Bloomingdale's Ups Home Fashion Profile

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 3/10/2008 12:00:00 AM

New York —

Bloomingdale's is expanding its efforts to establish its home furnishings business as a fashion-forward authority.

The new "bHome" catalog that dropped last Thursday "is part of the continuing effort to step up Bloomingdale's as a fashion store first, just as we are the arbiters of fashion forward in apparel," explained Joe Laneve, svp, home.

Until now, "We haven't been as aggressive in making our fashion statement in home," he said, although the home departments have been undergoing a dramatic change in merchandise mix and presentation over the last year or so.

The new "bHome" was mailed concurrently with the store's semi-annual fashion book – "HOT" – that is distributed in March and September.

"It's all about color and florals," Laneve noted. "We're getting animation and excitement in lockstep with the fashion statement in ready-to-wear."

"There are a lot of new beds and furniture, and we're the launch store for exclusives and debuts in tabletop," Laneve added. New merchandise will be featured every month and the store will hold a series of special events for home.