Home Textiles Today - December 15, 2003

The clock is ticking, and the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel is literally tracking every second. "Countdown!" proclaims the association's home page. "1 year, 0 months, 21 days, 7 hours, 15 minutes and 42 seconds until the end of the current quota system." With the last batch of quota restrictions set to disappear in less than 13 months, U.

• Business Today
• Costco Q1 buoyed by grocery strike
• Dollar General profits on the rise
• Business briefs
• Up-again, down-again retail sales are up, again
• Retailers suffer from frostbite
• Cotton sticker-shock dampens demand

• Fabrics Today
• ITMA expands to add contract and hospitality
• Swatches
• Not exactly robust, a 'recovery' seems likely

• News
• Retail briefs
• Filament group joins ITMA
• Cataloger sees future in windows
• Shanghai office latest Hollander foray
• Hoffman joins HTT team
• Burlington Rug taps Pfautz, Jeffers
• Invista executive team begins to take shape
• AATCC elects Connelly as president
• Dixie: More than just cups
• Heimtex seeking to deal with pirates in the aisles
• Short-sheets may make for a frosty wintertime
• Value City moving to update '60s lo-tech
• Love means...babies' and kids' bedding
• Lillian August names Lieberman manager
• HFPA slates annual meeting
• JNY extends branding into home
• Dot-com holidays 'sizzle'
• Invista, Kosa primed for new era

• Opinion Today
• Bentonville blues
• Another view