-yet-unrevealed services.

Even more eye-opening were some of the numbers ceo Ron Johnson shared about how the company has been operating in recent years:

The Penney shopper visits the store four times a year.

Inside This IssueGut Check .......................................................................... page 4

The Tracks of My Tiers ..................................................... page 4

Shoppers Turned to Fashion Kitchen, Table Linens in 2011 ............................ page 8

120% Lino Basks in the Warm Climate .......................... page 10The H&M Home store is located inside a regular H&M clothing store on Frankfurt’s main shopping pedestrian mall.

BY ROBBIE SUMBERG AND JOAN LIEBERMAN

PARIS — This year, three clear trends emerged at Maison et Objet from the enormous diver-sity of products offered.

We once again saw a strong

presence of top-name fashion brands, which share their sophis-ticated styling with the world of household linens through li-censing. In terms of style, we saw the vintage look and graph-ic tonality becoming increasing-ly important in the new collec-tions presented. Lastly, we saw the desire for all things natural and eco-friendly becoming ex-pressed more clearly and more tangibly.

Many home textiles exhibi-tors were clearly inspired by the graphic prints and vintage chic of the 1950s. The colors are bold and vital and the patterns geometric — psychedelic, even – to say nothing of the folk spir-it evoked by patchwork.

Exhibitors also showed sen-sitivity to the natural world.

Maison Inspires

SEE MAISON PAGE 12Bedding from Manuel Canovas at Maison et Objet. SEE PENNEY PAGE 22

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2 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comNewsFebruary 13, 2012

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T

SCARSDALE, N.Y. — Longtime entrepreneur and industry ex-ecutive Charlie Schlang died unexpectedly in his sleep in the early morn-ing hours of Feb 9. He was 69.

Most recently, he was ceo of Renaissance America and a partner in Portico Home, which he established in 2007 with long-time business partner and Fayette Home ceo Gregg Haft.

“It’s a huge personal loss,” said Haft. “Charlie and I were more than just partners.”

Earlier, Schlang was pres-ident of Induter USA and its

spin-off Atrivm, which owned the home textiles license and

manufactured home products for the pop-ular men’s clothing designer Joseph Ab-boud. In that asso-ciation he was affili-ated with Davidson Cotton, which sub-licensed the bath li-cense for Abboud.

He is survived by his wife Matti, daughters Lisa Siglag and Julie Seifer, and four grandchildren.

Anyone interested in mak-ing a charitable donation in his name should donate to the American Cancer Society. HTT

RetailBriefs have moved to page 5

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NEW YORK — International Li-censing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) has opened the nominating process for its annual International Licensing Excellence Awards, which rec-ognize outstanding achievement in licensing.

LIMA is accepting nomina-tions in the following categories:• Art• Character/Toy• Corporate Brand• Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment• Licensed Promotion• Retailer of the Year• Sports/Sports-Themed Enter-

tainmentIn addition, the Awards Com-

mittee will select nominees for the License of the Year award, which recognizes the property that has the biggest impact on the licensing community at retail and in the general marketplace.

Submission deadline is Fri-day, March 9, 2012. Winners are chosen by the LIMA member-ship and will announced at the LIMA Opening Night Awards Ceremony on June 12 during Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas.

For more information, visit www.licensing.org. HTT

LIMA International Licensing Excellence Awards Seek

Nominations

ALBANY, N.Y. — Downlite will introduce several utility bedding products featuring PrimaLoft down alternative fi ll during the New York Home Fashions Mar-ket, which takes place March 5-8 in Manhattan.

A premium comforter col-lection features PrimaLoft Thermo, a proprietary formula of ultra fine fibers that mimic the loft, softness and warmth of down. The collection offers a selection of products providing varying warmth levels: white for light weight warmth, light grey for year round warmth, and medium/dark gray for extra warmth. The shell con-sists of 350-count cotton with a new signature pattern called Boutique Stripe as well as satin

piping. Downlite is also intro-ducing a PrimaLoft Thermo blanket.

The Ultra Lite Zero Gravity PrimaLoft comforter is designed to provide warmth without weight and features a German-milled, micro-modal shell.

A new collection of premi-um pillows employ PrimaLoft Support, a proprietary formula of ultra fi ne fi bers. This collec-tion features custom woven gus-sets and a 300-count cotton sa-teen cover.

The PrimaLoft Core Sup-port Pillow uses a supported PrimaLoft Memory inner core surrounded by PrimaLoft Sup-port marrying support and soft-ness. The cover is 300-count cotton sateen. HTT

Downlite to Present a Variety of PrimaLoft products

During Market

HONG KONG — HKTDC Hong Kong International – the only home textiles and furnishings expo in the region – will hold its third annual show April 20-23 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The event will feature ap-proximately 200 exhibitors from 11 countries and regions, includ-ing China, Bangladesh, Belgium, India, Iran and Vietnam.

Product categories will in-

clude bedding, bath and kitchen textiles, infant textiles, fl oor cov-erings, window fabrics, ready-made curtains and upholstery products as well as design and trade services.

The Hall of Glamour will fea-ture an array of trend-right prod-ucts, including bedding, towels, curtains and carpets.

For more information, visit www.hktdc.com/hkhometextiles-fair. HTT

Hong Kong Textiles and Furnishings Fair Set for April

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OPINIONTodaY

TH E R E WA S T H I S tractor trail-er you used to be able to see in a parking lot that the train passed every morning. On the side of

the trailer was the name of the store – long gone even back then – and below it the slo-gan, “America’s Favor-ite Junior Department Store.”

I always wondered what most of the riders on that commuter train used to make of that slogan. A hundred out of a hundred of them most certainly had no idea what in the world a junior department

store actually was. It was one of those cate-gorizations that those in the retailing busi-ness understood, but pretty much nobody else had a clue. Call it business myopia, but it was probably part of the reason that trailer was sitting abandoned in that desolate park-ing lot for all those years.

I’m reminded of that moment by all the recent commotion caused by The Martha Wars. Ms. Stewart’s pending migration to JCPenney and her possible eviction from the hallowed halls of Herald Square and en-virons certainly makes for great theater, and you know lots of lawyers are going to make lots of money on this — including the ones who screwed up in the fi rst place and wrote contracts with seemingly Houdini-like es-cape clauses.

One of the key issues here will be chan-nel of distribution exclusivity and how

much overlap and competition there is between Macy’s and Penney. To which I say: You people are all insane, there are no channels of distribution anymore. The con-sumer shops wherever she wants and she doesn’t make a damn bit of distinction be-tween channels anymore.

Think about it: You can buy Karl Lager-feld at Chanel or H&M. Missoni is at Target and Neiman’s. A shopper can look for Sony electronics everywhere from the local Duane Reade drug store to the most high-end home theater boutique. And I won’t even talk about Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren.

Even the lovely Miss Martha is every-where from Home Depot to Michaels to Macy’s. If you look hard enough you’ll probably still find some inventory in the back room at Kmart.

I get store exclusivity. It’s one of the rea-sons Macy’s has done so well recently as it has developed not just captive and pri-vate label programs, but captive and pri-vate label programs people actually want. If you’re the only place in town to get that brand — and it’s a brand worth getting — it’s a great merchandising card to play these days.

That’s not what we’re talking about here, however. A brand like Martha is all over the place. And the consumer knows that.

But does she understand channel of dis-tribution exclusivity? Absolutely not. Does she care? Even more absolutely not. She’s just as likely to buy something at Amazon as she is at Nordstrom as she is at Dollar Gen-eral. And it’s all good to her.

She may even shop at a junior depart-ment store … whatever that is. HTT

The Tracks of My Tiers

A F T ER JCPE N N E Y E X ECU T I V ES laid out their vision for trans-forming the store and before they held a special session for the fi -nancial community the following day, the company invited analysts to submit questions in advance.

The most asked question: How far will sales volume have to fall before you scrap the streamlined pricing and go back to promotions and coupons?

There was a reason analysts posed the question. They’d seen this movie before.

