Bergdorf Debuts Decorative Home Catalog

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 10/29/2007 12:00:00 AM

New York — —

New York —Bergdorf Goodman is showcasing its distinctive and unique home furnishings collections in a new catalog that began mailing to customers this month.

The 16-page catalog with a distribution of 100,000 represents a first for the luxury retailer — its first dedicated home furnishings catalog. Previously, the store featured home items as part of its overall apparel and gift books, said Nicholas Manville, divisional vp, decorative home.

One of the reasons for the home book “is that sometimes we think we're one of the best-kept secrets in New York. This is a way to reach out to those who don't know us,” Manville told HTT.

While apparel is the mainstay of the store's merchandise mix, home has played a strong role over the years, and “table linens is one of our top departments,” Manville related. “Our customers take great pride in entertaining and appreciate that we stock many sizes and colors. We also have a fair sized home textiles department with exclusive Leontine Linens for custom work in appliqués and embroideries.” Tabletop is also a strong department, he said.

The catalog's cover features spiked metal orbs inspired by vintage pieces from Los Angeles-based designer Kelly Wearstler's personal collection. She has a newly opened boutique on the seventh floor of the store, part of the ever-changing home presentation. Wearstler also designed the BG restaurant found on that floor.

“Kelly has been the most collaborative and most directional of the people we have worked with,” Manville said. “She brought us a new experience — newly made objects in limited production, very special items,” all presented in a special 350-square-foot room with niches.

The seventh floor which, except for the restaurant, is dedicated to home, has a center hall that changes completely every six to eight weeks. “It showcases our most important collections,” Manville noted.

The catalog is presented differently from previous efforts which focused on single items. Here there are full rooms of merchandise such as an array of dinnerware, glassware and table accessories, as well as the table linens.

In home textiles, Leontine is the major linens suppliers, table linens include Le Jacquard Francais and Kim Seybert, and fur throws are from Adrienne Landau and Agnona.

To date, response to the home book has been great, Manville said. “Customers are taking time to study the pages and are buying multiple items per page.”

Home furnishings will be included in a store-wide gift book in November, as well as in all store advertising in The New York Times and The New York Post in November, Manville related. A repeat of the home book would anniversary this edition, he said.