Home Textiles Today - May 12, 2003

Moving step by incremental step towards its ultimate goal of creating a home fashions powerhouse with as much as $4 billion in annual sales, Springs Industries has completed its buyout of blanket producer Charles D. Owen Mfg., the most recent in a string of acquisitions. Charles D.

• Business Today
• Kmart narrows loss in last month under Ch. 11
• Same-stores rebound slightly
• Disappointing results in April shower retailers
• Production, ordering down for second month
• Numbers fall in Q4 for Gottschalks

• Fabrics Today
• Clark Holdings enters Chapter 11
• U.S. regions inspire Waverly lines
• High-end sees positive signs at HD 2003
• Culp still on schedule for China

• News
• The 'just Martha' tour opens in Miami
• American Pacific expands trade IT program
• Politics may succeed where Stockman didn't
• Home tanks at Sears
• GLM joins with U.K. group to protect copyrights
• Kaufman new coo at Avanti Linens
• Donna's quilts readies new complex
• This is the 'new' Kmart
• IKEA cozies up to home in L.A. entry
• L.L. Bean explores a buyout of competitor
• Ashford Court finds room to grow in HQ
• Union moves to scuttle P'tex deal
• Retail briefs
• Design show is the first down under
• For the record
• A powerhouse deal that may never see day
• Limited damage from heavy weather

• Opinion Today
• The best laid plans ...
• Not-so smooth operations

• People Today
• Politzer's prize merchant: exec veep at Filene's B'mnt
• Chapman heads CHF design tech
• Bell bounces to Beacon
• Former IMRA chief Verdisco dead at 60
• Students' creativity cited in awards

• Special Report
• Reporter's Notebook
• Miami struggles to speak the language
• New York mixes up a mish-mash