Ironically, the last major retailer to announce a simpler pricing structure and a pivot away from couponing and heavy promotions was Macy’s, which is now suing Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for forging a deal with JCP.

Macy’s was never able to shake the door-busters, one-day sales, and all the rest. But it must be noted it never went all the way through with the attempt. The prices were streamlined, yes. The promotions were never completely eradicated.

Penney, on the other hand, announced a three-tiered pricing strategy on Jan. 25. And on Feb. 1 it was a reality.

My highly non-scientifi c conversations with female family and friends since suggests Penney has a whole lotta ’splainin’ to do before this new approach sinks in. Granted, the ladies I queried are, variously, Macy’s, Kohl’s or special-ty store shoppers.

They have all seen the commercials. They didn’t get what was going on. And by the way, they all hated the “scream” ad that preceded the new pricing launch.

JCPenney ceo Ron Johnson, the force behind the development of Apple re-tail stores, emphasized during the vision presentation that Apple was not always as sexy, profi table and seemingly invitable as it is today. And he trotted out the fi nancials to prove the case.

He also explained repeatedly that Penney is building for the long term. Which is why, no doubt, it immediately ceased releasing monthly sales fi gures and an-nounced that it will provide earnings guidance on an annual basis only.

So the outside world will have to gauge the impact of these changes one quar-ter at a time. But Penney insiders will know they day-to-day results of the new policy. Can they stay the course?

By the way, Johnson’s answer to the question about at what point JCP will re-nege on the new sales strategy was: “We won’t.” HTT

JenniferMarks

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gut Check

February 13, 2012

Warren Shoulberg

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

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5 Home Textiles Today> hometextilestoday.com February 13, 2012

American Living Line to End at JCP

Ralph Lauren’s president said last week the company and JCPenney have decided to drop the exclusive

American Living line of home, apparel and accessories goods - which, when it launched at JCP in 2008 marked the retailer’s single largest brand introduction in history.

The arrangement’s fi ve-year term is drawing to an end, Roger Farah said during Ralph Lauren’s quarterly conference call. “We’ve left the door open for future dia-logue and relationships.”

In addition, “...with Chaps being the No. 1 brand at Kohl’s, we think we have that channel well covered.”

Walmart to Provide Gen Merch Data to NPD Group

Walmart U.S. stores has signed an agreement with consumer research fi rm NPD Group to provide data

for its general merchandise categories. The move comes seven months after Walmart signed a similar coopera-tion deal with Nielsen for packaged goods.

NPD will analyze sales data from Walmart’s U.S. stores as well as walmart.com. Categories covered in the agree-ment include home, apparel, hardlines, toys and enter-tainment.

Pioneer Linens Turns 100

Venerable luxury linens emporium Pioneer Linens in Palm Beach, Fla., celebrated its 100th anniversary on

Feb. 7. The company was founded by Max Greenburg, an

immigrant who moved to the frontier town of Lake Worth, Fla. To open a store called Pioneer Hardware. The store’s assortment included dynamite to blow up tree stumps as well as wash tubs, door knobs, hammers and nails, chicken wire, guns and fi sh hooks, according to the company history.

Current president and owner Penny Murphy is the third generation member of the founding family to run the business.

Dillard’s Takes Stake in Ecommerce Company

Department store company Dillard’s has invested $4.0 million in Acumen Brands, an ecommerce company

that operates 12 niche online retailer sites, including fulfi llment.

Acumen, based in Fayetteville, Ark., provides branded storefronts for professions and lifestyles including medi-cal uniforms (www.scrubshopper.com), work wear (www.toughweld.com), and western wear (www.countryoutfi t-ter.com). .

To help expand its online business, Dillard’s will open a new internet fulfi llment center this spring in Maumelle, Ark.

Macy’s Home Labels Hit ShopNBC

ShopNBC last week debuted a curated selection of Macy’s house brands in home textiles and house-

wares - marking the fi rst time the labels will be offered on television.

Hotel Collection textiles , Charter Club bedding and bath and housewares carrying The Cellar and Tools of the Trade each received their own show. The products were also available online at (www.shopnbc.com/macys).

RetailBriefs

News

CARLSTADT, N.J. — Global color authority Pan-tone has released its color report for fall 2012 and announced the 10 top colors for women’s and men’s fashions.

“By playing to consumers’ practical side with versatile neutrals, and boosting their confi dence with bold, spirited hues, this skillfully balanced palette has something for everyone,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

The top colors for women’s fashion for fall 2012 are: • PANTONE 19-4056 Olympian Blue• PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango• PANTONE 18-5338 Ultramarine Green• PANTONE 17-4014 Titanium• PANTONE 15-1142 Honey Gold

• PANTONE 18-2133 Pink Flambé• PANTONE 16-3817 Rhapsody• PANTONE 14-1506 Rose Smoke• PANTONE 19-1012 French Roast• PANTONE 14-0445 Bright Chartreuse

The top colors for men’s fashion for fall 2012 are: • PANTONE 19-1012 French Roast• PANTONE 19-4056 Olympian Blue• PANTONE 15-1142 Honey Gold• PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango• PANTONE 18-5338 Ultramarine Green• PANTONE 17-4014 Titanium• PANTONE 19-1652 Rhubarb• PANTONE 14-0445 Bright Chartreuse• PANTONE 16-3304 Sea Fog• PANTONE 12-0304 Whitecap Gray HTT

CALHOUN, GA. — Looking to more closely cater to its increas-ingly diverse and specialized cus-tomer segments, area rug and home accessories house Surya has realigned and expanded its sales staff.

Seth King, vp, sales and mar-keting, told HTT the compa-ny has split its sales team into two groups and brought on new staff for added support in sell-ing Surya’s catalog-based wares – which span 2,000 rugs as well as 400 decorative pillows, throws and wall art pieces.

The first group handles in-

dependent furniture stores and other retail customers, includ-ing assortment gift and home fur-nishings retailers.

Eric Nyman has been pro-moted to national sales man-ager from his former post as se-nior sales coordinator to head the team, which consists of Surya’s existing 30 reps.

The second group – the de-sign services team – handles inte-rior decorators, designers, archi-tects and other similar clients as well as the hospitality sector.

Surya hired 30 new reps across the country to be part of

this team, and appointed Steve Fahey as its national sales man-ager. Fahey comes to Surya from Selamat, where he served as sales manager.

Both Nyman and Fahey re-port to King.

“This new strategy will give us better coverage of and exposure to these accounts, and allow us to offer them better one-on-one service,” King said.

While the accounts collective-ly pull from Surya’s catalog pro-gram, the company is expanding its offerings and developing new lines for specifi c segments. HTT

CALHOUN, GA. — Rizzy Rugs is expanding its retail reach through a new alliance with Furniture First.

The two-year partnership al-lows Rizzy, a supplier of rugs, top of bed, throws, and decora-tive pillows, to tap members of Furniture First, a 17-year-old na-tional buying group serving the

retail home furnishings and mat-tress industry.

With a reported $1.2 billion in sales, Furniture First has 186 company members representing 398 store fronts.

Shauna Snyder, director of accents and accessories at Fur-niture First, described Rizzy Home as “a great source to bring

to our members.”Added Tim Donahue, Rizzy’s

director of business develop-ment: “We feel our product mix, manufacturing capabilities and local distribution will be a ben-efi t for Furniture First members as they look to create programs that will capitalize on our verti-cally integrated facilities.” HTT

Surya Realigns Sales Staff

Rizzy Home, Furniture First Partner to Expand Business Opportunities

Pantone Announces Fall’s Top Fashion Colors

YORK, PA. — The board of di-rectors of regional department store chain The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. has elected Bud Bergren as its chairman, effective Feb. 7 - the day after he retired from his

eight years as president and ceo of the company.

The board has also accepted Tim Grumbacher’s resignation as executive chairman.

