CHF relaunches bedding sub-brand aimed at tweener market

By Marvin Lazaro -- Home Textiles Today, 11/19/2001 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

CHF Industries relaunched one of its sub-brands during fall market in an attempt to carve a retail niche with a new lineup of non-licensed all-cotton bedding.

Cool Cotton Stuff for Your Space, a sub-brand of the company's Reflections brand, is now featuring solely 100 percent, 200-count cotton sheeting and many top-of-bed items also constructed from all cotton. The collection, aimed at the 12- to 17-year-old tweener group, is designed to provide many of the hot fashion looks tweens want for their bedrooms while giving parents access to the same quality of goods that they might use for their bedrooms.

Eight core beds are featured in the initial introduction of the cotton-dominated line, including an assorted range of complementary products such as decorative pillows, shaped area rugs, bulletin boards and clocks.

"We take pride in being able to push the envelope," said Joan Karron, executive vp of New York-based CHF, about the impetus behind the re-launch. "We were the first to develop branded product for tweeners and the first to introduce decorative accessories. So we're always thinking about what's next, and we were wondering what could we do to break out of print-based design limitations.

"We believe we've brought good taste and classic styling with differentiated products at affordable prices to the marketplace," she elaborated.

Taking advantage of two of the latest design trends going through home textiles, Star Gazer and Liberty are full quilt ensembles with patriotic themes. Spring Fever features a semi-retro butterfly design, while Dream is done on a sky blue ground with white clouds on its face. Gingham Garden features a drawstring duvet cover, as does the Picnic duvet ensemble. The Clothesline and Craftstore quilts utilize various textures and constructions, including crochet and ball fringe, to add dimension. Each of the beds also has one or two gingham coordinates.

Retail price points start at $29.99 for a twin sheet set, while top-of-bed will range from $59.99.

"The combination of unlicensed products with 100 percent cotton construction allows retailers to get into a category they have been unable to prosper in previously because of highly competitive pricing," said Frank Foley, CHF's president and ceo. "It's a real lifestyle program for kids, and it allows children to really develop their bedroom in layers like parents would do."

Although the collections do not currently encompass bathroom offerings, Foley said that as the Cool Cotton Stuff for Your Space line becomes more established, then it will be expanded into other product categories.

"[The collection] gives us another channel of distribution," Foley said. "It certainly adds to our portfolio."