Monday, December 3, 2012

Inside This IssueHear Ye, Hear Ye ...........................page 4

Merry M-Mas ................................page 4

Love Plus Luxury Equal 15 Years For Bedded Bliss ...........................page 8

Holiday Kick-Off Not Quite Enough ........................page 23

THE BUSINESS AND FASHION NEWSPAPER OF THE HOME TEXTILES INDUSTRY | hometextilestoday.com | Vol. 33, No. 26 | $8.00

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The Top Five Retail Stories of 2012

HTT STAFF REPORT

NEW YORK — It was a year of recovery for most retailers, but a rising tide did not lift all boats in the home department.

Rather, the heartiness of home sales remained un-even from retailer to retail-er, with no clear trend line within channels.

In March, Walmart re-ported its U.S. stores had recorded a positive comp in the home department

during the fourth quarter for the Þ rst time in 2 ½ years. TargetÕs home department comps were still trending down as 2012 dawned, but by the third quarter were leading the way among discretionary categories. Home re-

mained strong at TJX Cos., as it had throughout the re-cession, but fell off at rival

Ross Stores.Major brand rollouts

this year in soft home in-cluded Sofia Vergara at Kmart, Threshold and Nate

Land of Nod Lands in NYC

BY JENNIFER MARKS

NEW YORK – The Land of Nod has opened its Þ rst pop store Ñ perhaps a sign of things to come as the multichannel retailer of infant and kids home furnish-ings looks to roll out addition brick-and-mortar stores in the next Þ ve years.

ÒWe hope to come to New York with a permanent store,Ó said Michelle Kohanzo, manag-ing director, The Land of Nod. ÒWe need more stores. But not hundreds of stores. WeÕll be fo-cused on key markets.Ó

The company currently op-erates four physical stores, doing

the majority of its selling online and by catalog.

The 3,200-square-foot pop-store is located in New YorkÕs Soho neighborhood at 136 Prince St. between West Broad-way and Wooster Street. It will operate through Dec. 31.

The store is Þ lled with exclu-sive assortment of childrenÕs toys Ñ the Þ rst time the retailer has created its own toy collection Ñ and holiday dŽcor, including home textiles. Weekly events in-clude book readings and DIY crafts such as puppet making. On site holiday gift boxing will also be available.

SEE LAND OF NOD PAGE 12

SEE STORIES PAGE 6

TOP

5RETAILSTORIES2012

OMAHA, NEB. — Gordmans, a regional apparel and home retailer, opened nine new stores in the Þ rst three quarters of the Þ scal year, entering four new mar-kets. Executives said they plan to keep a similar opening pace in the next two years.

ÒWe entered four new markets: Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah; Boise, Id.; and Indianapolis, Ind., as well as opened additional stores in Minneapo-lis and Denver,Ó said Jeff Gordman, president and ceo, during the companyÕs quarterly con-ference call last week.

The promotional department store chain, which currently operates 83 stores in 18 states, will expand into three new states next year. The company plans to open at least nine new stores in 2013, one-third of them in existing markets.

For 2014, the goal is 10 net new stores, said Gordman.

While GordmansÕ earnings per share during the third quarter exceeded expec-tations, the comp on home fashions de-clined in the low-single-digit range, he said.

Net income for the quarter ended Oct. 27 fell 16% to $ 3.995 million, or 21

Gordmans Expands Footprint

JEFF GORDMAN

Gordmans SEE EXPANSION PAGE 2

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2 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comNews

cents per share. Sales rose 8.7% to $143.1 million, with comps down 1.4%.

Although the average transac-tion was higher during the quar-ter, traffi c was down, he said.

For the nine month period, net income rose 4.2% to $15.6 million, or 80 cents per share. Sales climbed 10.6% to $405.2 million, and comps increased by 1.1%. HTT

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T

DALLAS — Feizy Rugs will kick off a year-long celebration during the January 2013 markets as the company marks its 40th anniversary.

John Feizy founded Feizy Rugs in 1973 as a small re-tail store in Dallas, carrying only fi ne, hand-knotted piec-es. He soon developed a loyal clientele of interior design-ers. He leased a space in the Dallas World Trade Center and began to deal exclusively to the trade. Recognizing the demand for a variety of unique programmed rugs, he expanded his operation to include rug designers both in Dallas and overseas, and the company’s collections grew to encompass the Feizy Fine Rug Collection as well as the Feizy Home Collection.

“Our designers have been hard at work creating some stunning collections to commemorate our 40th year in business,” said John Feizy, president and ceo. “There are some incredible events planned, and lots of contests and incentives to celebrate our loyal clients. We’ve developed some really special relationships over the past 40 years and continue to form new ones at each market, and this is a time to honor our customers as well. We’re looking forward to our ruby anniversary.”

The company is planning fetes for each of the Las Vegas and High Point 2013 markets and will also be launching several con-

tests and social media initiatives, making major product announce-ments and unveiling a new catalog. HTT

NORCROSS, GA. — Amer Rugs is moving to a new permanent Atlanta showroom at Americasmart Building 1, showroom 5-D-2. Amer will host a grand opening celebra-tion Jan. 9-16, 2013 during market. Pro-motions, prizes, and entertainment will be scheduled throughout the week.

The company’s new 6,500-square-foot showroom showcases Amer’s entire run-

ning product line, as well as a full com-plement of one-of-a-kind rugs and new ad-ditions, and features a private conference room, hospitality and lounging areas for rug viewings and a dedicated wi-fi area.

“We are pleased with this move and feel that this new location will be benefi -cial to our customers, new and old alike,” said company president Tanuj Gupta. “We

look forward to this celebration, as well as welcoming everyone to the new face of Amer.”

Mahesh Choudhary founded Amer Rugs in 1986. Today, Tanuj & Monika Gupta, along with their dedicated staff and thou-sands of skilled artisans around the world, operate Amer, which is known for its exten-sive lineup of handmade rugs. HTT

December 3, 2012

Feizy Rugs Marking 40th Anniversary in 2013

GordmansEXPANSION FROM PAGE 1

Amer Rugs Moves to New Showroom At Americasmart

Donald, Cameron and Betsy Feizy.

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Untitled-54 1 11/28/12 3:27:57 PM

4 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

OPINIONTodaY

December 3, 2012

IN T H E M I L I TA R Y, there’s a saying that generals are always getting ready to fi ght the last war.

It’s the same thing in retailing.As we clear the dust — not to men-

tion the smoke and mirrors — from the Thanksgiving weekend onslaught known

as Black Whatev-er, it is becoming increasingly clear that while retailers are consumed with doorbusters and on-line promotions to be consumed before the turkey, the real retail battlefield is actually taking place in the hands – literal-ly – of shoppers mak-

ing their purchases on smartphones and tablets.

Any retailer that doesn’t understand that just doesn’t get it.

Like online sales in general just a few short years ago, the percentage of business done via mobile is relatively small: Maybe just a few points according to most studies.

But look what happened with online: Traditional retailers have been trying to play catch-up ever since and they’ve watched Amazon take enormous market share as they’ve attempted to understand how the rules of retailing had forever changed. Now, they are in the same posi-tion when it comes to mobile retailing.

Consider that some 15% of all shop-pers made a purchase this Black Turkey weekend on a mobile device, either using a phone or tablet. Walmart says it expects 40% – 40 PERCENT! – of its online sales

this season to be generated from mobile devices. And get this: 12% of the sales from the Walmart app are being made by shop-pers while they are physically in Walmart stores. These are staggering numbers.

Even more staggering are the ones on the other side of the equation. Accord-ing to some new research from a software developer, only seven of the 100 largest American retailers have optimized their websites for tablets. Which means 93 of these guys haven’t. Duh.

And if the response from these compa-nies is that the tablet market is relatively small and they can wait to focus resourc-es on it, throw these numbers at them: Tablet shoppers are four times more like-ly to make a purchase than smartphone users and they typically spend about 150% more on average than their phone coun-terparts.

This is not just about price matching or sh’rooming. Any retailer who sees that as the primary weapon for mobile is miss-ing out big time. Some smart stores are already sending coupons to shoppers on their phones as they enter the store, trig-gered by the location capabilities of their mobile devices. There will be lots more of these kinds of things to come.

This past Black Weekend will be looked back upon as the watershed mark of the way Thanksgiving business was done. There will still be doorbusters and early openings and scenes of mayhem and panic in the aisles. But even as retailers fi -nally start to embrace online, they are al-ready behind in getting their mobile acts together.

It’s the next very merry merchandising melee. HTT

Merry M-Mas

TIS T H E SE A SON. No, not the one you’re thinking about. ‘Tis the season to face the fact that the opening volley of win-

ter trade shows is mere weeks away.In case you haven’t seen the many emails we’re sent out on

the subject, here’s the skinny if you are exhibiting at any of these shows and want to be included in HTT’s editorial coverage.

• Heimtextil: The deadline for submitting photos and information about new introductions is Friday, Dec. 14. Send to HTTHeimtextil@gmail.com.

• Atlanta Rug Market: The deadline is Monday, Dec. 10. Send to HomeTextilesToday@gmail.com.

• New York International Gift Fair: The deadline is Friday, Jan. 4. Send to HTTSamplesNY@gmail.com.

