Denali Home is thrown into home textiles fray

By Dennis Nessler -- Home Textiles Today, 10/28/2002 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

On the heels of its expansion into the home decor segment, Denali Home Collections by Monterey Mills showcased its lineup of microplush throws and coordinating dec pillows to a whole new audience at the fall home textiles show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here.

The burgeoning company, which is a division of Monterey Mills, manufactures all of its product at the company's Janesville, WI, headquarters and made its first appearance at the show here after exhibiting at several home and gift shows throughout the country.

"We didn't think there would be this type of product here," said Patricia Egloff, national sales manager. "Our designs are different."

Egloff touted the product's microplush construction, an acrylic fiber which is machine washable, as well as the company's ability as a domestic manufacturer to ship product promptly to retailers. Some of the retailers the company targets are high-end gift shops, ski lodges, furniture stores and catalog companies.

The company recently supplemented its original Denali Country lineup of reversible throws with a more formal Denali Decor line, designed to complement today's home decor. Decorative pillows are offered as coordinates to all of the throws.

Some of the newest designs available include, Snowmen, featuring festive snowmen, trees and snowflakes on a denim background in pine black; Poinsettia, red poinsettias on a cream background with a garnet back; Classic Plaid, red, green, and black plaid, with a spruce back; and Merlot, featuring Fleur-de-lis in a rich merlot.

According to Egloff, the company's Stars & Stripes design and many of its lodge looks are among the existing designs that have really excelled at retail.

In addition to the new designs, the company is offering retailers a custom-designed Denali display rack which displays 8 to 10 throws. The 48-inch metal art, nature scene display rack comes with a metal bar for throw presentation and a laser cut Denali logo. All of the throws are packaged with a Denali Home Collections bellyband.

Price points for the throws range from $55 wholesale for 60" x 60" to $65 wholesale for 60" x 72". The coordinating decorative pillows are offered at $17 wholesale.

In addition to the throws and pillows, Denali also offers wool mattress pads. Twin, which measures 39" x 75", wholesales for $60; full, which is 54" x 75", is $85 wholesale; 60" x 80" queen size is $105 wholesale; and king, 78" x 80", wholesales for $120.

Egloff added that the company is "going to expand with some exciting new things" in the near future but declined to go into specifics.