Grumbacher remains a di-

rector of the company and was named strategic initiatives offi cer. Additionally, Brendan Hoffman, recently appointed president and ceo effective Feb. 7, was elected a director of the company. HTT

Bon-Ton board Elects Bergren Chairman

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6 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.com

NEW YORK — New York Interna-tional Gift Fair organizer GLM will launch an artisan produc-tion sourcing event for U.S.-based importers, direct import retailers and Called Artisan Resource, the event will run from Aug. 20-22 during the NYIGF. However, buyers will be separately credentialed.

Buyers qualifying to attend Ar t i s an Resource w i l l be required to handle FOB (freight on board) pricing. Buyers will include large and volume retail stores, national retail chains, mail order catalogues, whole-saler companies and manufac-turers, designers and sourcing agents.

The event will include edu-cational programming for buy-ers on importing basics, FOB pricing, customs, warehousing and distribution. For the arti-sans, two days of exhibitor edu-cation prior to the show will include U.S. market-readiness training, including from prod-uct designers, and New York market familiarization, includ-

ing visits to New York retailers.Exhibitors will be selected

for experience in meeting export demands, as well as design innovation, cultural preservation, social enterprise and sustainability. Participat-ing exhibitors will come from countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, South Africa and West Africa. Some 50-75 com-panies are expected to partici-pate in the fi rst show, which will be located in Hall 1E (Baby and Child will move from 1E to 1D, and Handmade Global Design to the newly renovated Galleria for the summer show. In Janu-ary 2013, Artisan Resource will move to the Piers to accommo-date the ongoing Javits Center renovations.)

Artisan Resource will be managed by GLM and orga-nized with the help of ByHand Consulting, which offers prod-uct design, marketing and train-ing help to artisan enterprises looking to reach new export

markets, and helps U.S. buy-ers source artisan products. Its clients include export promo-tion agencies of foreign govern-ments, international economic development institutions, and private enterprises in the U.S. and abroad.

ByHand co-founder Col-vin English formerly served as GLM’s director of craft mar-keting, while co-founder Karen Gibbs previously worked with Aid to Artisans and Hand/Eye Fund as well as serving as an independent consulting to international development organizations.

GLM promoted All i son Rober to sales manager for Artisan Resource. She reports t o Chr i s t i an Fa lkenberg , NYIGF show manager. Rober, an eight-year GLM veteran, has served as sales representa-tive for two GLM events, The Gourmet Housewares Show at NYIGF and NYIGF’s Tabletop & Housewares division, and as show coordinator for NYIGF’s General Gift division. HTT

NEW YORK — Ellery Homestyles is adding 1,000 square feet to its 17,000-square-foot showroom ahead of the New York Home Fashions Home in March to accommodate its expanded product offerings.

Among those is the introduc-tion of the Vue Signature Cur-tain collection, keying off the earlier launch of Vue Signature bedding for the contemporary master bedroom.

“The curtain line contains a rich collection of fabrics, and the styling and infl uences of the collection range from traditional to familiar evoking a designer, luxury look,” according to the company.

Ellery Homestyles is also expanding its Eclipse brand to include home theater curtains marketed under the Absolute Zero brand. The line provides

100% “blackout” in fashion styles.

In addition, Ellery Home-styles will present new designs for the LinenHouse Austra-lia brand that it introduced in 2011 under an exclusive licensing agreement. The lux-ury collection includes bed-ding, throws and accessories inspired by nature, architec-ture and individuality.

“Each ensemble has a unique story behind the artist’s inspira-tion for its design,” said Susan Lazor, director of brand man-agement at Ellery Homestyles.

The manufacturer will also show its SoundAsleep Room Darkening Curtain line, which addresses the health and sleep segment of the market and has been named the Official Cur-tain of The National Sleep Foundation. HTT

CARLSTADT, N.J. — Contempo-rary area rug house Momeni has relocated into a new and larger showroom at the World Market Center in Las Vegas.

Located in suite B-425, the new space measures 7,000 square feet - double the size of the company’s former showroom on site.

The new space “will enable

[us] to show more of [our] grow-ing, one-of-a-kind rug offerings from around the world. This also enables us to show more promotional products as well as our broadloom, area rugs, con-cept program and roll runner displays plus our popular current program collections,” explained Reza Momeni, a principal of Momeni. HTT

DALLAS — Area rug house Feizy Rugs has signed a two-year renewal lease contract with the World Market Center in Las Vegas for its showroom at the Design Center.

The manufacturer of hand-knot ted , hand tu f ted and power loomed rugs has opted to remain at its showroom in Building C in suite C-399, which measures more than 14,300 square feet.

“Las Vegas has been and

continues to be an exciting mar-ket for Feizy Rugs that draws the crème de la crème of buyers,” said John Feizy, president and ceo, Feizy Rugs. “The exhib-itor-focused support from the World Market Center, the edu-cational seminars, and other events geared toward market attendees as well as our grow-ing customer base in the west-ern U.S. have all contributed to our decision to remain at the World Market Center.” HTT

KARACHI, PAKISTAN — Multi-category home textiles manufacturer Gul Ahmed will make its fi rst appear-ance at the New York Home Fashions Market next month.

The company will show at 7 W (7 West 24th St.) in Suite 822.Gul Ahmed has taken 3,600 square feet of space and will display 10 to 12 beds as well as curtains

and table linens. HTT

GLM to Create Artisan Sourcing Show-in-Show

February 13, 2012

Ellery Expanding Showroom, Vue Line

Feizy Renews Lease at Vegas World Market Center

Momeni Doubles Size of Vegas Showroom

KARACHI, PAKISTAN — Now that it has completed its acquisition of management of Nakshbandi Industries Limited and changed the name to Feroze 1888 Mills Ltd., Feroze Textiles Industries and Feroze1888 Mills are now merging the two companies.

T h i s c o m e s u p o n t h e approval of the High Court, which is expected shortly, the company added.

Combined, the new entity is expected to position Feroze1888 as the largest terry mill in Paki-stan.

“The new platform will help ensure compliance with best practices in all areas of opera-

tions and management which will improve entrepreneurship skills bringing prosperity and sustainability to the merged entity,” said Khaleeq Rehman, ceo, Feroze.

Established in 1971 and 1972, respectively, Feroze Textiles and Feroze1888 Mills (formally Nakshbandi Industries) both started as small terry operations and eventually grew to become among the country’s largest. The acquisition of management of Nakshbandi Industries Lim-ited occurred between 2008 and 2009, followed by the compa-ny’s name change to Feroze1888 Mills Limited in 2010.

The now-merger of the com-panies will allow Feroze1888 Mills to streamline production, lower operating overheads, and position itself as the premier towel facility in Pakistan.

“This merger shall bene-fit all the stake holders associ-ated with the company and will provide more focused atten-tion to customer needs. Our quality of talent is proven in the past and after the merger it will be further reinforced that they have the capability to han-dle any challenge and to meet the expectations of all custom-ers,” said Rehan Rahman, ceo, Feroze1888. HTT

Gul Ahmed Plans N.Y. Market

Feroze 1888 Mills, Feroze Textiles Industries Form Single Entity

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Protect_A_Bed.indd 1 2/3/2012 12:08:50 PM

8 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.com

Shoppers Turned to Fashion Kitchen, Table Linens in 2011

February 13, 2012

TABLE LINENS

Distribution channels2011 total retail sales: $1,022 millionup 1.2% from $1,010 million in 2010

Merchandise Mix, 2011

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

NEW YORK — In 2011, shoppers said good night to ivory, white, black, navy, and beige.

After a long, recession-induced period of buying safe and predictable pal-ettes, they spent last year on the lookout for lively colors and pat-terns – for everyday use, not just the seasons.

“When the times are tough, to get excitement into their stores retailers turn to fashion to [stir] impulse purchases. And we def-initely saw increases [last year]

in fashion and prints for kitchen and table,” said Bryan Siegel, chairman and ceo, New York-based Elrene Home Fashions. “[Fashion and prints] defi nitely

crept up a few percentage points, taking away from the solid por-

tion of this business.”It was clear from the start

that some of the eye-catching options for kitchen textiles,

table linens and, increasingly, aprons came at a somewhat higher cost.