• Las Vegas Market: The deadline is Friday, Jan. 4. Send to HTTLasVegas@gmail.com.

Now, some parameters. Even if you send 20 photos, we are only going to use one per show. So edit wisely and focus on what you really want to highlight.

Your email should include: your name; company name; phone number and email; showroom location;

product name and a brief description.Digital product images should be at least 4 by 6 inches at 300 dpi (1,200

by 1,800 pixels). To reduce attachment sizes for email, we recommend sending your images in JPEG fi le format. We can also accept .TIFF, .PSD, and .EPS fi les.

If your fi les are too large to e-mail, send an inquiry to jmurphy@hom-etextilestoday.com and an FTP internet server address for upload will be provided.

Please set your digital camera on the highest quality/size setting. Also, be mindful of quality considerations. If you are photographing a straight-forward product (as opposed to a room set), be sure exposures are correct, even (no dark spots, no hot spots) and that all edges of the product are vis-ible within the frame.

And if you have any questions, or if you have news that’s not strict-ly about product introductions (expanded showroom, new category entry, personnel changes, etc.) you can email me directly a jnegley@hometextil-estoday.com.

It is, I know, an extra bit of madness in an already crazy season, but don’t miss the opportunity for some free editorial exposure. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! HTT

JenniferMarks

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Warren Shoulberg

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

HTT121201_004_005 4 11/29/2012 2:40:34 PM

5 Home Textiles Today> hometextilestoday.com

On the Road: Target, JCP

Target and JCPenney each kicked off multi-city holi-day tours last week.Target, which will open its fi rst Canadian stores in

spring 2013, began a holiday road trip in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Nov. 30 that will conclude in British Columbia in mid-December. The visits will include readings of hol-iday classics by Canadian celebrities, along with holiday treats, a craft and play zone, and an opportunity to have a photo taken with Bullseye the dog.

JCPenney launched a 12-day Holiday Giving Tour that will include a range of activities that vary by city, among them free concerts and product give-aways.

HGTV Home Opens First Pop-up Store

HGTV Home opened its fi rst pop-up store in Minne-sota’s Mall of America, a 2,000-square-foot space

with a product assortment including dec pillows, furni-ture, fl ooring, lighting, plants, paints and more.

The showroom opened Nov. 23 and will remain open through Jan. 1.

It shows three versions of HGTV’s “Be Bold,” “Relax” and “Family Time,” vignettes featured on the company’s website at http://hgtvhome.com. The products also are on display in a modern day, life-size gingerbread house in the shopping mall and entertainment complex, where shoppers can watch free demonstrations and meet HGTV network talent.

Lillian August Tests N.J. Location

High-end home furnishings retailer Lillian August tested New Jersey waters with a four-week sale in

the former Bograd’s location in Riverdale, according to The Record.

The company used the 30,000-square-foot Bograd’s for an “on the road” clearance sale, but could decide to move in permanently, the report said.

Lillian August chief operating offi cer John Weiss told The Record that the retailer has developed a base of New Jersey customers since opening in nearby Manhat-tan two years ago.

Lands’ End Opens Online Holiday Shops

Lands’ End entered the holiday selling season with nine online holiday gift shops, each stocked with

a curated collection of special gift items for men, women, girls, boys, and the home.

Categorized by price and theme, the shops can be found at www.landsend.com/gifts.

The shops include two price categories: gifts under $30 and gifts under $50. There are more than 200 gifts under $50, which in the home category includes throws, decorative pillows, and beach towels.

Other shops include: Holiday Surprises; The Dream Shop with gifts “for cuddling,” such as Portuguese fl annel sheet sets and Pendleton blankets; Living the Luxe Life, with Alpaca throws in home; Gifts for Good Kids; Gifts from Titletown, the result of the retailer’s partnership with its hometown team, the Green Bay Packers; Personalized Gifts shop, which offers mono-gramming on a variety of apparel, accessories and home items; and Santa’s Faves, an assortment of ap-parel and accessories.

RetailBriefs

December 3, 2012 News

Ginsey Moves Into New Facility

From left to right: George Valletti, cfo, Ginsey; Heather Simmons, Freeholder, County of Gloucester, N.J.; Herb Briggs, ceo, Ginsey; and Mary Fullam, svp, marketing and brand development, Ginsey.

LOGAN, N.J. — Ginsey Home So-lutions has relocated to a new facil-ity here to both support new growth and combine the company’s manu-facturing and distribution division, which had been located in two dif-ferent New Jersey towns.

The company – which man-ufactures bath and shower mats, child potty training seats and other products for the home – offi cially moved into the 130,000-sq.-ft. on Nov. 20.

“It’s a better quality working

environment for our employ-ees,” said Mary Fullam, senior vp of marketing and brand develop-ment. “Ginsey has been in busi-ness for over 50 years, with a lot of our employees long-term, some even multi-generational. We are thrilled to welcome them to the new location.”

“It’s all about efficiency and getting everyone under one roof,” said George Valletti, chief fi nan-cial offi cer.

“Ginsey hopes to double our

growth within the next fi ve years and our new facility and dedicat-ed employees are key in achieving this goal,” said Herb Briggs, chief executive offi cer.

The company employs 80 and began the move in stages, starting in late September. The official move-in for the front office em-ployees was delayed a day when by Hurricane Sandy. Ginsey began its fi rst day of manufacturing op-erations in the facility on Nov. 12. HTT

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — The previously announced acquisition of foam bedding maker Sleep In-novations by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners has been com-pleted.

Terms of the private transac-tion were not disclosed.

“Sleep Innovations is pleased to join the Sun Capital portfolio,” said Michael Thompson, pres-ident and ceo of Sleep Innova-

tions. “This partnership will fuel our continued investment in re-search and development, expand our operations, drive new product and category innovation and accel-erate our strategic growth plan.”

“Sun Capital has deep expe-rience in the bedding market, most notably with bedding prod-uct retailer Mattress Firm, which was successfully exited in 2007 at an attractive return,” said Marc

Leder, co-ceo at Sun Capital. “Sleep Innovations will benefit from our extensive experience in the bedding and retail industries as the Company looks to contin-ue on its growth trajectory.”

Sleep Innovations introduced more than 70 new products in 2011, and has more than 140 new products currently in de-velopment, according to the an-nouncement. HTT

Sleep Innovations Acquisition Final

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6 Home Textiles Today NewsDecember 3, 2012

Solutions

Weaving Dying Digital Printing Cut & Sew Pillow Blowing EDI & XML

WE PROVIDE MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS.

Untitled 18 1 5/22/12 9:12:17 AM

Berkus at Target, Royal Velvet at JCPenney, and in an interest-ing twist, Macy’s Hotel Collec-tion and Charter Club brands at ShopNBC.

Looking back on the year, however, there is one clear standout as the most impactful — and evolving — retail story of 2012.

Top Five Retail Happenings of the Year

1. JCPenney’s TransformationNothing had a greater rip-

ple effect across the industry in 2012 than JCPenney’s Janu-ary announcement of a whole-sale overhaul of its format from a promotional department store to a concept store stocked with 100 branded shop-in-shops and community areas offering every-thing from coffee bars to crafts stations.

The effort kicked off with the elimination of promotions and coupons in favor of every-day “Fair + Square” pricing on Feb. 1. Sales fell fast and kept falling, with fi rst quarter comps off 18.9%, second quarter comps down 21.7% and third quarter

comps tumbling 26.1%.The impac t on

home textiles ven-dors was particu-larly excrutiating

as JCP began to set the stage for the spring

2013 makeover of the en-tire department. Orders in

transit were cancelled. Worse,

said vendors, buying decisions largely hit the wall. In early fall when other retailers had sewed up their spring orders, many manufacturers were still await-ing a fi nal word from Penney.

2. The War for MarthaJCPenney planned to anchor

its new home department with a 20,000-square-foot Martha Stew-art shop offering a comprehen-sive assortment of products. This news did not sit well with Ma-

cy’s, whose exclusive deal for Stewart home goods technically expires in early 2013, but includ-ed an option to re-up through January 2018.

Macy’s first sued Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, then went after Penney. At last report, the court in the Penney case said it would not do any-

thing to prevent the retailer from going about its business. Howev-er, the court in the Omnimedia case issued a temporary injunc-tion and encouraged all parties to work out a solution.

By July, Omnimedia and JCP amended their contract to broaden the number of product categories JCP will carry in its Martha Stewart home depart-ment shop-in-shops. The new agreement also added more cat-egories of Stewart-branded prod-

ucts to the list of those that will be considered non-exclusive to JCPenney.

As a result of the changes, JCPenney’s minimum guaran-tee to MSLO rose $100.5 mil-lion to $282.9 million. The sum is to be paid over 10 years.

Last month, JCPenney execs re-iterated the arrival of Martha merchandise in spring, but did not specify how much merchan-dise will carry the Stewart brand and exactly what categories of merchandise will carry the Mar-tha label.

3. The Battle for the MiddleNo sooner had JCPenney’s

numbers started sinking than the great p a r l o r g a m e began: Who was benefi tting?

