A decade ago, when Kmart went all-out to save its business, the biggest move by Kmart merchants was to secure and dynamically expand the Martha Stewart program in home textiles.

How things have changed.

In his two-hour address at the Sears/Kmart annual meeting, Sears Holdings chairman Edward Lampert waxed positive about the exclusive Cannon program that is still taking shape, while once again tantalizing other retailers with offers of sharing the brand equity of Kenmore and Craftsman.

Comments (0)

Yesterday, I highlighted some basic retail operations metrics at Linens ’n Things. We saw that in the two years under its Apollo Management ownership, the profit gap between the company’s gross margin and its overhead has flipped: from positive 330 basis points in 2005, to negative 520 basis points in 2007.

Today we’ll look at another fundamental that has gone out of whack: interest expense.

...Read More

Comments (0)

Specialty retailer Linens ’n Things is deep in its mission to obtain new financial backing and in the words of chairman and ceo Robert DiNicola, “exploring several alternatives in our efforts to recapitalize the company.”

DiNicola told the Wall Street Journal yesterday, “Our capital structure was never designed to withstand this kind of pummeling from the outside world.”

Comments (0)

There are plenty of thriving companies that at one time or another filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

There are not many still around that filed for Chapter 11 more than once.

Dan River joined this select crew of “Chapter 22” filers on Sunday, April 20.

In July 1882, a cotton textile factory was founded on ...Read More

Comments (0)

Target’s marketing throw-weight is mighty, mighty. Especially as compared to its big-bruiser, mass merchandising rival, Wal-Mart.

Target spent $1.16 billion on advertising last year.*

Wal-Mart spent $1.07 billion.*

Comments (0)

Publicly held companies are supposed to compete on a generally level playing field.

Macy’s Inc., in its latest fourth-quarter and year-end earnings call, however, announced that it no longer will report sales on a monthly basis. Instead, shareholders – and people in the retail and home textiles industries alike – will have to wait for quarterly sales figures.

And when making its quarterly reports of sales and earnings, the company plans to do without forecasts.

...Read More

Comments (0)

Holiday is here and each hour counts.

Here are a few observations on the first tier of the HTT Top 50 Retailing Giants as we look into the crystal ball for year-end results (figures are 2006 home textiles sales):

1. Wal-Mart - $3.640 billion

It took a long time to finally hear this: “We’re seeing improvements in both home and apparel” – but hear it we did, from ceo Lee Scott on the 3Q earnings c...Read More

Comments (0)

Airing of the pilot episode for “Cashmere Mafia” has been pushed back by ABC-TV to January 1 or beyond, in part due to the writers’ strike.

However, you’d never know it from strolling around Madison and Park Avenues near the home textiles showrooms (and our HTT offices). Production is going full steam ahead, our side streets jammed with vans, lighting cranes, cameras, cables, technicians, buffet tables, prop vehicles, security, extras and assistants – and fashionably thin stars including Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) and Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings).

&nb...Read More

Comments (1)

It used to be that purveyors and protectors of some brands looked down on shopping-by-TV. Too much of a Vegematic image, I guess.

That may be changing. Take HSN (Home Shopping Network), for example. The company just named Lynne Ronon evp merchandising, and among her designated responsibilities: stewardship of HSN brand partners and the development of exclusive HSN brands.

In her merchandising career, Rono...Read More

Comments (0)

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.

Or was it the other way around?

The proud new owners of a classic brand might be excused for getting confused.

Take for example, Iconix Brand Group, an investment and marketing outfit that has quickly built itself into a player in the fashion brand licensing arena. For the first time, Iconix has entered the home textiles zone by virtue of acquiring Official Pillowtex and that entity’s lead home brands: Cannon, Charisma, Fieldcrest, and Royal Velvet.

Hoping to convince Wall Street analysts that this buy-in was a wise one, Iconix last week sent top executives to...Read More

Comments (0)

In home textiles these days, that’s an open question.

Looking at the history of some once-dominant brands raises even more questions.

Cannon, for instance. Founded in 1888, Cannon Mills was bought nearly 100 years later by Fieldcrest Mills for $250 million. In turn, Fieldcrest-Cannon was acquired in 1997 at a price tag of some $756 million by Pillowtex.

After Pillowtex’s bankruptcy in 2003, Cannon and its sister brands – Fieldcrest, Charisma, and Royal Velvet – were acquired for $128 million by a group dubbed Official Pillowtex, led by the Schottenstein liquidation business.

$231 million later, Off...Read More

Comments (0)

Hey, home textiles people! Get with it – get moving with some fresh looks awreddy!

Have we forgotten why consumers buy our products in the first place? Not necessarily for need. More often because they see something they like!

Just now, talking with some of the leading window treatment suppliers, the message came through loud and clear: so energy prices are up, so travel is down and holiday sales look to be off, and housing is tipping down faster – so that’s all good news!

Comments (1)