But ripe for change, shoppers were not deterred.

“A direction we have been seeing is that people would rather spend a little more money on something that they really love versus a basic,” noted Abe Haddad, president and owner of New York-based Homewear Linens. “They are looking for more fashion, quality and value and are willing to spend a little more for it, but they expect a lit-tle more back.”

He explained that the trend, which emerged last year, still holds for both kitchen and table linen products across the board.

Furthermore, added Anchor Home Products president and owner Frank Petronzio, “people were moiré willing to spend on full coordinate programs.”

By that, he means shoppers bought more matching compo-nents for a more complete decor story in their kitchens and dining rooms – “from window [tiers and curtains] to chair pads to place mats to even decorative pillows. People were looking for full fash-ion coordinates for their homes.”

Aprons were also strong last year — and on an upswing in early 2012.

“We see the aprons category as expanding. The stores are giving it more attention, displaying more products earlier in the season and enlarging their selections,” Had-dad said. “The direction they are going is toward more fashion for-ward, embellished novelty styles and presenting them as gift-able offerings.” HTT

HTT’s new Database series replaces the long-running Facts series of category sales reports. The next Database report will appear on April 2 and will cover the bath category.

TABLE AND KITCHEN LINENS

7.1%% of the Home Textiles Universe

$25.72B2011 Home Textiles

Universe

$25.05B2010 Home Textiles

Universe

Up

2.7%

2011 2010 % CHANGE

Discount department stores $371 $364 2.0%Home textiles specialty chains $221 $217 1.7%Mid-price chains $217 $218 -0.6%Off-price chains $81 $80 1.8%Direct-to-consumer $38 $37 1.2%Department stores $37 $37 -0.2%Variety/closeout $21 $21 1.2%Single unit specialty stores $18 $18 1.2%Warehouse clubs $9 $9 -2.2%Other* $8 $8 1.2%Total $1,022 $1,010 1.2%

*Other includes home improvement centers, military exchanges and gift/home accent stores.Figures have been rounded. 2010 figures have been revised.

KITCHEN LINENS

Distribution channels2011 total retail sales: $808 millionup 2.9% from $785 million in 2010

Merchandise Mix, 2011

2011 2010 % CHANGE

Discount department stores $495 $480 3.3%Mid-price chains $127 $126 1.0%Home textiles specialty chains $88 $86 3.2%Off-price chains $30 $29 3.5%Variety/closeout $24 $23 3.6%Warehouse clubs $16 $16 2.9%Department stores $8 $8 0.9%Direct-to-consumer $7 $7 2.9%Other* $6 $6 2.9%Single unit specialty stores $6 $5 2.9%Total $808 $785 2.9%

*Other includes home improvement centers, military exchanges and gift/home accent stores.Figures have been rounded. 2010 figures have been revised.

Placemats

43.0%

Tablecloths

25.2%

Napkins

21.7%Runners

7.3%

Napkin rings

2.8%

Kitchen towels

52.1%

Potholders/mitts

22.0%

Dishcloths

18.2%Chair pads

6.7%

Aprons

1.0%

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HAT_Americas_Mart_Icon_Award.ind1 1 1/19/2012 9:39:38 AM

10 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

First Monday: Specialty Retailing

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

CORAL GABLES, FLA. — Crisp. Clean. Light.

Lest we forget one more: Luxury.

These are words to live by when living and lounging in Miami — and when shopping for high-end bedding and bath linens from Magic City new-comer 120% Lino.

The 25-year-old upscale Ital-ian purveyor of luxury linen apparel and — more recently, home textiles — has made its first retail move into the U.S. market with a shop located in the posh Villages of Merrick Park shopping venue in the city’s affl uent Coral Gables neighbor-

hood.It makes sense to pick this

sun-drenched, pan-Latin locale as a launching point. Miami’s residents — permanents and pied-à-tere types — as well as the city’s heavily Hispanic tour-ist base have reacted well to 120% Lino’s super-soft, solid white, 100% linen goods, noted Jolanda Marini, vp and the force behind the company’s entry into the United States.

Located on the fi rst fl oor of the center, 120% Lino’s Amer-ican home is steps from the mall’s manicured gardens and in the milieu of Neiman Mar-cus, Tiffany & Co., Façonnable, Carolina Herrera, and Gucci, to name a few.

February 13, 2012

120% Lino Basks in the Warm Climate

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“We love Merrick Park — it’s been our best decision,” Marini told HTT. “It’s a sophisticated environment with an abundance of Latin American clients who love linen. [Our products] are very well appreciated by them.”

Marini said the timing of the store’s opening this past October was also right. “Two years ago it might have been a disaster. But the upscale customer is doing better now, and Merrick Park is specifi cally geared to that high-end Latin customer, whether they live around here or they come to Miami and bring spend-ing money or they have an apart-ment here they need to furnish.”

Miami is not new to Marini. For the past 16 years, she has been based in the city’s upscale urban Brickell area.

120% Lino, which is based in Milan and Capri, Italy, was founded by company president Alberto Peretto 25 years ago as a fine linen and fabric fashion house.

It was not until about 10 years ago that home linens were added to the offering through an alliance with Italian furniture designer Lanzi to complement his sofas and beds, explained Marini.

“From that initiative, we cre-ated a whole new division for bedding, bath and table linens,” she continued.

While 120% Lino has sold wholesale to specialty retailers in the United States, the Miami store represents the company’s fi rst retail concept that it corpo-rately owns here.

For now, the home line is strictly available in white. “It’s always the chicest color in this kind of climate,” Marini said.

“But because we garment dye all of our products, we can do any color in the world,” she con-tinued. “So if this concept takes off, we can add pink, light blue, gray, anything the customer wants.”

In bedding, an Italian linen queen duvet cover is priced at $619, a set of two Euro shams is

$339, and two pillow cases retail at $$230.

The bath department com-prises robes and towels. The linen kimono robe is priced at $216, the terrycloth linen robe with hood is $290, and the ter-rycloth linen robe sans hood is $239. The towels, all of which feature a linen border, include a bath size for $150 and a hand-and-face (wash) towel two-piece set for $110.

The table linens assortment includes a square tablecloth with six napkins for $485, a rect-angular tablecloth is eight nap-kins for $628, four napkins for $97, two placemats with match-ing napkins for $163, and a run-ner for $154.

Customer response to the store over the past four months has been “extremely positive.

But we still are known mainly as a fashion [apparel] company. So the customer is still discovering that we also carry home goods,” Marini noted.

Nevertheless, business has been healthy enough to encour-age 120% Lino to seek out more potential venues to open addi-tional stores — both in the Miami-Dade area and in other warm U.S. climates.

North Miami, specifi cally the high-end Aventura area, is where 120% Lino will open a soon-to-come second storefront.

California is also under con-sideration, Marini said. “And we want to continue with our life-style store concept.”

Also soon to come for U.S.-based 120% Lino: The launch of a new website, set for late Febru-ary or early spring. HTT

120% Lino displays bedding at the center of the store amid its colorful fashion apparel collections.

htt120201_010_011 10 2/9/2012 5:17:44 PM

11 Home Textiles TodayNews> hometextilestoday.com

tl t bitb fi l i dd 1 2/6/12 10 17 A

February 13, 2012

At left: For the time being, all bedding is white, reflecting the taste of the store’s affluent Hispanic clientele, according to founder Jolanda Marini. At right: Table linens are the only home textiles in the store to feature an element of color.

htt120201_010_011 11 2/9/2012 5:24:11 PM

12 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comNews

From the choice of raw materi-als to manufacturing techniques, the textiles sector is at the cut-ting edge of sustainable devel-opment. Manufacturers are also adopting materials like linen, bamboo, natural silk and hemp, as well as recycling techniques.

This taste for recycling ob-jects, celebrating the references created by reclaiming natural ma-terials and embracing sustainable development bring with them new perspective on the world as part of the same quest for authen-ticity and simplicity.