One thing was quite clear — there was no decisive boon

for rival Kohl’s. In February, the month JCP debuted its stripped-down pricing strategy, Kohl’s total comp actually fell by near-ly 1%. Its monthly comp per-formance wobbled throughout the remaining months: up in March, July, August and Octo-ber; down in April, May, June and September. Its best month: March, with comps up 3.6%. Its worst: May and June, each with a 4.2% comp decline.

Which raises the question: If Penney’s was stronger, would Kohl’s be weaker?

Macy’s Inc., on the other hand, pocketed a 4.6% comp

increase in February — and has consistent-

ly reported same-store gains in the eight months

since. In the nine months report-

STORIES FROM PAGE 1

TOP

5RETAILSTORIES2012

SEE STORIES PAGE 22

JCP ceo Ron Johnson announced the new strategy in late January.

Martha Stewart at a Macy’s store appearances in happier days.

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8 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comDecember 3, 2012

Love Plus Luxury Equal 15 Years For Bedded Bliss

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News

FIRST MONDAY:

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

LOUISVILLE, KY. — Ask Donna Osif what made her pick Louis-ville as the best place to set up her luxury linens shop, Bedded Bliss, and she’ll say it was love.

“Oh, God, yes,” she told HTT recently. “Defi nitely.”

Osif was in a long-distance relationship with her now-hus-band, Ernie Escamilla, back in 1996 when she decided her

career need a change. She had spent 18 years as a buyer in the garment side of textiles, working for various companies, when one day she fell in love with a little gifts store in Knoxville.

“And I said to myself, ‘If I could pick some-thing to do the rest of my life, it would be to run a shop like this,’” she recalled.

It would t ake another three years

for her to “finally get up the nerve to do it!”

Well, nerve plus a little romance. With Escamilla liv-ing in Louisville, Osif said she knew she would have to set up

shop near him to make it all work out.

That was 15 years ago. She and Escamilla are still going strong. As for her store: “It’s my baby. I love my store. I love it.”

But the past decade and a half have proven a journey for Osif, who through trial and error learned the ropes of running a linens — not garment or gifts — business on her own.

She set up shop in March 1997, and hit the road to buy merchandise.

“I went to market think-ing I was going to be a little gift shop. I didn’t really have a clear vision when I got started,” she explained. “I just thought I’d go out and get fun, gifty things peo-ple would love to purchase.”

Then, she consulted an acquaintance she made during her years buying apparel who left the business to open his own boutique store.

“He told me that if I was going

to make it, I had to include bed-ding,” she said. “He told me to get $5,000 and go to Peacock Alley and buy Peacock Alley.”

The message was simple enough.

“So I did just that,” Osif said. “But everything I bought was wrong. The bed looked beautiful, but no one wanted it. They only wanted a matelasse coverlet.”

Within six months of open-ing the store, she said she quickly realized that it was bedding — not gifts — that would become her niche business.

Using her experience in nego-tiating from her days in the gar-ment business, Osif called Pea-cock Alley back and asked the company if she could return all of the sheeting and other pieces in exchange for more matelasses and coverlets, and they obliged.

“They were happy to accom-modate me,” she said. “So I restocked all their new product, and from there my bedding busi-

ness exploded.”That’s when customers started

asking for sheets. Osif brought some lines in, among them Yves Delorme (formerly Palais Royale) “and we started selling tons of sheets just from swatches. It was incredible.”

Two years later, she was approached to become an Yves Delorme Corner Store, and when that happened “people knew that I was really a bedding store. I cemented my niche.”

Bedded Bliss measures 2,400 square feet and is located in the city’s central, “old and estab-lished” upscale neighborhood. The shop is keenly focused on bedding — including sheets, coverlets, duvets, quilts and some utility — as well as bath and table linens, and some small home accents and gift items.

Aside from Yves Delorme, other key vendors for bedding include Sferra and Matouk — the latter being “probably our

Donna Osif likes to mix collections from different vendors on display beds. The bed on the left is dressed with Traditions by Pamela Kline, John Matouk, John Robshaw, and Brahms Mount. The bed on the right features SDH, Yves Delorme, Traditions by Pamela Kline, John Robshaw and Sugarboo Designs.

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9 Home Textiles Today> hometextilestoday.com

tl t bitb fi l i dd 1 2/6/12 10 17 A

December 3, 2012

No. 1 brand for several years over the recession and tough times recently,” Osif noted. “We’ve carried Matouk a long time, and it has has grown and grown and grown, every year for the past sev-eral years.”

Others include John Robshaw, SDH, Home Treasures, and Pea-cock Alley.

Bedded Bliss also acts as a Scandia Down Corner Store for the brand’s luxury utility bedding offerings.

Bath linens vendors to the store include Abyss, Christie, Matouk, and Sferra, among a few others.

On the five display beds throughout the store, Osif likes to mix and match products from dif-ferent brands to create a unique look and design offering for shop-pers.

It is mostly bedding with accents now of candles, lotions, bath towels and accessories

“I rarely dedicate one bed to one vendor because that is not how people make their beds at home,” she explained.

“Louisville is very traditional. Usually our customers start dec-orating a room with the drapes and the carpeting, and then go from there. When they get to the bed, it has to complement the drapes and carpet. That is why we don’t do a lot of pattern in our store.”

Bedded Bliss’ tactic is to start with the few patterned items it carries, like quilts, and from there select the colors that will match with their shoppers’ room needs.

“We somewhat work back-wards,” Osif said.

Bedding price points at Bed-ded Bliss range from $750 to $1,000 for a Matouk bedding collection to $4,000 for a Dea-branded collection of Italian bed sheets, coverlet and bed-skirt. HTT

Bedded Bliss gets cozy for Christmas with festive garlands hung throughout the shop’s 2,400 square feet of space.

htt121201_008_009 9 11/28/2012 2:00:14 PM

10 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.comDecember 3, 2012

HIGH POINT, N.C . — After launching at the June Showtime Fabric Fair, international pavil-ions are returning to the win-ter edition of the show, which began Dec. 2 and continues through Dec. 5.

Located on the temporary exhibit floor in the Suites at Market Square, the new exhib-itors join more than 165 exhibi-tors that have previously partici-pated in the show, including 80 permanent showrooms and 85 temporary exhibitors.

“The June International Pavilions received big accolades and December promises to be even more focused on current fabrics and constructions that are most popular in the US mar-ket,” said Tom Mitchell, presi-dent of home furnishings for International Market Centers.

Zhejiang Samexpo Exhibi-tion Co.,ltd (Samexpo) from China brought fi ve textile sup-pliers from the Yuhang district, which is known for upholstery fabrics, home textiles and cur-tain accessories. They include:

• Hangzhou Biya Interior Textile Co., which specializes in upholstery fabric for sofas, curtain fabric, and decorative fabrics. Export markets include Europe, America, Canada and Australia.

• Hangzhou Shamash Fabric Co., which specializes in manu-facturing of silk fabrics, includ-ing mixture, velvet of silk, nylon, polyester and flocking. The company exports to Europe, America, and Southeast Asia.• Hangzhou Tata Tex. Co., whose main products include Tata Tex sofa fabrics, curtain fabrics, and a large selection of novelty fabrics. Current exports are to Europe, South America, and the Middle East.

• Hangzhou Da Tons Trad-ing Co., which is partnered with Tongxiang Tenghui Textile Co. to produce chenille fabrics and polyester linen constructions for sofas. In 2011, the line was expanded to include suede fab-ric constructions, velvet, and fi ne dobbies.

• HangZhou KAMPF Textile

Co., which manufactures sofa and curtain fabric, including jacquard and patterned valets, printed fabric, and linen-cotton constructions.

• Ouyida Internat ional Exhibition (Beijing) Company brought five Chinese sofa fab-ric, home textiles and artifi cial leather suppliers, including:

• Wujiang Yuhua Textile Co., Ltd, which specializes in textiles and apparel fabrics developed by it owns group of engineering technicians.

• Jiangyin Fei Long Plastics Co., a PVC and PU Leather manufacturer. It exports to the USA, Middle and South Amer-ica, South East Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

• Haining Tiangong Textile Co, known for its leather con-structions used in garments and home textiles. Current markets include the US, Italy, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Syria, Alge-ria, and the Middle East.

• Hangzhou Tianchen Leather Plant, which special-izes in PU leather production

for shoes, sofa, home decora-tion, and high-end clothing.

• Shaoxing County Lancome Import and Export, a one-stop source for all upholstery con-structions. The company exports to Western Europe, South East Asia, and North and South America.

The Taiwan Textile Feder-ation (TTF) recruited six Tai-wanese upholstery fabrics, home textiles and curtain accessories suppliers to participate Show-time, including:

• Everest Textile Co., a verti-cal integrated company with its own weaving, dyeing, and fi nish-ing as well as coating, emboss-ing, and lamination processing.

• Loongchin Textile Co., a knitting manufacturer whose best sellers are 100% polyester suede peached fabrics and light mesh fabrics.

• Merryson Corporation, spe-cializes in jacquards and ready-made products. It exports to North America, Europe, and Australia.

• P & R International, a sup-

plier of window curtains, shower curtains, table cloths, and spe-cial blanket items.

• Piing Heh, a drapery hard-ware manufacturer.

• Hui Zhou Sheng Chen Metal Co., a manufacturer of custom-made zinc, aluminum, steel, and cast iron curtain poles and accessories.

