The Thread
Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Marks shares news and views from around the home textiles marketplace.
Celeb Confessions
I confess I rolled my eyes when I learned last week that Donny Osmond is planning to unleash a home furnishings line late next year. I was not the only one among my colleagues to do so.Hoping to provide my sisters with a laugh, I dashed off an email titled "Are you ready to live the Donny Osmond lifestyle!" Guess what? They are."I will be very interested to see his products," r... Read More
Comments (0)Marathon Man
The headlines have not been pretty. The naysayers have been quite vocal. A judge's ruling in the Macy's lawsuit against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia threw a monkey wrench into the Martha shop-in-shop plan. And a recent analyst report suggested the rollout of the critical brand shop concept may be delayed.But JCPenney ceo Ron Johnson remains committed to the vision he laid out in January. "... Read More
Comments (3)Brave New World
Regional merchandising has been around for a long time. So has regionalized pricing. The Internet has spawned personalized product offers - and now, apparently, personalized pricing.The Economist is out with a story - "How Deep Are Your Pockets?" - about software that allows online retailers to adjust pricing based on an individual's willingness to spend. Shoppers who tend to jump fairly... Read More
Comments (1)Wheels of Retail
It's ironic when you think about it. Just as national chain retailers are embracing the model of limited-edition collections to gin up consumer interest and drive traffic, leading flash sale sites have been pushing some of their curated merchandise offerings beyond the typical three-day window to create more sustainable return business.This November, Kohl's will become the latest big box to embrac... Read More
Comments (1)How the Deal Went Down
Cost Plus released its preliminary proxy statement last week, outlining how the process of its pending acquisition by Bed Bath & Beyond unfolded. The story begins in October 2009, when PJSC - Cost Plus' financial advisor - reached out to companies that might be interested in making an equity investment or forming a strategic partnership with the retailer. At the end of the month, Cost Plus would r... Read More
Comments (1)Penney Pivots
After listening to JCPenney's executive team a couple of weeks ago announce a marketing shift to emphasize item discounts in its advertising I had to wonder: Did the retailer's everyday pricing message resonate a little too well?Penney's multi-media "fair and square" campaign had been its central message since it streamlined its pricing policy Feb. 1. The company had expected sales to fa... Read More
Comments (5)Back to the Future?
It's been a while since we've seen a company in the retail space like the one that Bed Bath and Beyond is evolving into - a multi-nameplate retailer that operates in a diverse array of product sectors.You have to go back to the late 1980s and early 1990s to find something similar, and even then the examples are ... limited.Until it began spinning off properties in the early '90s, Melville Corp. op... Read More
Comments (2)Trendspotting
Last week's High Point Market officially wrapped up the winter/spring trade show season that began with the big Heimtextil show in January. Combing through home introductions from key shows, here are a few stand-out product directions.1. TextureSurface texture is important in every product category. We're seeing more ruffles, more roushing, pintucking and gathering. Cuffs on sheets and cases are g... Read More
Comments (3)Retail Inspiration
Sometimes you need to recharge your batteries and look outside your own universe. To that end, I recommend the National Retail Federation's "This Is Retail" competition at nrf.com.The contest is now down to 10 semifinalists. Sadly, there are no linen stores among them. Nevertheless, the two-minute videos from the contestants provide a nice pick-me-up - and, who knows, maybe a few ideas.T... Read More
Comments (4)Back to the Future
After Best Buy announced last week that it will close 50 large-format stores and open 100 small Best Buy Mobile stores, Bloomberg News proclaimed: "The Era of Big Box Retail Dominance is Coming to an End."The rise of online shopping was cited as one of the factors along with the "showroom" phenomenon whereby consumers visit a store to check out merchandise in person, then pull... Read More
Comments (1)The E-Game
There was a lot of buzz about ecommerce during the New York Home Fashions Market two weeks ago - a significant, eyebrow-raising amount of talk.Ecommerce buyers I heard mentioned most often included Amazon, macys.com and Overstock. There was also a fair amount of chatter about the appearance of Groupon in New York showrooms during the week. Increasing numbers of suppliers are talking about their f... Read More
Comments (0)The E-Game
There was a lot of buzz about ecommerce during the New York Home Fashions Market two weeks ago - a significant, eyebrow-raising amount of talk.Ecommerce buyers I heard mentioned most often included Amazon, macys.com and Overstock. There was also a fair amount of chatter about the appearance of Groupon in New York showrooms during the week. Increasing numbers of suppliers are talking about their f... Read More
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