Aranda USA opens NYC showroom

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Blanket and throw manufacturer Aranda USA will throw open the doors to its new showroom at 230 Fifth Avenue during the New York Home Textiles Market later this week.

The year-old U.S. operation is a division of an Italian-owned company based in South Africa. Aranda produces better-quality blankets and throws for the specialty, department store and catalog channels. None of its designs are achieved through printing, noted Robin Yellini, U.S. ceo.

"It's a very quality-conscious company," he told HTT. "You can't make high-quality goods for some customers and lower-quality goods for others. One rubs off against the other."

The cornerstones of its offerings are Touch Me, a dobby woven micro-fiber acrylic that retails at $39.99 for a 60" x 80" throw; Top Suede, a soft, non-furry woven acrylic that retailers from $34.99 to $39.99; and Cassandra, a wool-like acrylic available in solids and plaids that retails from $30 to $65, depending upon size.

Aranda is adding to its collection with Cotton Suede, a cotton/acrylic blend that retails from $70 to $90 in twin through kind blanket sizes. Two other new constructions, as yet unnamed, include an unbrushed, super-soft acrylic and a similar microfiber with a soft drape.

"I believe there's a real swing toward blankets and throws that are not fur-pile — and our movement is in that direction," he said.

Aranda USA also is looking to penetrate more deeply into the U.S. market. The division's distribution center in Indianapolis stocks its full line of product. The parent company recently doubled in size, acquiring a second factory six months ago in South Africa, and produces three million blankets each month.

"We didn't want to get into the gutter, fighting everyone else on who can reach the lowest price. And we haven't come to America to sell every chain store in the United States.," he said. "We want to be important to a few key chains that appreciate real quality."