The International Pavilions at Showtime features three addi-tional companies this Decem-ber, including:

• Weierni Textile Leather of China, manufacturer of PVC, PU, and bonded leather fabrics for the automotive, shoe, lug-gage, and home upholstery fab-ric markets.

• Swan Silks, a producer of original designs for fi ne jac-quards for upholstery as well as drapery and pillow fabrics.

• Indian Silks, which pro-duces fi ne jacquards weaves for the mattress ticking, drapery, and upholstery fabric markets.

For more information, visit www.imchighpointmarket.com/showtime. HTT

Showtime Pavilions Feature 19 New International Exhibitors

NEW YORK — The American Down and Feather Council has created a series of information sheets called “Factzzz on Down and Feathers” to help consum-ers make informed purchasing decisions.

The fi rst three topics cover tips on purchasing down and feather, why down and feather is good for allergy sufferers and how down and feather bed-ding can help provide a better night’s sleep.

The information sheets are available for free download on the home page of the ADFC websi te a t www.downand-feather.org.

Each fact sheet also features

an explanation of the ADFC Labeling Compliance Program (LCP), which assures the con-sumer that the product meets all state and federal require-ments as well as industry stan-dards for content, cleanliness and compliance.

“We created the fact sheets to inform consumers about the benefi cial qualities of down and feather bedding and to work as a shopping aid,” said Steven Palmer, president of the Amer-ican Down and Feather Coun-cil. “But actually, our members and anyone who sells down and feather bedding is welcome to download these for consumer events and trade shows.” HTT

BY SUSAN DICKENSON

NEW YORK — The sales of home goods on Cyber Monday were up 26.8% over Cyber Monday 2011, according to cloud-based analyticsIBM”(source: IBM Digital Analytics)” fi ndings by IBM that track over a million e-commerce transactions a day.

The fi ndings also show that holiday shoppers turned Cyber Monday into the biggest spend-ing day ever with online sales growing 30.3% over Cyber Monday 2011.

“Cyber Monday was not on l y the p innac le o f the Thanksgiving shopping week-end but when the cash regis-ter closed it officially became the biggest online shopping day ever,” said Jay Hender-son, Strategy Director, IBM Smarter Commerce. “Retail-ers that adopted a smarter mar-

keting approach to commerce were able to adjust to the shift-ing shopping habits of their cus-tomers, whether in-store, online or via their mobile device of

choice, and fully benefi t from this day and the entire holiday weekend.”IBM2”(source: IBM Digital Analytics)”

PayPal, online payments ser-vicer, said the volume of mobile transactions it processed on Cyber Monday almost doubled the amount processed on the same day last year. HTT

ADFC Releases Down and Feather

Info Sheets

Cyber Monday Sales Of Home Goods Increased 26.8% Over 2011

Source: IBM Digital Analytics)

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12 Home Textiles Today News > hometextilestoday.com

Land of Nod Pops Up

This fall, the retailer replaced 100% of its textiles assortment, some of which appears in the photos at the left. This season marks the first time the company developed its own toy lines, seen above.

December 3, 2012

This fall, The Land of Nod completely refreshed its home textiles selection. The focus is on new techniques and global pat-terns. Most of the line was pro-duced in India and Portugal.

“The real gravitation is toward nostalgia, but doing it in a new way,” Kohanzo told HTT.

Going forward, The Land of Nod expects to refresh about

30% of the collection each sea-son: spring, fall and holiday.

Many of the designs are developed in collaborations with independent artists, a point the retailer is now emphasizing in its marketing.

“We’re doing a lot more art-ist call-out than before – telling the story,” said Kohanzo. She added the company is also doing more interaction with consumers

through social media and recently added a gift-fi nder to its web site.

While The Land of Nod did see a sales dip during the worst of the recession, it was not has heavily impacted as many other retailers, she said.

“People are always willing to spend on their kids fi rst,” she added. “Babies are always being born, and kids are always grow-ing up.” HTT

LAND OF NOD FROM PAGE 1

htt121201_LandofNod.indd 12 11/28/2012 10:50:05 AM

13 Home Textiles TodayNews December 3, 2012> hometextilestoday.com

Michelle Kohanzo, below, with a plush toy from The Land of Nod collection.

htt121201_012_013 13 11/28/2012 5:31:16 PM

14 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

PEOPLETodaY

December 3, 2012

TORONTO — Sears Canada has named Douglas Campbell to the newly created position of execu-tive vice president and chief oper-ating offi cer.

He will oversee retail opera-tions, logistics, replenishment, information technology and inter-national sourcing, while also lead-ing retailer’s efforts to improve effi ciency.

Campbell joined Sears Can-ada in March 2011 and most recently was executive vp in

charge of home and hardlines, which includes the key Sears cat-egories of major appliances and mattresses.

Before joining Sears, Campbell was a principal with Boston Con-sulting Group, an organization he joined in 2005 and with which he led corporate turnaround projects in sectors including retail, manu-facturing, packaged foods, chem-icals and pharmaceuticals.

“We are pleased that Doug will take on this major leadership role

at Sears Canada,” company pres-ident and ceo Calvin McDon-ald said in a statement. “Doug has already demonstrated lead-ership and success in executing strategies that are key to the suc-cess of our transformation, spe-cifi cally in our hero categories of major appliances and mattresses, and I look forward to being able to have Doug’s skill, expertise and approach to business more broadly extended across the orga-nization.” HTT

LOS ANGELES — Steve Gittelson has been named vp of sales and marketing at Morgan Fabrics.

Gittelson has been with the family-run company since 1993, and has been an account manager in various territories.

“I reached this decision based on my observation of Steve’s performance and con-tinued success in sales for the

past 20 years, and his in-depth knowledge of our products, customers and sales organiza-tion,” said president and ceo Michael Gittelson. “Our chair-man, my father Arnie Gittelson, is pleased that another family member will be in a manage-ment position to help our com-pany grow into the future.”

The pos i t ion had been

vacant for about three months. Luana Davis previously had been vice president of sales and merchandising, but left the company and is now vice president of business develop-ment at manufacturer Z-Line Designs.

Morgan is an upholstery fab-ric converter with headquarters in Los Angeles. HTT

Sears Canada Promotes Douglas Campbell to coo

Morgan Fabrics names vp of Sales, Marketing

CALHOUN, GA. — Satya Tiwari, president of area rug and home accesso-ries house Surya U.S., was recently recognized among the top entrepre-neurs by Business to Busi-ness magazine.

This marks the second consecutive year the mag-

azine honored Tiwari, who ’s rank ing on Business to Business’ annual Top 25 Entre-preneurs list this year rose to sixth place from 17th in 2011. He was selected again for his achievements at Surya, which since 2004 has

experienced annual double-digit growth. The company said this year it become a $55 million company, up 57% from the prior year’s $35 million.

Tiwari and the other hon-orees will be profiled in the November/December issue of Business to Business magazine. HTT

Surya’s Tiwari Climbs to 6th Place on Entrepreneurs List

SATYA TIWARI

Surya

LAS VEGAS — International Mar-ket Centers announced strate-gic modifi cations, including pro-motions, lateral moves, and new appointments, to streamline its gift and home decor team. The changes, which are effective immediately, will create a single unifi ed team supporting cross-cat-egory leasing for permanent and temporary presentations in Las Vegas, and for permanent home decor floors at IHFC in High Point.

“We are maximizing team leas-ing efforts to take best advantage of individual category expertise,” said Bob Maricich, ceo of IMC. “This effort mirrors the strategic development of Gift+Home at Las Vegas Market, and facilitates its growth as the industry’s premier western marketplace.”

In line with the new person-nel structure, Lee Hershberg has been promoted to the role of vice president of Gift and Home Decor, and will continue to report to Dorothy Belshaw, IMC’s presi-dent of the Gift and Home Decor division.

Hershberg will manage all category related leasing efforts to include prospect development, key tenant and prospect account management, and new and renewal leasing activity. His team will include Boyd Tasker and Ron Radin, both leasing directors of Home Decor based in Las Vegas, as well as RJ Maricich, newly appointed leasing manager of Home Decor, who will be based in High Point, N.C.

Pam Williams has also been promoted, assuming the role of leasing director of Gift, report-ing to Lee Hershberg. Williams

will assume management of day-to-day gift leasing activity, and will manage Gift+Home at Las Vegas Market tradeshow leasing. In addition to responsibility for the addition of new categories, as well as growth and reposition-ing of the temporaries in Build-ing C, she also maintains direct leasing responsibility for global craft and vintage accounts. Her team members include: Cassie Catania, leasing manager, Gift; Sheri Makransky, leasing man-ager, Gift; Lindsay Pearson, leasing manager, Gift+Home temporaries; Joy Jansen, leas-ing manager, Gift+Home tem-poraries; and Keith Davis, leas-ing manager, Home and Design temporaries.

As vp of the Las Vegas Design Center, Paul Watson will assume management of the c-ONE tem-poraries, working with Doro-thy Belshaw and Keith Davis to launch a merchandised and jur-ied presentation of design-for-ward, market-time showrooms on C1 for the Summer 2013 Market.

Experienced industry experts also have been recruited to sup-plement the team’s efforts in con-sultancy positions.

