Calvin Klein, Nourison to do rugs

By Andrea Lillo -- Home Textiles Today, 11/13/2000 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK -Calvin Klein Inc. announced that it has entered a long-term exclusive licensing agreement with Saddlebrook, NJ-based Nourison for the manufacture and distribution of area rugs under the Calvin Klein Home label. Consisting of both handmade and machine-made rugs, the collection will bow in fall 2001.

The collection will be sold in department stores, furniture and rug specialty stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as in freestanding Calvin Klein Collection stores.

"Calvin Klein Home is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic segments of our business," said Tom Murry, president and COO, Calvin Klein. "Broadening the Home offering to include rugs is an important priority for us, and we're very pleased to be partnering with a company the caliber of Nourison."

Alexander Peykar, principal, Nourison, added, "We are genuinely excited to begin this relationship with Calvin Klein Home. We are confident that the Calvin Klein rug collection will create a unique fashion impact and likewise become a key component in the expansion of this truly directional franchise."

Under the terms of the agreement, Nourison will manufacture and distribute both handmade and powerloom rugs, which will be designed by Calvin Klein Inc.

Though the collection is still in development, it will "be designed in the Calvin Klein esthetic," said Ed Vairo, director of creative marketing. And the company will "develop a broad range of pricing and fabrications" for it," he added.

Standard sizes are expected, Vairo said, and will probably range from 4x6 to 10x14.

"We feel positive and so does Calvin Klein," he said. "It's a good match with their look and our range of constructions and distribution in the marketplace. There is synergy between the two companies and this collection will be an important and directional one."