Ritzenthaler brightens outlook with Susan Sargent

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/10/2002 3:26:00 PM

West Conshohocken, PA — Making a dynamic break from its traditional solid-color business, kitchen textiles and table linen supplier The John Ritzenthaler Co. has signed a licensing partnership with Pawlet, VT-based Susan Sargent Designs Inc. to produce a collection depicting the designer's signature patterns.

"For us, this is a huge departure from our strong, core solid basic business," Debby Stirner, director of design and product development, told HTT. "Partnering with Susan Sargent is a very dynamic move for us, and we are very excited about it."

Sargent said the partnership aids the expansion of her brand into more home textiles categories through outside suppliers, part of a strategy to acquire broader distribution at the national retail level.

For the launch, scheduled for October at the New York Home Textiles Market, Ritzenthaler will introduce close to 400 skus, which Stirner described as "a full-blown line that represents a much larger collection [for launch] than usual for us. We're really going ahead with a tremendous amount of product for this line."

Ritzenthaler's Susan Sargent Collection will include a full line of kitchen textiles — chair pads, oven mitts, pocket mitts, pot holders, aprons and kitchen towels in printed, flat and embroidered constructions — as well as a complete offering of table linens, including table cloths, place mats, napkins and runners.