Terence Morris, a 25-year industry veteran who has held positions with AmericasMart in Atlanta and the California Gift Show, will work with the gift leas-ing team to accelerate participa-tion by industry leaders at Las Vegas Market.

The Winter 2013 Las Vegas Market runs Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2013, at the World Market Center. For more information, visit Giftand-HomeLV.com. HTT

IMC Restructures Gift+Home Team

CHECK US OUT ON THE WEB

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A marketing and advertising plan using Home Textiles Todayin both print and online can help your company stand

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16 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.com

BUSINESSTodaY

NEW YORK — The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 4.5% in the fourth and fi nal week of November following a 1.8% gain the pri-or week.

Month-to-date, November was up 2.2% compared to No-vember of last year, besting Redbook’s target of a 2.1% gain. Month-over-month showed a 0.8% gain, relative to a target of a 0.7% gain.

Catlin Levis, Redbook analyst, noted the fourth week of November, including the Friday and Sat-urday following Thanksgiving, “was, as is typical-ly the case, among the busiest and most closely watched shopping weeks of the year because of the clues it provides to the Christmas season as a whole.”

Extensive promotional activities and extended

shopping hours drew in customers.“This final burst of strength was sufficient

to enable many stores to improve their overall monthly results,” she added. “While traffi c rose, the sharp discounts could actually hurt the bot-tom line of some retailers.”

“Early indications for December are for a comparable tone of guarded optimism,” Levis added, with same-store gains projected to be 2.6% year-over-year and a 0.2% gain versus No-vember. HTT

Same-store sales

November Ends On High Note With Comp BoostJohnson Redbook Index

Fourth week of November, year-over-year % change

WEEK ENDED 11/3 11/10 11/17 11/24 MONTH TARGET

Department stores* (0.7) (0.2) 0.0 2.9 0.5 0.3Discounters 1.5 2.6 2.8 5.4 3.1 3.1Redbook Index 0.8 1.6 1.8 4.5 2.2 2.1*Including chain stores and traditional department stores

December 3, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS — Among discre-tionary categories, home’s strong comps led the way during Target Corp.’s third quarter, especial-ly in seasonal and housewares. Now the chain is working to boost momentum with sever-al initiatives designed to drive more business within home.

Kathryn Tesija, evp, mer-chandising and supply chain, said during Target’s earnings call last month, “We are very pleased with our exclusive Nate Berkus collection,” which spans bedding, bath, accesso-ries, lighting, rugs and window treatments, “and this collection will be ongoing with new items added in 2013.”

Target is also pleased with the launch of its new house brand in home, Threshold, which currently consists of lin-ens and accessories. New prod-uct categories are set to rollout through 2013.

Target’s back-to-school/back-to-college programs proved strong, “key drivers of sales in the quarter,” she added.

Coming up for the holidays, new gift items in home will in-clude boxed offerings.

As 2013 approaches, Tar-get is gearing up for the spring opening of its first Canadian units, with 124 stores to begin rolling out in spring. There are 45 existing sites now being re-modeled, one distribution cen-ter in operation, and a second DC coming online soon.

Back home in the United States, the chain’s newest for-mat, CityTarget, is also a point of focus going forward. With five locations in four major metropolitan cities — Chica-go, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle — Target plans to open three more in 2013.

“We are very excited about our initial results in the new

CityTarget stores,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, presi-dent and ceo. Tesija said the stores have enjoyed strong traf-fic and sales, and are attract-ing “a younger and more affl u-ent shoppers than we see across chain.”

For this holiday season, Tar-get has its bullseye squarely fixed on the online and mo-bile channels, as shoppers are increasingly use the web and their hand-held devices to re-search and make purchases from the retailer.

As part of its effort to extend its high-tech reach and capabil-ities, Target recently rolled out free WiFi in its stores, and “we continue to invest meaningful-ly in resources online and for mobile,” Steinhafel added, “to integrate the shopping expe-rience across all of our chan-nels.”

Target is expecting the holi-day season to produce stronger sales than last year, but sees shoppers still guarded about spending. Tesija noted, “Our guests are still shopping with discipline,” using lists and only occasionally “splurging” on special items.

“This holiday, they will spend slightly more than last year, but they will focus on value and promotions,” she said, later adding, “We are po-sitioning our inventories appro-priately.”

Net income for the third quarter ended Oct. 27 rose 14.8% to $637 million, or 96 cents per share, beating expec-tations. The figure includes a 15% gain from the pending sales of Target’s credit card re-ceivables business. Stripping that out, EPS was 90 cents.Sales for the 13 weeks in-creased 3.4% to $16.6 billion, with comps up 2.9%. HTT

Wal-Mart 3Q Sales Gain Slight, But Profit Solid

Target Happy With Home’s Performance

BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Expand-ed offerings helped the home de-partment at Walmart US deliver a positive comp in the low sin-gle digit range in the third quarter — the fourth consecutive quar-ter of positive same-store sales for home.

While Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 3Q revenues missed analysts’ ex-pectations, the company report-ed a strong profit, with net in-come up 9.0% to $3.6 billion, or $1.08 for the period ended Oct.

31. Total sales rose 3.4% to $113.2 billion.

U.S. sales, including fuel, rose 3.6% to $66.1 billion, with op-erating income up 4.5% to $4.8 billion. Comp was up 2.1%. Ex-cluding fuel, same-store sales rose 1.5%. The company noted that lay-away purchases will not be counted until the transactions are complete and the merchandise is picked up, activities that will largely occur in the third quarter.

Sam’s Club’s revenues, includ-

ing fuel, were up 4.7% to $13.9 billion. Comps increased 4.1%. Excluding fuel, same-store sales were up 2.7%.

Price will be a major consid-eration for holiday, said Mike Duke, president and ceo of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

“Across all of our markets, we are seeing the same price con-sciousness as we do in the U.S.” he said in a pre-recorded state-ment reviewing third-quarter re-sults. HTT

HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Sears Holdings’ net loss during the third quarter swung to $498 mil-lion, or $4.70 per share, from $410 million, or $3.85 per share in the year-ago quarter as sales fell 5.8% to $8.86 billion.

As has been the case recent-ly, company executives empha-sized the value of SH’s asset port-folio, but sounding a new note, seemed to indicate a desire to improve the performance of the

core business.In a conference call with

analysts last month, ceo Louis D’Ambrosio ticked off the asset assortment: “some of the best brands in retail, over 200 mil-lion square feet of real estate, more than $5 billion of invento-ry already paid for, and the larg-est Home Services business, to name a few. We’re here to trans-late those assets into value.”

However, he added: “Our

preference, our focus is to ac-complish this operationally.”

He went on to say the compa-ny would optimize assets in other way — presumably by selling — if it was necessary to create long-term value for shareholders.

Sears U.S. comps declined 1.6% in the third quarter, Kmart’s comparable-store sales declined 4.8%, and Sears Canada’s com-parable-store sales declined 5.7%; HTT

Sears Loss Widens as Sales Decline

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18 Home Textiles Today Business > hometextilestoday.comDecember 3, 2012

PLEASANTON, CALIF. — Ross Stores Inc. reported double-digit growth in net earnings and sales during its third quarter, propel-ling to off-price chain’s better-than-expected year-to-date re-sults. Still, the retailer is playing it safe in terms of fourth quarter projections.

“Our focus on bargains con-tinues to make our stores attrac-tive destinations for value-con-scious customers. During the holiday season, however, it is always difficult to predict how promotional other retailers may become or how current macro-economic and political uncer-tainties may impact consumer spending,” said Michael Bal-muth, vice chairman and ceo, during the company’s quarterly conference call.

He noted Ross is anniversary-ing a 7% increase in same store sales from last year’s fourth quar-ter. “So, while we hope to do

better, we believe it is prudent to maintain our prior fourth quarter guidance,” he said.

Net earnings for the third quarter, ended Oct. 27, grew 11% to $159.5 million, and earnings per share rose 14% to 72 cents. Sales were up 11% to $2.26 billion, and comps in-creased 6%, compared to a 5% gain in the prior year.

For the nine months, net earn-ings grew 18% to $550.2 million, and earnings per share rose 22% to $2.46, up from $2.01. Year-to-date sales jumped 12% to $6.96 billion, and comps grew 7%, on top of a 5% gain last year.

The 1,097-unit chain is sticking with its outlook for the fourth quarter, Balmuth noted, which calls for same-store sales to be up 1% to 2% and earnings per share to be in the range of 99 cents to $1.04, compared to 85 cents in the year-ago Q4. HTT

Ross Sticks to Cautious Q4 Guidance

MEMPHIS — As the result of a shift in layaway sales, higher operating expenses, and other impacts, regional discount chain Fred’s Inc. reported a steep decline in its third quar-ter net income - down 27% to $6.6 million or 18 cents per share.

Total sales for the quarter, which ended October 27, in-creased 1% to $450.6 million. But comparable store sales were also a casualty, dipping 2.5%, compared with an in-crease of 1.5% last year.

Year-to-date net income was virtually fl at - $23.1 million or

63 cents per share versus $23.6 million or 61 cents per share a year ago. Sales were up 3% to $1.422 billion, while comps decreased 0.8% versus a 0.7% increase a year ago.