Ethnic chic was the sector to visit for those seeking new am-

bience from near and far. The rich mosaic of opportunities to mix industrial with ethnic and materials with techniques in re-sponse to the need of contempo-rary interiors for eclecticism and personal identity. It offered an enormous wealth of inspiration for decorative looks that take us well off the beaten track to plac-es where style borders no longer exist. HTT

Joan Lieberman and Robbie Sumberg and are the principals of Showoffs, a designed resource founded in 1991 and based in Westport, Conn. Showoffs cli-ents include Target, Macy’s, Martha Stewart, Ralph Lau-ren, Tommy Bahama, The Lim-ited, The Gap and Williams-So-noma, among others.

February 13, 2012

Maison Trends

MAISON FROM PAGE 1

Kaszer’s geometric design reflected a trend of using medallions in all shapes and sizes.

Long-haired yarns and furs lent a Rasta look to textiles, as at Ada.

Ferm Living’s pillow provides an example of some of the fantasy and fairytale prints on display.

Eme Objet’s pillow is emblematic of the pattern mixing seen at the show.

Paris Au Mois offered tie-dye splotch prints on demin.

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14 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comFebruary 13, 2012

log operation, it is as distinctive a shopping experience as exists anywhere in the industry.

The relatively small store — less than 1,000 square feet — is housed inside a regular, multi-story H&M clothing store here with its own signage and dis-play at the street level. Once inside the department, shop-pers are greeted with a series of wall-mounted and free-standing displays showcasing individual products. The assortment skews heavily toward decorative pil-lows, towels and bath accesso-ries as well as bedding primari-ly focused on the top-of-the-bed classifi cation.

Designs are clearly geared to-ward the existing H&M demo-graphic, a younger customer with contemporary tastes and a ramen-noodle-for-lunch budget. The color story this winter is a mix of brights and neutrals ac-cented by a liberal use of words and phrases, some in English and some in French, but as far as the casual shopper could see nothing in Swedish.

Prices are geared to the same target customer. Decorative pil-low covers start at about $5.25,

while bath towels range from $9.25 to $33. Bedding, due to different European sizes, is a lit-tle more difficult to compare, but the smallest duvet set, ap-proximately equivalent to an American twin, retails for about $33. The prices are not as low as at American discounters, but compared to prices in traditional European department and spe-cialty stores, they are quite low.

While the products are shown as if this was a to-the-trade show-room with single items, some-times repeated around the store, there was little if any inventory on the selling fl oor.

The purchasing process is where H&M seems to be trying to reinvent the wheel. Every item is replicated in miniature on a small magnet affi xed to a magnetic panel. The small, 1-by-2-inch magnet contains an image of the product, some de-tails about construction and/or size and the price. Shoppers take the magnet and stick it on a home-shaped board, collect-ing all of their intended pur-chases. This is then brought to the front desk where a clerk takes it and retreats to the stock room to gather all the items.

The H&M Home store in Frankfurt features a showroom-like display with products shown on free-standing islands as well as on walls.

H&M Fast Forwarding Into Home

H&M FROM PAGE 1

Designs mix brights with neutrals and this season showed a liberal use of words and phrases on towels, dec pillows and accessories.

Euro Stores

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XXX XXX FROM PAGE 15

> hometextilestoday.com Home Textiles Today 15

Shoppers take a miniature magnet with a picture of the item and product details when they want to make a selection. This panel displays products for the badezimmer, or bathroom.

Finances are presented and the transaction is completed.

It is a purchasing process that can only be compared to that which once existed at the cata-log showrooms of the 1980s but one that survives in some form

today in high-end specialty stores. Curiously it is also how one buys most home textiles products at Crate & Barrel.

Staying true to its fast-fash-ion roots, H&M says it updates its home assortment four times a week, according to a recent article in the European maga-zine ISBN cited by the Apart-ment Therapy website. While the company does not own manufacturing, its strategy de-pends on a fast-to-market plan

with multiple inventory turns and constant waves of new mer-chandise, some of which car-ries designers such as Karl La-gerfeld.

H&M currently operates about 2,500 stores in 43 coun-tries, including more than 230 units in nearly 30 states in the United States. American annu-al sales were about $1.4 billion last year. HTT

FRANKFURT, GERMANY — If H&M has taken a radical approach to merchandis-ing its new home collection, fellow fast retailer Zara is going a more convention-al route; at least that appears to be the strategy from visiting a store here down the street from H&M.

The Zara Home unit, one of many in several European countries for the Span-ish-based retailer that has also target-ed the United States as a major expan-sion market, is a free-standing unit, unlike H&M Home.

Spreading over two fl oors, each about 1,000 square feet, the store uses a more traditional merchandising approach to-ward home with display beds and inven-tory in fi xtures on the selling fl oor. De-signs steer heavily toward neutrals in an assortment that would not be out of place in a Pottery Barn or West Elm store. Soft home dominates both fl oors, but there is a greater use of decorative accessories like candles and tabletop products than one fi nds at H&M.

Prices are similar with decorative pillow covers starting in the $5 range and towels generally in the $15 to $30 range.

There are no Zara Home stores in the United States and the company has not announced plans to open any in the Amer-ican market. It currently operates 47 ap-parel stores in the United States. HTT

Zara Home: Same Customer, Different Approach

The two-story Zara Home store in Frankfurt takes a more conventional approach to the category.

The store’s inventory is housed in fixtures on the selling floor, unlike H&M where shoppers pick up their purchases at a central checkout counter.

Individual magnets are affixed to a home-shaped metal board and taken to the front desk where stock is pulled to match the shopper selections.

February 13, 2012Euro Stores

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16 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

PEOPLETodaY

Bon-Ton Taps Hoffman to

Replace Bergren as President, ceo

Triangle Home Fashions Adds to Executive Team

YORK, PA. — The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. has named Brendan Hoffman the company’s presi-dent and ceo, effective Feb. 7, replacing Bud Bergren.

Hoffman will also be elected to Bon-Ton’s board of directors.

Bergren, who is a current member of the board, will transition to the role of chair-man. At that point, Tim Grum-bacher, who currently serves as executive chairman of the board, will remain a director of the company.

Hoffman has been ceo and president of Lord & Taylor LLC since October 2008. Prior to that, he spent six years a pres-ident and ceo of Neiman Mar-cus Direct, a subsidiary of The

Neiman Marcus Group Inc., where he oversaw the growth of www.neimanmarcus.com and the launch and growth of www.bergdorfgoodman.com.

He also served as vp of Last Call clearance division at Nei-man Marcus from August 2000 to December 2002 and as a divi-sional merchandise manager of Bergdorf Goodman Inc. from October 1998 to August 2000.

Grumbacher said Hoffman “comes with a wealth of knowl-edge and experience in the retail industry, which we believe will be very beneficial in driving profi table growth from the stra-tegic initiatives we began pilot-ing in the fall of fiscal 2011.” HTT

NEW YORK — Jenny Zhu, presi-dent and ceo of Triangle Home Fashions, has announced three new executive appointments to the multi-category, retail-direct home textiles manufacturer based in China.

Jared Cohen has been named chief operating officer, a new position.

According to Zhu, “Jared’s legal and business training and experience will be invaluable as we continue to position the Company to support the incred-ible growth that we have experi-enced. One of his fi rst tasks will be managing the implementa-tion of a new software system which will enhance our abil-ity to forecast inventory needs

and improve our already strong record of timely fulfi llment. “

Al len Darwin has been appointed vp of marketing and brand development. Darwin has spent over 30 years in the home furnishings industry. Previous positions include ceo of Cardinal Inc., a gift, tabletop and decora-tive accessories fi rm, and senior vp roles at Hampton Forge and Lifestyle Home.

