In-Store Review

Home Textiles Today Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/23/2012 2:00:00 AM

Home Textiles Today continues this series critiquing branded private and captured label programs at retail, shopping one particular store as well as the website for a specific retailer. Rankings are from one star (least) to five stars (most) with the overall score being an average for the five individual evaluations.

1 Design
"The collection is understated and customer friendly. The feature bed in the store is called Coronado Paisley. It's very pretty, an easy-to-use ogee style in soft pastels with beige. The comforter reverses to a small foulard design, but the back is polyester, which seems to negate the reversibility. The second bed is called Striae Damask, a nicely drawn rough warp/ikat-style in shades of taupe and grey that highlight the white elements. Very impressed."
Rating: * * * *

2 Visual Presentation
"I wish this collection was better merchandised. Penney believes in breaking down a designer offering into its component parts, so the sheets are in their own fixture across the floor from the bedding along with all the other sheets Penney stocks. So it seems to me to be unfortunate that the in-store shopper has no easy way to know there are Cindy Crawford sheets - six pretty solid colors of 100% sateen. The Coronado Paisley bed is made up with Liz Claiborne sheets, which only adds to the confusion. I suppose separating the sheets - and having almost no twins on the floor - are decisions made by people in Texas [at Penney headquarters] using the most up-to-date technology, but I have to wonder if things have changed that much. The store is clean, structured and neat. But the separation of sheets from top-of-the-bed to my mind is a detriment to sales."
Rating: * * * *

3 Packaging
"It's all clear polyester, easy to read and serviceable. Decorative pillows are often marked as made in China and filled in Mexico."
Rating: * * * *

4 Relevance to Store Customer
"I say four stars based upon my knowledge of the Penney customer. There are miles of bedding ensembles from screeching color to suburban baroque, but this collection is tasteful, quiet and intelligent. I think it's underplayed. I was surprised at the absence of quilts and coverlets, which have always been important to J.C. Penney."
Rating: * * * *

5 Relative Value
"It's competitively priced with other designer merchandise. But one group is marked at $160 while another is marked at $150. The ubiquitous standing plexi fixture attempts at explaining the new Penney pricing structure ... or is it a policy? But one is still forced to go online to understand what's on offer from this designer brand."
Rating: * * * *

Overall Rating: 3.9 Stars * * * *