Cecile Corral

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Bath towels in my grocery cart, please

Over the past few months, many industry contacts have talked about their clandestine efforts to pursue alternative channels to sell their wares. I say clandestine because none of these companies wants to reveal their tactics, much less the specific retailers they are courting, for competitive purposes.   For some decorative pillow players, pet stores offer a new venue for carrying pet beds, which... More

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Caught in the middle of the marketplace

When Williams-Sonoma Inc. — which HTT this year ranked as the 10th largest home textiles retailer in the country — says it is bracing itself in 2008 for what it expects to possibly be the "worst" selling year with memory (roughly 30 years), you know it’s time to worry. I listened to and reported on the six-nameplate upscale home furnishings and furniture company’s fourth quarter and yearend earnin... More

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Kohl's coming to Miami

Good news for me (and bad news for my husband): Kohl’s is heading to Miami. During Kohl’s fourth quarter and yearend earnings call last week, execs announced that in the fall it will for the first time enter into the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale metro markets.  Ironically, I’ve been seeing Kohl’s advertisements on television for many months now. I can’t say exactly which channels or during which program... More

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Rich niche bewitched?

  It seems the high-end consumer, the non-working lady of the house with a wallet bedecked in credit cards and a back account replete with accessible cash, is doing what was once unthinkable — thinking twice before she makes expensive, unnecessary purchases.   Unity Marketing’s Luxury Consumption Index this week reported that luxury consumer confidence at the onset of this New Year dropped to a re... More

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Persian Rugs OK despite embargo against Iran

Despite the tense relations between the U.S. and Iran, carpets and other textile floor coverings are about the only product the U.S. can legally import from the Persian nation. The report That’s good news for the industry. There are at least 62 types of Persian carpets and rugs, as outlined in Wikipedia.org under the Persian Carpet section. They are based mostly on the region where they are mad... More