Said Zhu: “Formalizing the brands we have established in the past few years is one of our top priorities moving forward. Allen brings a keen understanding of the consumer market to our com-pany, and we are looking forward to building greater awareness in future marketing campaigns that

tell the Triangle story.”Jeffrey Swartz has been pro-

moted to the position of vp of sales. In his prior role as key accounts manager, he did “an incredible job of growing the relationships with our current customers as well as opening sev-eral new strategic accounts for our company,” said Zhu. “Along with the years of industry experi-ence that he brings to this posi-tion, Jeff does a great job of trans-lating our customers’ needs into extremely successful programs.”

All three report directly to Zhu. Triangle Home Fashions product categories include bed-ding, window curtains, decora-tive pillows, shower curtains and table linens. HTT

DALLAS — Dallas Market Center has named Eva Walsh vp of business development, a new position.Walsh will head the company’s retail sales force for specialty and major stores, as well as create new business opportunities for the Market Center.

“Eva possesses an inspiring tenacity and passion for our industry,” said Robbin Wells, executive vice president of leasing, Dallas Market Center. HTT

FORT MILL, S.C. — English life-style brand Laura Ashley Inc. has partnered with Synergy Licens-ing LLC as its newest licensing agency.

A New York-based fi rm spe-cializing in licensing, Synergy will be leveraging on the brand’s existing success into related product categories.

Laura Ashley already boasts over 30 active licensees, but is looking to expand with Synergy’s help into other areas. The initial focus will include the juvenile, toys, collectibles, publishing and consumable categories.

“The 56-year heritage of the

Laura Ashley lifestyle brand combined with Synergy’s exper-tise in brand management, make for a natural fit,” according to Laura Ashley Inc.

“Our loyal Laura Ashley con-sumers look to us to provide a breadth of merchandise consis-tent with the distinctive look and quality that has made our brand so steadfast and successful” said Penne Cairoli, president, Laura Ashley. “Synergy Licensing understands our heritage and has the experience to bring us qualifi ed licensees in categories that will enhance and grow the licensing program.”

Added Synergy principal Randi Goodman: “We will con-tinue to leverage Laura Ashley’s global presence and tap into its strong English roots by identifying appropriate partners that will take the program to the next level.”

The Laura Ashley brand said it has an 88% awareness level and is available at 450 stores worldwide, wi th presence throughout the UK, Europe, Asia, Australasia, Middle East, Russia and South America. Laura Ashley product can be found in over 25,000 retail doors in the United States and Canada. HTT

February 13, 2012

Laura Ashley Inc. Taps Synergy Licensing as Agent to Expand into New Categories

Walsh New vp of Business Development for Dallas Market Center

HOUSTON — Sinomax-USA has appointed longtime industry vet-eran Lonnie Scheps as its new senior vp.

Frank Chen, pres-ident and ceo, said he and his team expect Scheps ’ “ex tens ive experience in foam, home textile and furni-ture industries will help our business growth tre-mendously.”

Scheps was previ-ously with Hudson Industries, where he spent the past 12 years of his career — most recently as the company’s senior vp, leading the consumer division.

Earlier, Scheps served as vp of The Carpenter Company, where he launched its consumer division. And prior to that, he was vp for the former decorative fashion accessory manufacturer

Decorite Inc.Scheps described Sinomax-

USA as “perhaps the fastest moving player in the category now.” The company pro -duces specialty foams in pillows, toppers and mattresses in North America and Europe. It is also the licensee of The Sharper Image, for which it offers several branded bedding and

kitchen accessories products.“With direct ties and com-

plete verticality, I am excited in what we can do and how fast we do it — conceiving com-pelling products that are true game-changers offering unprec-edented quality and packaging satisfying the retail demands at every level,” Scheps continued. HTT

LONNIE SCHEPS

Sinomax-USA

Scheps Joins Sinomax-USA as svp

htt120201_016 16 2/8/2012 4:54:27 PM

Make appointments now with these leading suppliers:

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Contour

March 4-8,2012Spring NY Home Fashions Market WeekMajor Showroom Buildings Throughout Market

For exhibition space, please contact:Joe Carena, Show Manager, jvcarena@gmail.com (203) 329-9553Warren Shoulberg, Publisher, Home Textiles Today, wshoulberg@hometextilestoday.com (646) 805-0226

Al Karam

AL KARAMT O W E L S

HTT_GHS12 spnsr tab.indd 1HTT_GHS12 spnsr tab.indd 1 2/9/12 4:40:33 PM2/9/12 4:40:33 PM

18 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

OCT NOV DECJAN JANFEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPTSource: Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Average, a unit of Instinet, a Reuters company.

4.8%2012

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%

January Same-Store SalesJohnson Redbook Index

Same-store sales % change

WINNERSCostco Wholesale Corp. 8.0%TJX Companies 7.0%Ross Stores 5.0%Target Corp. 4.3%Macy’s Inc. 2.4%Kohl’s Corp. 0.6%

LOSERSStein Mart (3.9)The Bon-Ton Stores (3.5)Duckwall-ALCO (1.1)Fred’s Inc. (0.8)

WINNERS AND LOSERS

JANUARY SALES FOR KEY RETAILERSFive weeks ended January 28, 2012 (dollar amounts in millions) a

2012 2011 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES % CHG. % CHG.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. $174.4 $180.1 (3.2) (3.5)Costco Wholesale Corp. b $7,000.0 $6,300.0 11.0 8.0 Dillard’s Inc. $363.5 $366.4 (1.0) 0.0 Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. $28.7 $28.5 0.7 (1.1)Fred’s Inc. $132.4 $129.1 3.0 (0.8)Kohl’s Corp. $844.0 $825.0 2.4 0.6 Macy’s Inc. $1,336.0 $1,310.0 2.0 2.4 Ross Stores Inc. $483.0 $441.0 10.0 5.0 Stein Mart Inc. $60.1 $62.8 (4.3) (3.9)Target Corp. $4,608.0 $4,383.0 5.1 4.3 The TJX Companies Inc. $1,400.0 $1,300.0 5.0 7.0

52 WEEKS 2012 2011 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES % CHG. % CHG.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. $2,884.7 $2,980.5 -3.2 (2.8)Costco Wholesale Corp. c, d $40,180.0 $36,080.0 11.0 6.0 Dillard’s Inc. $6,199.0 $6,020.3 3.0 4.0 Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. $482.8 $426.6 4.4 3.0 Fred’s Inc. $1,879.0 $1,842.0 2.0 0.5 Kohl’s Corp. $18,804.0 $18,391.0 2.2 0.5 Macy’s Inc. $26,404.0 $25,003.0 5.6 5.3 Ross Stores Inc. $8,608.0 $7,866.0 9.0 5.0 Stein Mart Inc. $1,160.4 $1,181.5 (1.8) (1.1)Target Corp. $68,466.0 $65,786.0 4.1 3.0 The TJX Companies Inc. $23,200.0 $21,900.0 6.0 4.0

a. Reporting periods vary among key retailers.b. Costco’s December comp results are for the U.S. division and do not

include the positive impacts of inflation in gasoline prices or the negative impact from foreign currencies. Including those impacts, comps for the month were up 9.0% in the U.S. division, 6.0% in the international division, and 8.0% for the total company.

c. Because it is on a different fiscal calendar than the other key

retailers on this list, Costco’s year-to-date sales and comp results reflect the past 22-week period.

d. Costco’s year-to-date comp results are for the U.S. division and do not include the positive impacts of inflation in gasoline prices or the negative impact from foreign currencies. Including those impacts, comps for the month were up 9.0% in the U.S. division, 9.0% in the international division, and 9.0% for the total company.

Off-prices, Costco Strong in JanuaryBY CECILE B. CORRAL

NEW YORK — The off-pricers continued to rack up comp gains at a good pace last month, when both TJX Cos. and Ross Stores proved January’s stron-gest performers.

Costco led the 11-retailer pack tracked monthly by HTT. The club took home an 8% comp gain.

But, TJX and Ross Stores were close behind. TJX reported an above-plan 7% gain and Ross was well ahead of expectations with a 5% comp increase.