Bruce A. Efird, ceo, ex-plained 708-unit Fred’s third quarter “refl ected the intense-ly challenging retail climate we face and the effects of the brand-to-generic shift on phar-macy sales throughout the quarter. Despite this negative impact on top-line sales, our pharmacy department pro-duced strong results for the quarter, with growth in compa-

rable prescription counts and increased gross margins.”

Still, general merchandise sales and traffi c improve during the fi nal month of the quarter, he noted, in response to our in-creased marketing initiatives.

Looking to the holiday sea-son, Efi rd said Fred’s stores are “ready and well stocked and our merchandising and mar-keting plans are in place to de-liver great values...We believe Fred’s remains well positioned for a solid fi nish to 2012, and that the company will continue to generate momentum in the upcoming fi scal year.” HTT

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s third quarter comps were positive in 12 out of 14 product categories for the store, including home fash-ions, and overall sales beat Wall Street’s estimates.

Net earnings for the quarter ended Nov. 2 jumped 76.0% to $396 million, or 35 cents per share. Sales rose 1.9% to $12.1 billion. Comps were up 1.8% on a consolidated basis and up 1.8% for the U.S.

Year-to-date net earnings rose 10.1% to $1.67 billion, or $1.42 per share. Sales increased 2.3% to $39.5 billion. Comps were up 1.3% on a consolidated basis and 1.4% for the U.S. HTT

BY MICHAEL J. KNELL

TORONTO — Even though Sears Canada narrowed its net loss by almost half despite falling sales in the third quarter, its ceo said it’s taking too long to imple-ment his turnaround plan for the multi-channel retailer.

Revenues for the 13 weeks ending Oct. 27 were C$1.04 bil-lion, down 6.8% from the com-parable period last year. Same-store sales decreased 5.7%.

The net loss was C$21.9 mil-lion or 22 cents per share, about half the net loss of C$44.1 mil-lion or 42 cents per share for the comparable period. Included in

the net loss for last year’s third quarter was a C$45.6 million pre-tax charge relating to the dis-position of excess inventory and internal restructuring costs.

Revenues for the 39 weeks ended Oct. 27 were C$3, a de-crease of 7.7%. Same store sales fell 6.4%.

Net earnings for the period were C$61.3 million or 60 cents per share, compared with a net loss of C$91.3 million or 87 cents per share for the 39 weeks ended Oct. 29, 2011. This year’s net earnings include a pre-tax gain of C$167.1 million relating to the early surrender and return of leases on four properties.

In a statement, Sears Can-ada president and ceo Calvin McDonald attributed the reve-nue decrease to a signifi cant re-duction in promotion and clear-ance sales in apparel, declines in pre-season sales of snowblow-ers, falling television sales and the planned exit from certain product lines.

“We continue to make prog-ress in our transformation strat-egy and are seeing positive signs of success,” McDonald said. “For example, even though we cycled over our attack plan from last year in major applianc-es and mattresses, we continue to see strength in these two key

hero categories.”He also said the Baby’s

Room - a merchandising initia-tive launched in June focusing on furniture and other products for babies and young children - turned in positive sales increases. The company’s Back to School program also performed well.

“Although we made progress in the quarter, we can and must do more. Our plan is working; however, our pace of execution has not met our expectations,” McDonald said. “Recent chang-es to our management team have been made that are de-signed to lead the organization effectively through the transfor-

mation and help us achieve our operational and fi nancial objec-tives.”

During the third quarter, Sears Holdings Corp., which also owns the Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End in the United States, reduced its holdings in Sears Canada to 51% by trans-ferring 45.1 million shares to its stockholders.

At the end of its fiscal third quarter, Sears Canada’s network included 195 corporate stores, 269 hometown dealer stores, and more than 1,500 catalog and online merchandise pick-up locations across the coun-try. HTT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As region-al department store retailer Belk completed 19 store expan-sions and remodels year-to-date, net income for the third quarter jumped to $11.1 million com-pared to $600,000 in the year-ago period.

Including one-time items, net income in the third quarter ended Oct. 27 was $9.8 million compared to $1.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Home was cited as one of the leaders in revenue growth, along with men’s and kid’s.

Sales for the quarter rose 5.9% to $837.5 million, with comps up 5.8%. This marked the 11th consecutive quarter of comp store growth for the pri-vately held retailer, which oper-ates 301 stores in 16 Southern states.

“A key factor in our sales growth is the signifi cant invest-

ment we’re making across many areas of our business, including technology, store expansions and remodels, ecommerce, and service excellence,” said Tim Belk, chairman and ceo.

Year-to-date, net income jumped 37.0% to $78.8 mil-lion. Excluding one-time items, net income increased 34.8% to $76.7 million. Sales rose 5.8% to $2.62 billion, with comps up 6.1%. HTT

Sears Canada Narrows Third-Quarter Loss

Fred’s Takes Net Income Hit in Q3

Belk Remodels ContinueNet income up sharply

Lowe’s Shows Improvement

htt121201_016_018 18 11/28/2012 10:57:24 AM

How do you make your company stand out from the hundreds of other suppliers calling on the same ten retail accounts?

A marketing and advertising plan using Home Textiles Today in both print and online can help your company stand out from the crowd as well as introduce you to new buyers at those key retail accounts.

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TexTiles is our Middle NaMe

1888 Mills llCa.l. ellis, inc . aaa Bath FashionsaarGree iNCaB Home Fashions, inc.abert, italyabhiasmi inc., - abhishek abode Fine Home abrahami rugs & décoraceco Mills achim importing Co.adams & Hartfordaddy Home Fashionsadorable Pillows aeolus down, incallegra industries, inc . allied Homeallure Home Creation Co.alokalpha Home Fashions aM Home Textiles american Century Homeamerican decorative Fabricsamerican Green rugamerican Home essentials american Homes & Textiles, inc . american Mills, inc.american Textile Companyamerican Trading House, inc.amity Home anchor Home Productsangelo: HoMeapache Mills, inc.aptationsaQ Textiles arister Gifts arleeartex linensashley McBride international aurora General Boxaussino (usa)austin Horn Collectionavanti linens inc.Bacova GuildBalta u.s., inc.Baltic linen Co., inc.BaTHseNse llCBCP HomeBeacon looms, inc . Beacon Products, inc . Beatrice Home Fashions Belle epoque Bellino Fine linensBen Kaufman salesBenson Mills, inc . Berkshire BlanketBess Home FashionsBetter sleep, incBicor ProcessingBiddeford Blankets Blissliving HomeBlue ridge Home Fashions, inc.Bobrum linensBolan Trading / Hira Terry MillsBombay dyeingBrentwood originals, inc.Brian Trading CompanyBrownstone Gallery ltdBrumlow Mills, inc.Brunton international, inc . Buettner usa inc.by em C&F enterprises, inc.C.C. Premiums, inc . Calik usa/Calik denimCambridge Towel Company inc.Carnation Home Fashions, inc . Carpet art decoCarpet enterprises, incCatalina rugs Cathay FashionsCedar americaCentral orientalCGG Home Fashions Charisma CChesapeake Merchandising, inc . Cindy shampClean Bedroom, The Cloud Nine Comforts CMN internationalCoelima usa, inc . Colomba livingComfort revolution Comfort, incCommonwealth

Compact NoveltiesConcord Global Trading inc. and sirma Carpet inc.Connecticut die CuttingCosmic, inc.Cotton Valley Home, inc.Createx CorporationCreative Bath Products, inc.Creative Home FurnishingsCroscill HomeCustom sleep design Productsd. Kwitman & son, inc . daniel anderson Collectiondea dena designsdesign Weave usa designstyles devgiri exports / aBC industriesdivatex Home Fashions inc.doMaY iNCdonna sharp, inc.down décordown lite dsQ by donna sharpduck river Textile, inc.dweck associates, inc . dynamic rugs, inc.eagle Global Group eastern accentsecoarts/Transconnection edgar Fabrics, inc . editex Home Curtain Corp.edward Greeman & Co., inc . elbaz Tradingelico ltd.elite Home Fashionsellery Homestyles llC elrene Home Fashionemson usaenvogue int’lericyan industries ii, inc.espalma by Cobraeuroletto linens and Home, inc.euro-Ware, inc.ex-Cell Home Fashions, inc.extreme linenFamous Home FashionsFeizy rugsFiber MarkFino linoFiori Home Collections, inc . First impressionsFisher Home ProductsForestron Trends, inc.FraMe sourCeFramestyles usa Franco Mfg.Franco, J. and sons, incFuture Foam, inc.G. a. Gertmenian & sons, inc.Gallery on sixGappa Textiles, inc.Garland Carpet and rugGarland sales, inc.Geo CraftsGerbrend Creations, inc.Ginsey industries, inc.Glenoit llCGlobal Home living Global interiors Home CollectionGloria Cressler CollectionGrace edwards Fashion designsGrace Home FashionsGrassi associates, inc.Great GrabzGreenland Home Fashions Greg GiordanoH. C. international, inc.Hallmart Collectibles incHamburg House, inc.HarmanHautman BrothersHds Trading Corp.Hedaya Home FashionsHenson sleep reliefHigh Q Trading Co., llC HlH Group, inc.Hollander Home City, inc . Home dynamixHome expressions, ltd. Home Fashions distributor, inc . Home Fashions internationalHome source international, inc.HoMedicsHot Headz international

