Avanti to put Neuburger in towels

MOONACHIE, NJ — Embellished towel manufacturer Avanti Linens and sleepwear/home brand Karen Neuburger recently paired up to produce a line of embellished towels.

Avanti will domestically produce here at its headquarters full 100 percent cotton towel ensembles — bath, hand, wash and tip — that coordinate with existing Karen Neuburger collections for her sleepwear and bedding lines, and can be offered as part of freestanding ensembles, Michael Tauber, president, Avanti, told Home Textiles Today.

The initial launch — slated for the upcoming New York Home Textiles market in April — will consist of four different collections, each composed of two designs donning Neuburger's signature floral and print looks.

"Karen represents an important brand and designer name for department stores," Tauber said. "Her styling is great. It's soft and pretty and lends itself to embellished towels."

Price points are set at $19.99 to $24.99.

For the launch of the line, Neuburger will spend a day — April 15, during market week — at Avanti's showroom, 295 Fifth Ave. in suite 207.

"Our partnership with Avanti brings the strong marketing, sourcing and operational resources of Avanti and its dedicated team of individuals to bear," Jeff Casner, senior vp, Karen Neuburger Ltd., told HTT. "Avanti is the leader in the embellished towel product category. We look forward to working together with the Avanti team to bring another great Karen Neuburger program to market. We will be working with Avanti to engage all our options in product development and packaging to bring the distinctive Karen Neuburger personality to the product."

The partnership represents Avanti's third license — the others are folk artist Warren Kimble and floral designer artist Cheri Blum.

Neuburger's home collection of products includes sleepwear, loungewear, bedding, home fragrances and most recently slippers — which she last week licensed to Wolverine World Wide Inc. Neuburger's home collection is offered at department stores.

Building on its home collection, Karen Neuburger Ltd. is actively pursuing expansion into other home textiles categories, including basic bedding, mattress and box spring programs, floor coverings, tapestry throws and related tapestry gift products, soft luggage and table linens, Casner said.

Guilford Home Fashions, which recently shut its doors after parent company Guilford Mills filed for Chapter 11, was the former bedding licensee for Karen Neuburger.