By division, TJX’s comp re-sults for the month, as relayed by svp of global communica-tions Sherry Lang, included: a 7% gain for Marmaxx, which “signifi cantly exceeded plans;” a 10% increase for Home Goods; and a 4% gain for the Winners and Home Sense Canadian divi-sions. “We are pleased to see the

momentum come back into our Canada businesses,” said Lang.

Ross Stores’ vice chairman and ceo, Michael Balmuth, said juniors, shoes and children’s were the strongest merchandise cate-gories during the month, while Florida and the Mid-Atlantic were the top performing regions.

“We are extremely pleased with both our sales and earnings growth in 2011, especially con-sidering that they were achieved on top of exceptional increases over the past three years,” he continued.

Target posted the fourth best comp increases in January — up 4.3% — as well as a strong 5.3% sales gain, which came in “near the high end of our expected low to mid single-digit range, refl ect-ing strong performance in both discretionary and non-discretion-ary categories,” said Gregg Stein-

hafel, chairman, president and ceo. “Sales trends were healthy throughout the month and across the country.”

Home category comps in-creased in the low single digits, with the strongest performance reported in housewares and the softest results generated by do-mestics.

Macy’s 2.4% comp and its 2.0% sales increase made January the department store’s “smallest-volume month of the year,” and the results were “weaker than an-ticipated,” said Terry Lundgren,

chairman, president and ceo.“Nonetheless, January was the

26th consecutive month of year-over-year same-store sales growth for our company,” he contin-ued. “The fourth quarter was our strongest in many years, and dem-onstrated the continued progress in improving the fundamentals in our business at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.”

Online sales for macys.com and bloomingdales.com com-bined were up 38.7% in Janu-ary, 40.0% in the fourth quar-ter and 39.6% for fiscal 2011. Ecommerce sales positively af-fected the company’s same-store sales by 1.7 percentage points in the fourth quarter and 1.5 per-centage points in fi scal 2011 as a whole. Online sales are includ-ed in the same-store sales calcu-lation for Macy’s.

Kohl’s modest 0.6% comp and

a 2.4% sales increase in January were in line with expectations, according to chairman, president and ceo Kevin Mansell.

Better news came from its on-line business, he continued, as Kohl’s achieved its goal of $1 bil-lion in e-commerce revenues in fi scal 2011.

“The e-commerce business was a key contributor to our fi scal 2011 sales performance, and we plan to build on its momentum in 2012,” Mansell added. “Ad-ditionally, strong expense man-agement during the quarter con-tributed to better-than-expected profi tability.”

Kohl’s home category, along with men’s, outperformed the company average for the month.

The only retailer reporting fl at comps in January was Dillard’s, where sales in shoes, home and furniture were signifi cantly above

trend during the month.The biggest comp losers in

January were Stein-Mart and Bon-Ton, reporting comp decreases of 3.9% and 3.5%, respectively.

Tony Buccina, vice chair-man, president - merchandising, explained that Bon-Ton’s sales were below expectations “due to the continuation of the mild-er weather in our markets, which had an adverse impact on sales of cold-weather merchandise and comprised the majority of our sales shortfall.”

Bon-Ton’s best performing business was home, which in-cluded furniture, “due to the cus-tomers’ favorable response to our semi-annual home sale.”

The regional department store’s e-commerce sales “in-creased signifi cantly over the prior year period,” Buccina added. HTT

February 13, 2012

BUSINESSTodaY

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20 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

NEW YORK — The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 2.5% in the fi rst week of February.

Month-to-date, February was up 2.5% compared to Febru-ary of last year, relative to a target of a 2.8% gain. Month-over-month showed a 1.2% gain compared to January, relative to a target of a 1.5% gain.

February is a four-week month on the retail calendar, end-ing on Feb. 25.

Most stores were tracking on or slightly below their monthly targets as the period ended. Like January, February is generally regarded as a transitional month, combining fi nal clearance of winter merchandise with early introduction of spring goods.

“Some retailers continue to clear pockets of winter goods at marked down prices, although this represented a less signifi -cant portion of their business,” noted Catlin Levis, Redbook an-alyst. “In addition, Super Bowl Sunday drew sales of big screen televisions, snack food, beverages, team apparel and other re-lated merchandise leading up to the event.” HTT

Same-store sales

Redbook Index up in February’s First Week

Johnson Redbook IndexFirst week of February, year-over-year % change

WEEK ENDED 2/4 2/11 2/18 2/25 MONTH TARGET

Department stores* 1.3 1.3 2.1Discounters 3.2 3.2 3.2Redbook Index 2.5 2.5 2.8*Including chain stores and traditional department storesSource: Johnson Redbook Index

February 13, 2012

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Big Lots Inc. beat its fourth quarter comp sales expectations, nearly dou-bling plan.

Comparable store sales in the four-week period ended Jan. 28 for stores open at least two years at the beginning of the fi scal year were up 3.4%. Big Lots had ex-pected and increase of 1% to 2%.

Retail sales in the quarter grew 7.0% to $1.6 billion.

Fourth quarter sales for the Canadian operations it acquired last year as well as wholesale op-erations will be announced in

March along with full fourth quarter fi nancial results.

For the 52-week fi scal 2011, retail sales from U.S. opera-tions totaled $5.1 billion, up 3.9%. Comps were tepid, up just 0.1%.

By merchandise category, during the fourth quarter the seasonal and furniture segments each comped up by low double digits and consumables comped up mid single digits.

Based on the U.S. sales re-sults and lower-than-expected losses in its Canadian business,

Big Lots is raising its consolidat-ed fourth quarter earnings guid-ance to $1.71 to $1.74 per share. That represents a 17% to 19% improvement over fourth quar-ter 2010 earnings of $1.46 per diluted share. Previously, the re-tailer expected fourth quarter EPS of $1.59 to $1.66.

Additionally, Big Lots also said it now expect earnings of $2.94 to $2.97 per share from continuing operations for fis-cal 2011, a 4% to 5% improve-ment over fi scal 2010 earnings of $2.83 per diluted share. HTT

Big Lots Sees Comps, Sales Jump Above Plan in Q4

NEW YORK — Encouraged by healthy results at the close of the fourth quarter, four key retailers updated their earnings expecta-tions recently.

Kohl’s Corp. now projects fourth quarter earnings per share of $1.79 and $1.80. It had previously set a target of $1.70 to $1.73 per hare. For the full fi scal year it has raised guidance from $4.20-$4.23 per share to $4.29-$4.30 per diluted share.

Macy’s Inc. also hiked its earnings guidance for both the quarter and full year. Fourth quarter earnings are expected to be $1.63 to $1.65 per share. Earlier, it expected 4Q EPS of $1.55 to $1.60. For the full year, Macy’s now believes it will gen-

erate EPS of $2.81 to $2.83, im-proving its earlier guidance of $2.73 to $2.78. The projections exclude extraordinary items.

Ross Stores boosted its 4Q EPS guidance to 84 to 85 cents, which would represent a 22% to 23% jump compared to last year’s 4Q earnings per share. Fiscal year earnings per share are estimated to grow 23% to 24% to $2.85 to $2.86. All share and per share fi gures refl ect the Ross’s recent two-for-one stock split.

TJX Cos. said it now expects fourth quarter fi scal 2012 earn-ings per share to be at or slight-ly above the high end of its pre-viously estimated range of $1.19 to $1.23.HTT

Kohl’s, Macy’s, Ross and TJX Update

Guidance

Business

BY MICHAEL J. KNELL

TORONTO — The Hudson’s Bay Company has completed the acquisition of its affi liate, U.S. department store chain Lord & Taylor Holdings, and named Bonnie Brooks, who has served as president and ceo of The Bay since August 2008, to oversee the newly expanded retail op-eration as president of the Hud-son’s Bay Company.

Prior to this announcement, Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Tay-lor were side-by-side affi liates. Both were owned Hudson’s Bay Trading Company, a hold-ing company owned by NRDC Equity Partners, a retail estate and investment fi rm owned by Richard Baker.

Both were acqui red by NRDC in 2008. Baker then be-came governor and ceo of Hud-son’s Bay Company.