i.N. livingiMJ Marketing inc.indigo Home indo Count Global inc.inovatexintegrated design Productsintellatex llC interdesign, inc.international Textile Manufacturingisaac Jacobs international ivy Hill HomeJ& s HousewaresJ. Queen New YorkJaB distributors, llCJack sorensonJaunty HomeJdY Home, llCJeffco Fibres Jessica sandersJMB international, incJonco industriesJoseph abboudJs Fiber Co.Js royal Home usa, inc . Judaica Maven Ka and F Group Kalaty rugsKaleen rugsKas rugs & HomeKashi enterprises, inc.Kassatex, inc.Kathy irelandKeecoKemp & BeatleyKennedy international, inc . Kenney Manufacturing Co. Kensington Home FashionsKevin danielKG denim limitedKimball & YoungKlear-VuKumi Kookoon lacey rug Millslarochelle CollectionlaVie international lawrence essentials le Jacquard Francaislenos Bedding Collectionlenzinglevtex llClibeco Home liberty Fashion Textiles, inc.lichtenberg, s.linda spiveylinens N essentialslinens ‘N’ essentials lintex linenslog Cabin rug Companyloloi rugslondon luxuryloretta lee ltd.lorraine Home Fashions of Chinalouis Hornicklouisville Beddingluxury Home Textile, inc . M & Z Marketing GroupM. C. Z. Merchandising Corp.Macra lace Company Magna linensMindsinsyncMakroteks TextileMangal exports (usa)Manhattan Kids Manual Woodworkers and Weavers, inc.Maples industries, inc.Marcel MillerMarcella Fine rugsMarketing resource Marlo lorenz Mary Harper Group, TheMazel Company, The McCarthy industriesMedici 888, llCMega international, inc., TheMelange Home, llC Melissa anne designs, inc . Messina & ZuckerMicrotex MillworksMirabelloMirror imageMMK Corporation Mod lifestyles, inc.Mohawk HomeMontage GroupMorgan Home

Multy HomeMyriam schneider & Co. Mytex llC N. i. Teijin shoji (u.s.a.) inc.Nance Carpet and rugNanshing americaNasdek industries, inc . Natco Home Fashions, inc.Natori Home collectionNatura World, inc.Nautica Home CollectionNC Home Fashions, inc . New York Times CollectionNewpoint internationalNewport/laytonNext Creations Niki international Nishat Chunian ltd.Nishat MillsNorthwestNostalgia Home FashionsNourison rug Corp.Nusteel by TataraNutsteeloBaCorian rugs, inc.oriental Weavers of americaorion TradingP & a Marketing, inc.Pacific Coast Home Furnishings, inc.Pacific Coast FeatherPaliwal exports PVT. lTd.Panier des sensPark B. smith, ltd. Patton Picture Company Paula scalettaPegasus Home Fashions Peking Handicraft, inc.Pem america, inc.PendletonPerfect art Perfect Fit industries, inc . Phoenix down Corp.Phoenix Home Fashion, inc.Pillow Perfect, inc . Plazatex / sheradian Poly Commodity CorpPom Pom at HomePopular Bath ProductsPradip overseasPremier Fine linens Prestige Home Textiles Protect-a-BedQueensland import export Quilts by donna sharpr&F Marketing rablabsramallah Trading Company, inc.raymond Waites Bedding regal Home Collectionregence Home llCretro (usa) revere Mills, inc.revman internationalrichard Cohen Collection, inc.richloomrio Home Fashions, inc . ritz-ritzenthaler, John Coriviera Textiles 416 rizzy Homerobelyrobertson Home Fashionsrobin Wilson Homerose Treeroyal Heritage Home royale linens/Yunus rug & décor, inc . ruia Home, inc.s.s. dweck & sons, inc.sabry rug and Textile, llCsafdie international, inc.sally Textile incsam salem & sonsander sales enterprises, lTd.sandy Cloughsarosaturday Knight ltd.sB Marketing, inc.scandia Home secondhand rose shanghai J&C Mills sharadha Terry Products shavel Home Productsshaw livingsherry Kline Home Fashionssherry Kline Baby

shri lakshmi Cotsyn ltd.signature Cabinetworks llC signature Plumbing specialties signoria di Firenzesinomax-usa inc.sleep innovationssleep studio llCsleepwellsM Products, inc.smartful Home, llC smokey Mountain designsspencer Home Fashionssociety Hill Textilesoftline Home Fashions soft-Tex Manufacturing Co.somma for Muse source Global enterprises sphinx by oriental Weaverssplash Homestandard Textilestanley roberts star Beddingstar silk & Wollen Millsstrands Textile Mills usa, llC stratford Home strauss’ inc . studio sri, inc . stupell industriesstyles Corporationsuburban Homesuntex designs inc . sun-Yin usasurya rugssweep Bedding systemssybaritic industriessynergy Global Home, inc.TagTatara GroupTaymor industries inc.Terri PumaTexstyle / Bolan usaTextile CityTextiles Plus, inc . Textrade, inc.The 319 Vision by GusscoThe GalleryThomas KindadeThro, ltdToday’s CurtainTodd Taylor uKTown & Country livingTrade lines inc.Trade linker international, inc . TransForm Trendex Home designsTriangle Home FashionsTrumpTurkish Towel Co.TV Products usa, inculster linensunited linens universal HomeVantage ind./leggett & PlattVeneziaVentex Home Fashions Venus Home FashionsVeratexVersailles Home FashionsVerticom Vicki Payne Home CollectionVictoria ClassicVijayeswari usa llC Visions in Towels Vista Home FashionsVivatex Home VTx Fine Bed linen W.G. GryWarner Bros Water WorksWaverly Home Fashions/elleryWelspun usa inc . Westco salesWestone, incWestPoint HomeWestport linens, inc . Windham WeaversWorld dynastWoven WorkzY & H international llCY. M. F. Carpet, inc.Your True NatureYunusYves delormeZ2astore.Com, llC Zambaiti usa, inc . Zorlu usa, inc.

20 Home Textiles Today

CalendarDecember2 – 5Showtime Fabric FairMarket Square, Textile Tower, High Point, N.C.(336) 885-6842

January 20139 – 12HeimtextilFrankfurt Fair & Exhibition CenterFrankfurt am Main, Germany (770) 984-8016heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com

9 – 16Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(404) 220-3000www.americasmart.com

10 – 13The Atlanta International Area Rug MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(404) 220-3000www.americasmart.com

12 – 15The Canadian Home Furnish-ings Market (TCHFM)The International CentreMississauga, Ontario, Canada (514) 866-3631http://www.tchfm.com/

12 – 15Domotex HannoverHannover Fairgrounds, Hannover, Germany (609) 987-1202www.domotex.de

13 – 16National Retail Federation Convention & EXPOJacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(202) 626-8162www.nrf.com

14 – 20imm cologneThe Exhibition CenterCologne, Germany (773) 326-9920 or +49 221 821-0www.imm-cologne.com

14 – 16Texworld USA Jacob Javits Center, New York(770) 984-8016www.texworldusa.com

16 – 22Dallas Holiday & Home Expo

Dallas Market Center, Dallas(214) 655-6100www.dallasmarketcenter.com

16 – 22 Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas Market Center, Dallas(214) 655-6100www.dallasmarketcenter.com

18 – 20F!NDS Dallas Temp ShowWorld Trade Center, Market Hall, Dallas(214) 655-6100www.dallasmarketcenter.com

18 – 22Maison & ObjetParc des Expositions, Paris-Nord Villepinte, Paris(888) 522-5001www.maison-objet.com

22 – 25Interiors BirminghamThe National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, UK+44 (0) 20 7921 8408www.interiorsbirmingham.com

26 – 30New York International Gift FairJacob K. Javits Convention Center, Passenger Ship Terminal Piers, New York(800) 272-7469www.nyigf.com

25 – 31New York Home Textiles Market Week At the New York International Gift Fair, Jan. 26 - 30 At 230 Fifth Avenue, Jan. 26-31

At 7 W New York, Jan. 26-30 (800) 272-7469www.nyhometextilesmarketweek.com

27 – 31CGTA Gift ShowToronto International Centre; To-ronto Congress Centre, Toronto, Canada(416) 679-0170www.cgta.org/Assoc/Home.aspx

28 – 29Dallas Fabric ShowDallas Market Hall, Dallas, TX(214) 655-6100www.dallasmarketcenter.com

28 – 31SurfacesMandalay Bay Convention CenterLas Vegas(866) 860-1975www.surfaces.com

28 – February 1Las Vegas MarketWorld Market Center, Las Vegas(702) 599-9621www.lasvegasmarket.com

February3 – 6IntirioFlanders Expo, Gent, Belgium+32 09/24 38 450www.intirio.be

3 – 7Spring FairThe National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, UK(609) 921-0222www.springfair.com

12 - 14ExpofilParc des Expositions, Paris-Nord Villepinte, France+33 (0) 4 72 60 65 00www.expofil.com

12 – 15TexworldParis Le Bourget Exhibition Centre, Paris, France+33 155 268 989www.texworld.messefrankfurt.com

15 – 19AmbienteFrankfurt Fair & Exhibition Center, Frankfurt am Main, Germany(770) 984-8016www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt

