Dekor marries product, service

By Andrea Lillo -- Home Textiles Today, 12/4/2000 12:00:00 AM

ATLANTA -With a female-friendly focus, Dekor introduced its "do-it-for-me" approach to the shopper in Buckhead's Lenox Marketplace here last week.

In an airy and spacious two-level location-formerly an Upton's-Dekor lets the customer dictate how involved she wants to be in decorating her home by marrying product and service together in one spot. Dekor also threads all of its products together by color, since merchandise is bought based on a seasonal color palette.

With so many skus to choose from, and many more available by catalog, customers can sit and plot at the Idea Stations placed throughout the store to flip through fabric swatches or browse on the computer. For those who want more help, designers are available for any project, even if it's just decorating a house for the holidays, while the Gold Circle Installation Program maintains a network of contractors for the dirty work.

Dekor destresses the shopping experience even more with its Klub House, a place parents can drop off their three- to 10-year-old kids to play, for a fee.

While appliances and such, along with a soon-to-open Starbucks, are found on the lower level, the second floor holds the majority of products.

Merchandise spans moderate to moderate-to-high price points, and the Bed and Bath area is sorted by color, from whites to darks. For the customer who wants sage-colored products, for example, she can choose from towels, shower curtains, bedding, decorative pillows, bath rugs, bath accessories, and casual window treatments-all mixed together in one area. Dressed beds line the aisle, pulling together top-of-the-bed, throws, decorative pillows and more, with a printed description of the products displayed.

The merchandise mix includes major brands as well as a private label called Dekor. Wamsutta sheets are here, and top-of-the-bed products are supplied by Croscill, Crown Crafts, WestPoint Stevens, Veratex, Burlington Industries, Waverly, Thomasville, Thief River Linen and others. Towel brands include Davidson Cotton's Joseph Abboud, WPS' Patrician and Grand Patrician and Utica, as well as embellished towels from Avanti. Other product vendors include Park B. Smith, S. Litchenberg and Croscill in window; Creative Bath, Croscill and Park B. Smith in shower curtains; and Habidecor, Newmark, Townhouse and Park B. Smith in bath rugs. Decorative pillows were found here as well as throughout the store and included the brands Madison Landing, Sove and Newport.

The Dekor brand is included in sheets, throws, and more. (A sateen twin sheet with the Dekor label, from Smith & Johnson, retails for $14.84.)

Area rugs are placed across from the furniture and fabric section, and include many designs and sizes. Shipping costs are included in the prices. Customers can also bring home a rug sample for $20, which is returned when the sample is brought back or put toward the purchase if the rug is bought. Vendors include Mohawk, Burlington House Floor Accents, Couristan, Oriental Weavers' Sphinx division, TransOcean, as well as the Dekor brand. Door mats and accent rugs are found throughout the store.

Table linens were placed in the accessories area, facing the Bed and Bath area. One-and-a-half displays hold place mats, napkins and napkin rings.