Keeco Turns Up Volume On Sheets

By Michele SanFilippo -- Home Textiles Today, 10/25/2004 12:00:00 AM

New York —

Keeco is putting more emphasis on its sheeting business, showcasing a front-room sheeting wall at the recent New York Home Textiles Market that was divided into five lifestyle palettes reflecting important trends throughout the showroom.

Sheets will be marketed under the in-house Initials by Keeco brand. The five lifestyles include traditional, casual, modern, global and natural world; each features a suggested palette of eight colors.

Keeco now has a color library of 82 hues and fabrications ranging from 200-count to 750-count two ply constructions on cotton, sateens and blends. The company is trying to look at different fabrications as well, such as cotton/silk. There are sheets with dobby stripes, jacquards, solids with coordinate hems and/or embroidered hems.

The modern lifestyle features microsuede looks with metallic embroidery in geometric patterns as well as a strie look on poly taffeta with asymmetrical piecing.

In casual, there are twills, linen cotton, less geometric looks featuring natural colors, greens, earth tones, and more dimension in the fabric for less fussy, cleaner design.

Global offers a lot more eclectic colors and an ethnic appeal in dupioni silk, rayon velvet burnout and cut chenille embroidery.

Traditional offers soft pastel and neutral looks in silk and cotton with various techniques such as quilting; 3-D ribbon embroidery; piecing of shines, mattes and/or sheers; raw edge appliqués; and outline embroidery.

In other news, Keeco last spring hired Michael Roach as director of marketing from Nestle. He brings a background in consumer packaged goods and has been heading up all merchandising for Keeco since then. Roach has been integral in the development of the five key lifestyle trend groups and new layout of the showroom. He has also gotten Keeco involved in more fact-based selling that is starting to enhance placements, color direction and new product development.

In addition, juvenile bedding has proven to be a huge area of growth for the company, which is focusing on a seven to early teenage boy segment with Abercrombie & Fitch- and Hawaiian-inspired looks. Keeco has also added novelty and quilt-like looks to comforters.