In home makeover, Meijer champions green goods   

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/6/2008 1:53:00 PM

Grand Rapids, Mich. – On the heels of its Cannon Classic and Cannon Royal Family bedding and bath launch five months ago, 181-unit supercenter chain Meijer this month “revitalized” its soft home department with its new-and-improved At Home private label program -- and also introduced the new Organics bedding and bath offerings of eco-friendly sheets, towels and pillows.

Robert Atteberry, vp of home and electronics, told HTT the introduction of the Cannon programs represented privately held Meijer’s “first step toward revitalizing our home business, and it did what it was supposed to do. Cannon was positioned to launch our new soft home and hard home strategy, and it accomplished that.”

Where the Cannon bedding and bath assortment occupies 150 linear feet of floor space, the At Home with Meijer program -- comprised not just of bedding and bath products but also kitchen textiles, rugs and soft window treatments -- resides in more than double that size of selling floor, or “well over” 300 linear feet.

Atteberry explained that the Cannon line and the At Home offerings are positioned to create balance among the home-related assortments. “These are meant to complement each other, and they do not cross over each other on the floor from a look-and-feel standpoint,” he explained. “Cannon is crisper and cleaner, and At Home has trend elements we can easily transition over the different seasons.”

The regular At Home spans good and better price points; At Home Organics leans more to the better side. By comparison, Cannon Classics products sell at good price levels and Cannon Royal is on the better side.