Restoration Hardware to Bow Bed & Bath Book

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 10/16/2006 12:00:00 AM

Corte Madera, Calif. —

As part of its push into brand extensions, Restoration Hardware will launch a new catalog next spring: Restoration Hardware Bed & Bath. Also in the works is a Restoration catalog for kids, although the multi-channel retailer has just begun to work on the concept.

Launching in a direct-to-consumer mode offers a flexible, low-risk expansion model, according to Gary Friedman, chairman, president and ceo. "You have 50% to 100% higher inventory productivity in a direct channel than in a retail channel," he said during the company's latest analyst call.

Restoration Hardware has been repositioning its 103 retail stores since 2002. Now focused on extensions, it launched the Restoration Hardware Outdoor catalog this past spring and a new brand — Baroque in catalog form Sept. 15.

Where the Restoration Hardware brand aims at the market above Pottery Barn and below the interior design trade, Baroque targets "the broader value market," Friedman said. He places Baroque's consumer at the high end of Pier 1, West Elm and Cost Plus and at the low end of Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel.

Baroque has three primary areas of focus: furniture, textiles, and lighting/accessories — the same three the repositioned Restoration Hardware targets. However, Baroque's design is lusher and more feminine. The brand will move to e-commerce next spring, Friedman said.

Another brand extension drops this month: the Restoration Hardware Gift catalog. The retailer will ship three different versions of the book going into holiday, Friedman said. "A high percentage of the merchandise is catalog- and Web-only, so it's really going to drive productivity," he added.