Aussino expands more than showroom

By Michele SanFilippo -- Home Textiles Today, 9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Aussino's move to a new 3,500-square-foot showroom at 295 Fifth Avenue marks the continued growth its U.S. division has seen in recent years as well as its stepped-up efforts to become a serious competitor in the American market.

The company now offers fully coordinated jacquard ensembles for bed, bath and window as well as complete lines of blankets and table linens that feature embroidery, cut work, prints and jacquards. "We found that duvets were only a small part of the home textiles business in the U.S. and realized we needed to expand big time," said Steve Lewis, evp at Aussino USA. "But we're really staying the same company by growing on a steady, manageable level."

"What we think will sell now is more of the traditional and transitional looks," he added. For instance, this market Aussino will show nine bed patterns complete with coordinating "fancy" towels and window treatments that incorporate jacquard coordinates or fabrics directly from the bed. Seven of these patterns are new, while two have been expanded since spring. They are Venice, Palace, Regency, Primrose Lane, Laurel, Meadow, Piccadilly, Victoria and Charmed, a faux silk ensemble with flocking now available in mauve.

"In three years' time, we have gone from simple embroidered duvets to whole jacquard bedding ensembles with duvets, pillow shams and coordinating accessories for window and bath," added Susan Riker, Aussino designer/product developer. In fact, Aussino has transformed itself into a supplier now focused on upper-end design at popular prices. To substantiate this goal it has produced a lot of completely new product lines at its company-owned mills in China such as fancy towels, window treatments and decorative pillows with fringes, tassels and gimping. Overall, now there is more of a focus on piecing of jacquard materials. "On a fashion level, we want to design beautiful jacquard comforters with piecework and embellishments while making it affordable to our customers," added Shari Chamish, Aussino's new designer/product developer.

In addition, the company has introduced a line of blankets that offer acrylic, cotton thermal and yarn-dyed varieties. Their Ultra Soft yarn-dyed blankets will retail for $39.99 for twin and $59.99 for king. Some of the thermal blankets include Fly Wheel, Cable, Arrow Weave and Huntington, the heaviest blanket they offer at 479 grams.

Fly Wheel's palette consists of ivory, yellow, petal pink, sky, ocean and lilac, with additions of green and sand this market. Both Cable and Huntington come in sand, green, ivory and white. According to Chamish, the company works with the weights and palettes its customers want since they have the ability to customize the blanket program.