Retail briefs

As Linens 'N Things works to revivify its textiles business, it's also upgrading product quality and simultaneously sharpening price points, executives said during the company's first quarter conference call earlier this month. The strategy, as described by chairman Norman Axelrod: "Better quality goods at better-than-last-year prices." Strong textiles performers during the quarter included window treatments, driven by new fashion introductions, and proprietary duvet and quilt programs as well as two new major solid-color sheet programs.

Despite Kmart's woes, sales of Martha Stewart Everyday products at the discounter are up 17 percent year-to-date, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia president Sharon Patrick told investors during a first quarter conference call last week. The figure reflects the impact of new product introductions as well as clearance sales from stores in the process of liquidating. Exclusive of those factors, sales are up 13 percent to 14 percent.

Century 21 Department Stores will hold a grand opening for its Morristown, NJ, store on April 30. Formerly a Macy's, the store has four floors totaling 132,000 square feet. Directly across from Morristown's Historic Green, the new store joins Century 21's five other New York metro area locations.

Crate & Barrel placed its latest spring catalog in five major newspapers last week, a marketing strategy it has used before. In addition to sending the catalog to its regular mailing list, Crate positioned the catalog in the Wednesday or Thursday editions of the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe and the New York Times.