Mohawk Tells Story With Vignettes

Sugar Valley, Ga. —Mohawk Home showcased the breadth of its product categories at the recent New York Home Textiles Market by placing them into trend-driven lifestyle vignettes, all founded on a more sophisticated palette and new textured constructions, with some hitting slightly higher price points.

Whereas juvenile licensed products and pictorial tapestries once occupied a more prominent presence, Mohawk Home created a separate gallery to house these products to make room for the lifestyle groupings.

At the center of the new approach were throws and decorative pillows — two categories on which the company is placing a renewed emphasis.

The revamped throw line includes new heavyweight knitted acrylic, cotton and rayon constructions that fall into five style groups — Urban Sleek, Global Village, Traditional Elegance, Calypso Brights, Mediterranean and Spa.

“We're having success by adding weight and using acrylic yarns for our throws,” said Bart Hill, general manager, textiles division.

He explained that price points five to six years ago for throws ranged between $40 and $50, but have since been compressed to the $13 to $15 range for commodity goods, with a $20 price generating the volume.

“We need to move the prices up to achieve the volume, and we're doing that by bringing back the quality,” Hill said.

Examples include Chenille Damask, a woven heavyweight chenille damask with tassels, set to retail for up to $90; Hayward, a rayon boucle basket weave center with a cotton rayon damask border set to retail for $70; and Wyndham, a tweed-like acrylic boucle for $50. All measure 50-by-70.

The new decorative pillow offerings comprise mainly stand-alone looks — many of which are solid colored with subtle embellishments or handiwork — that cross-coordinate with the throws and top-of-bed goods in the five style groupings, allowing for more elbow room in mixing and matching among designs and constructions.

“We made it more about eclectic coordination than the direct coordination in previous lines,” said Merle Johnson, vice president, marketing. “We feel strongly about the lifestyle approach to coordination — an easily understood concept for both retailers and consumers. People are taking different lifestyles and incorporating them into one décor theme in their homes. They want a 'no rules' decorating approach to their décor and we're trying to answer that.”

Mohawk Home's new design approach was also evident in its Stainmaster Majestic solid color bath rug program, which employs Invista nylon. For this collection, the company created 40 colorways — marking the first time it has gone beyond its usual eight- to 10-color offerings, noted David Record, product manager for the bath category. Made at the company's facilities here, this collection is positioned as a premium product and is set to retail for $20.