Chereskin moves further into home

Marvin Lazaro -- Home Textiles Today, 9/23/2002 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Readying his first wave of home product for its inaugural shipment, menswear designer Ron Chereskin is rapidly expanding into all aspects of home textiles and has designs on opening his own dedicated retail store.

After inking licensing deals with Britannica Home Fashions for fashion bedding and down and United Feather & Down for down alternative bedding, the Ron Chereskin Home label is also appearing on tabletop items, bath accessories and bath rugs. New licensing deals with Tobin Home Fashions, Maytex Mills and Mohawk Home have been signed.

All five product lines are scheduled to be unveiled this October market, said Howard Goldfarb, vp of licensing for Ron Chereskin.

Specifically, Tobin is responsible for a complete line of tablecloths, place mats, napkins, napkin rings, table runners, kitchen accessories, chair pads, appliance covers and aprons. Maytex, for its part, is responsible for shower curtains with liners, matching shower hooks and coordinating bath accessories. Mohawk Home is manufacturing bath rugs for this market, but the scope of the license in all likelihood will be expanded, Goldfarb said.

While the products previewing this market will all be merchandised throughout retail selling floors, Goldfarb said the plan was to ultimately have a shop-within-a-shop complete with fixtures. Asked about the possibility of a Chereskin bricks-and-mortar location, Goldfarb acknowledged talks are in progress for a Chereskin store "hopefully" within a year. He added that the merchandise in the store would be a mixture of apparel and home products.

"The home is really a major challenge for [Chereskin]," Goldfarb said. "He really wants it to be successful. He also felt a need to show that his input could be very much accepted by retailers, and eventually consumers."

In addition to the soft aspects of home textiles, Chereskin has also signed a deal with Brewster Wallcovering Co. for a line of wallcoverings.

Goldfarb said the reception from retailers has been "phenomenal" since they "like Ron's approach to home and how he has brought lifestyle to it."