March5 – 7Intertextile Shanghai Home – Spring EditionShanghai World Expo Centre, Shanghai, China+852 2238 9902www.intertextilehome.com

13 – 15Interstoff Asia Essential—SpringHong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong KongMesse Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. (852) 2238 9963http://www.messefrankfurt.com.hk/fair_homepage.aspx?fair_id=1&exhibition_id=1

15 – 17Atlanta Spring Gift, Home Furnishings & Holiday MarketAmericasMart, Atlanta(404) 220-3000www.americasmart.com

17Home Textiles Today’s New York Winter Market Kickoff Party(646) 805-0226www.hometextilestoday.com

18 – 21New York Home Fashions MarketHome Fashion Products Association(212) 297-2122 (Kellen Co.)www.homefashionproducts.com

17 – 20ASD Las VegasLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV(310) 481-7300www.asdonline.com

21 – 24Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas Market Center, Dallas(800) 325-6587www.dallasmarketcenter.com

26 – 28Domotex asia/CHINAFLOORShanghai New International Convention Center, Shanghai, China+86 21 6247 7668www.domotexasiachinafloor.com

April3 – 5LineapelleFair District, Bologna, Italy+39 02 8807711www.lineapelle-fair.it

19 – 23Vision13: International Win-dow Coverings EXPONew Orleans Convention Center, New Orleans, LA(651) 293-1544www.wf-vision.com

20 – 25 High Point MarketInternational Home Furnishings Center, Other locations, High Point, N.C.(336) 869-1000www.highpointmarket.org

May7 – 9Proposte Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Como, Italy+39 02 6434054www.propostefair.it

18 – 21International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF)Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(914) 421-3200 www.icff.com

15 – 17Hospitality & Design ShowSands Expo Center, Las Vegas(508) 743-8502www.hdexpo.com

15 – 19 EvteksCNR Expo, Istanbul, Turkey+90 212 465 74 75http://www.cnrevteks.com/

19 – 21SurtexJacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York(914) 421-3200www.surtex.com

June2 – 5Showtime Fabric FairMarket Square, Textile Tower, High Point, N.C.(336) 885-6842www.itma-showtime.com

December 3, 2012

htt121201_020 20 11/28/2012 5:32:54 PM

HAS THE ANSWER

Untitled-1 1 8/31/2011 12:50:57 PM

22 Home Textiles Today > hometextilestoday.comNewsDecember 3, 2012

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since. In the nine months report-ed thus far since JCP changed its strategy, Macy’s comps rose 4% or better in six of them.

4. Flash Sales Sites Dig InThe newest channel in retail-

ing showed some signs of maturing during

2012 by emulating, here and there, prac-

tices long standard in the brick-and-mortar sec-

tor of the business.In a few cases, sites began

extending their sales windows beyond the typical three- or four-day window. In June, ideeli said it would use a $30 million infu-sion of new funding to transform the business “beyond the flash sales model into the next gener-ation of ecommerce.” In April,

the Foundary launched Specialty Shops, whose sales last from two weeks to 45 days, and One Kings Lane not long after introduced Vintage & Market Finds segment that offers fi ve-day sales.

Last month, Fab debuted a self-branded collection of sheets and bedding, and Gilt stepped into the private label business with the Gilt Home Collection, a group of furniture, rugs and decorative accessories designed by Tom Delavan, creative direc-tor for the company. OneKing-sLane had already begun curated

collections of products under its name.

According to online research marketing firm comScore, flash sale sites passed the $1 billion mark in 2010 and should hit $6 bil-lion by 2015. New fl ash sale entries in the home space have fallen off in

a crowded fi eld, but the channel itself promises more changes in the future.

5. Bed Bath & Beyond’s Smooth Transition

The consolidation of Bed Bath & Beyond’s Long Island-based merchandising operation into its New Jersey-based headquarters was feared to cause a tumult, but seems to have taken place fairly smoothly — at least as far as the outside world is concerned.

While Macy’s and Ross Stores

were said to have been recruit-ing Long Islanders averse to re-location, BBB was also reported to be sifting through the waves of JCPenney employees who lost their jobs as part of the compa-ny’s overhead reduction.

Throughout the process, ven-dors told HTT they were expe-riencing no major hiccups be-cause of the consolidation and said most of the senior merchan-dising staff remained on the job.

In the end, it was the story that wasn’t. HTT

STORIES FROM PAGE 6

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5RETAILSTORIES2012

htt121201_001_006_022_023 22 11/29/2012 3:30:05 PM

23 Home Textiles TodayNews

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> hometextilestoday.com December 3, 2012

BY CECILE B. CORRAL

NEW YORK – More than half of the top 10 retailers tracked monthly by HTT saw disappointing November comps, posting same-store sales declines even as the all-important holiday season got to an early start on Thanksgiving Day evening.

Still, comp declines were softer than a year ago, showing at the very least

some improvement heading into De-cember over 2011’s rates.

Taking the steepest comp dive in the four-week period was Kohl’s Corp. with a 5.6% dip. Still, all was not bad news, according to chairman, president and ceo Kevin Mansell. He said the mid-tier department store made signifi cant strides in its online business.

“Though November sales were lower than expectations, we are encouraged by improved sales over the Thanksgiv-ing week,” he explained. “There was a signifi cant shift in Black Friday-related sales into our e-commerce channel. For the week, both transactions and sales in e-commerce increased over 50% with most of these sales being recognized in December. The combination of these e-commerce sales and our store sales re-sulted in higher sales for the last week of the month.”

Regional discounter Alco Stores posted a milder 1.7% comp loss, but home was not a contributor. Rather, de-creases in the apparel business negative-ly impacted the total same-store sales by 2.3%, primarily as a result of lower sales of cold-weather apparel.

President and ceo Rich Wilson high-lighted the company’s 2.7% increase in total sales, “which refl ects a good start to the holiday shopping season and the contribution of our newer stores….On a same-store basis, performance in No-vember was strong in key holiday-season businesses, primarily toys, electronics, housewares, domestics, stationery and Christmas. In addition, the food and consumables businesses delivered same-store sales increases for November.”

Even though comp losses dominated November’s key retailer performance, worth noting were shifts among the list of winners.

Making a turn-around as the lead-er of the pack was Stein Mart, which churned a 7.1% comp over its 4.6% comp decline a year ago. All merchan-dise categories posted positive comps, led by linens, men’s furnishings and la-dies’ career sportswear.

Heading into the holidays, “we are off to a terrifi c start. The results were clearly a culmination of great merchan-dise, great marketing and proper execu-tion at all levels,” said Jay Stein, inter-im ceo. HTT

Holiday Kick-Off Not Quite Enough

NOVEMBER SALES FOR KEY RETAILERSFour Weeks Ended November 25, 2012 (dollar amounts in millions) a

2012 2011 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES % CHG. % CHG.

Alco Stores $42.4 $41.3 2.7 (1.7)Bon-Ton Stores Inc. $301.3 $303.6 (0.8) (0.1)Costco Wholesale Corp. (b) $8,150.0 $7,510.0 9.0 6.0 Fred’s Inc. $150.4 $152.1 (0.1) (3.6)Kohl’s Corp. $1,836.0 $1,930.0 (4.9) (5.6)Macy’s Inc. $2,450.0 $2,464.0 (0.6) (0.7)Ross Stores Inc. $813.0 $765.0 6.0 2.0 Stein Mart Inc. $109.8 $102.1 7.5 7.1 Target Corp. $6,183.0 $6,191.0 (0.1) (1.0)The TJX Companies Inc. $2,200.0 $2,000.0 7.0 3.0

43 WEEKS 2012 2011 TOTAL SAME-STORE SALES SALES % CHG. % CHG.

Alco Stores $383.0 $376.2 1.8 (1.3)Bon-Ton Stores Inc. $2,205.7 $2,205.1 0.2 0.0 Costco Wholesale Corp. $81,050.0 $73,090.0 0.1 NAFred’s Inc. $1,573.0 $1,534.0 3.0 (1.1)Kohl’s Corp. $14,773.0 $14,716.0 0.4 (1.1)Macy’s Inc. $20,786.0 $20,145.0 3.2 3.1 Ross Stores Inc. $7,773.0 $6,976.0 11.0 7.0 Stein Mart Inc. $958.5 $934.3 2.6 2.0 Target Corp. $55,773.0 $53,720.0 3.8 3.2 The TJX Companies Inc. $20,300.0 $18,500.0 10.0 7.0

a. Reporting periods vary among retailers.b. Costco’s November comp results are for the U.S. division and do not include the positive impact of inflation on gasoline prices and from stronger foreign currencies.

Including those impacts, comps for the month were up 6.0% in the U.S. division, 7.0% in the international division, and 6.0% for the total company.

Same-store sales % change

WINNERSStein Mart Inc. 7.1%Costco Wholesale Corp. 6.0%TJX Companies 3.0%Ross Stores 2.0%

LOSERSKohl’s Corp. (-5.6%)Fred’s Inc. (-3.6%)Alco Stores (-1.7%)Target Corp. (-1.0%)Macy’s Inc. (-0.7%)The Bon-Ton Stores (-0.1%)

WINNERS AND LOSERS

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