Baker will remain in those posts as will Donald Watros, the company’s chief operating offi cer.

“We are fortunate to have both Don Watros and Bon-nie Brooks round out the lead-ership team of the Hudson’s Bay Company,” Baker said in a statement. “Don’s operational and fi nancial expertise has been instrumental in contributing to both The Bay and Lord & Tay-lor’s year-over-year profi tability despite the poor economic en-

vironment around the globe.“Bonnie’s extraordinary lead-

ership at The Bay and previous global retailing expertise from Lane Crawford are a natural fi t to lead this new integrated orga-nization as we move to our next phase of growth and evolution,” he said, adding, “The turn-around and speed of growth at The Bay under Bonnie’s leader-ship is unprecedented in mod-ern times.”

Lord & Taylor and The Bay will maintain their dis-tinct identities and nameplates while leveraging the merchan-dising strengths of the organi-zations to improve and accel-erate their continued growth, offi cials said.

Analysts have praised Brooks for her performance at The Bay. Insiders have reported that after a decade of declining sales, same-stores sales growth for The Bay’s 91 units was 6.5% in 2011, building on almost similar growth in 2010.

Having said that, Lord & Taylor is also enjoying some-thing of an uptick. Sources have reported same store sales for its 46-unit chain were up 8% last year and 12% the year before.

As part of a strategy to re-duce HBC’s debt, Taylor sold the rights to 186 leases held by Zellers for $1.8 billion. Tar-get, the U.S. based rival to Wal-

Mart, acquired those leases and is expected to begin converting the units to its format begin-ning early in 2013.

As part of the restructuring, Hudson’s Bay Company invest-ed some $427 million in Lord & Taylor, all of which was used to reduce the latter’s debt.

Both The Bay and Lord & Taylor have a strong big tick-et home goods business - al-though, unlike The Bay, Lord & Taylor doesn’t sell mattresses or major appliances. Both have active furniture businesses.

In addition to its 42 stores across nine states, Lord & Tay-lor also operates two Lord & Taylor Home stores. Two new L&T stores are planned for 2012.

In addition to The Bay and its 91 units, Hudson’s Bay Company operates another 500 stores under three other ban-ners including Zellers, Home Outfi tters and Fields.

“We look forward to an even stronger 2012 with this new leadership structure in place and the strength of two dynam-ic teams coming together and leading the HBC into the fu-ture,” Baker said.

Brendan Hoffman, who has served as president and CEO of Lord &Taylor for the past three years, will be leaving the com-pany to pursue another oppor-tunity. HTT

Hudson’s Bay Company Completes Acquisition of Lord & Taylor

htt120201_Business 20 2/8/2012 2:17:27 PM

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22 Home Textiles Today News

• 72% of Penney’s sales are generated on items priced at 50% off or more.

• Penney buyers have been spend-ing 50% of their time working on pricing.

• Penney ran 590 promotions last year at an average marketing spend of $2 million per pro-motion.

• The Sephora shops inside Penney produce $600 per square foot in sales. The rest of the store averages sales per square foot of $200.

Before introducing those fi g-ures as among the justifi cations for Penney’s new non-promo-tional pricing strategy, Johnson vowed that the company will “leave bad habits far behind.”

The new pricing grid the retailer launched on Feb. 1 is being billed as “fair and square” and consists of three tiers:

• Lower everyday prices more refl ective of the sweet spot at which goods actually move;

• Month-long spe-cials;

• Best prices, which will be offered on the first and third Friday

of each month and are designed to clear out merchandise — al-though Johnson insisted that “clearance” is over.

By way of example, Johnson pointed to a core Penney towel that now retails at $10, but actu-ally moves out the door, once all the discounts are taken into con-sideration, at $3.30. Its new ev-eryday price is $4 and its “best” price will be $2. HTT

Where the Cuts Will Come From

JCPenney plans to “self-fund” the cost of re-making its more than 1,100 stores by cutting $900 million in costs. Here’s where it plans to fi nd savings.

NEW YORK – JCPenney will begin roll-ing out two shop-in-shop concepts per month starting in August. Apparel will be fi rst up, but branded home depart-ments won’t be far behind.

The plan is to ensure that all home brands – house and national – are mean-ingful, according to John Tighe, senior vp/gmm for home.

Although ceo Ron Johnson point-ed to over-reliance on private brands as one of the problems with modern de-

partmet stores, there’s no plan to put a cap on them, Tighe told HTT. “He doesn’t want private brands to be ‘this big’ or ‘this small.’”

Tighe pointed to Royal Velvet, which begins rolling out in late spring as a JCPenney exclusive in bed and bath. “We’re gong to use it to target tradition-al in a beautiful way.”

The window department – long a business in which Penney has domi-nated – is scheduled to begin evolving

sooner rather than later, with the fi rst changes emerging in May.

“We have lots of ideas about how to make window better, how to make it more inviting, how to open up the fl oor,” said Tighe.

In the past 90 days, merchants have been sent around the world to scout new ideas for product and merchandising.

“It’s a great time to be a merchant at JCPenney,” said Tighe. “It’s all about product.” HTT

JCP By the NumbersJCP FROM PAGE 1

February 13, 2012

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Home Prepares for a Makeover

To buttress the argument for lowering JCPenney’s pric-ing across the board and ditching a blizzard of promo-tional activities executives noted that while it has esca-lated its prices over the past decade, what the customer actually pays for a product once events like one-day sales, coupons and discounting are taken into effect has changed very little.

An item JCP bought at a cost of $10 in 2002 went out at retail at $28 – but actually sold on average at $15.80.

As of last year, that $10 item carried a $40 price tag, but ultimately sold at $15.95.

So while the price tag jumped 43%, the customer wound up paying only 1% more than she did in 2002.

The customer, said ceo Ron Johnson, “doesn’t even start paying attention to pricing offers until they hit 40% off.”

0

10

20

30

40

50

20112002

Sell-thru retailRetail tagCost

$10 $10

$28

$40

$15.80 $15.95

43% change 1% change

JCP Charges a Lot MoreCustomers Spend a Little More

SOURCE: JCPENNEY

SOURCE: JCPENNEY

Home officeAdvertisingStores

$200M

$300M

$400M

htt120201_001_014_015.indd 22 2/10/2012 3:43:12 PM

NewsNews> hometextilestoday.com Home Textiles Today 23

NEW YORK — During JCPenney’s “fresh air” presentations here in late January, ceo Ron Johnson criticized the current set-up of retail/vendor relations, calling it “one of the most broken things in the retail industry.”

The vendor’s job, he added, is to de-sign, source and deliver on time. The re-tailer’s job is to market and sell. Vendors and retailers shouldn’t be co-mingling their profi ts and “playing games.”

JCP held a summit specifically for vendors during its visit to New York to outline the new plan. Johnson said ven-dors came away thinking it’s all “too good to be true.”

During a later summit for the fi nan-cial community, an analyst asked if that means Penney will no longer demand markdown money. There was a distinct

pause.That would be a goal over the long

run, said Johnson. Chief operating offi -cer Mike Kramer jumped in to clarify, saying he is not opposed to vendor con-tributions but does object “when it be-comes a drug.”

In fact, throughout the fi nancial ses-sion as execs described their plan to re-duce costs by $900 million to “self-fund” the transformation of 1,100-plus stores, vendor participation was cited frequent-ly – once in the form of making a “cap-ital investment” in creating the shop-in-shop formats.

Executives also said that as Penney converts the fl oor from its current format into 100 branded shop-in-shops, vendors will be invited to offer their ideas and vie for the real estate. HTT

February 13, 2012

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The View on Vendors >72% of Revenue at 50% off or More

SOURCE: JCP INTERNAL DATA.

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

Regular price

4.4%

9.5%

26.9%

31.8%

18.3%

7.7%

1.1%

0.2%

Dis

coun

t ra

te

htt120201_001_014_015 23 2/10/2012 5:02:54 PM

Lolio_Rugs.indd 1 2/9/2012 11:12:01 AM