Caldeira Buys, Remakes Fabric Warehouse Chain

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 9/29/2008 12:00:00 AM

New York — —

New York —Caldeira, the U.K.-based parent of Caldeira USA, recently bought a 14-unit fabric chain in southern England, and is this month testing several of its finished products at the stores.

The Fabric Warehouse, as the retailer is called, was stocked with Caldeira dec pillows on Sept. 1. This comes after the company cleared out much of the previously carried goods with clearance sales to make way for new fabrics and finished products by Caldeira.

By late October, the stores will also offer Caldeira soft window treatments and throws, as well as bedding lines — but the latter from U.K. vendors.

The idea is to eventually create a complete home textiles store with products for all areas of the home, said Lindsey Foster, general manager for Caldeira USA. “Tony wants it to be a total home source,” she said of the plans of founder Tony Caldeira.

Fabric, which makes up 60% of Fabric Warehouse's business, will remain an important part of the store's assortment. But the shelves will be infused with Caldeira products.

Carolyn Winderbaum, product development manager for Caldeira USA, told HTT the company's purchase of Fabric Warehouse is “relevant” to the US market and retail customers, “because we now have another venue for testing the market. We can test some products that otherwise probably could not have been tested.”