WestPoint Innovates Across Brand Lines

Jennifer Marks -- Home Textiles Today, 10/15/2010 4:25:43 AM

Newport is a new bed in the Izod collection that bridges the gap between seasonal and fashion looks.NEW YORK - WestPoint made a major introduction with the Hanes brand in bedding and bath at market earlier this month.
     "The big idea is comfort from the inside - about building your bed from the bottom up," said Nancy Golden, senior vp marketing and brand management.
     Mattress pads include directional tagging so that consumers know, literally, which end is up. All fashion beds have West- Point's SwiftFit bed skirts, which don't require lifting the mattress. Packaging for several of the products allows consumers to touch the goods in the same way Hanes socks are packaged so consumers can feel them.
     In sheeting, Hanes offers two constructions: a drop-needle knit and a soft cotton.
     WestPoint has added a bath towel to the Caribbean Joe collection. The sand-washed technique - WestPoint refers to it as "weather-washed" - is designed to give the towel a nice hand but also visually differentiate itself on the shelf. The company has also designed a line of mix-and-match novelty prints for Caribbean Joe.
     With an eye to the back-to-school season, it has added an Izod vintage look as well as an Izod Performix style.
     The manufacturer is also highlighting Color Remedy, a line of bedding and bath that resists benzoyl peroxide, an active ingredient in acne medications that also bleeds color out of sheets and towels.
     "We're showing it here as back-to- school, but it's really a core program," said Golden.