Market Week Notebook

摘要

Let's just say two words and get them out of the way. Farmhouse. Texture. Both were all over the place at last month's New York Home Fashions Market, so they're obviously hitting their marks. In addition to all the whiz-bang new ingredients and technologies that got off the ground during market week, here are four observations that stood out for me. Most buzzed about retailer: Costco. I was surprised by how many people said: "We just had a meeting with Costco," or "We're seeing Costco this afternoon," or "We're doing great at Costco." Considering Costco does about the same amount of business in home textiles as Pier 1 ($319 million vs. $315 million in 2017, respectively) it was noteworthy. I also heard a few references to Sam's Club. Are the warehouse club giants now a harbor in the stormy retail sea? Legacy mill brand relaunches. Warhorses Royal Velvet and Cannon are no longer retailer exclusives and were presented under new licenses to the open market. WestPoint Home announced it will revivify its suite of house brands going forward. Even the Martha Stewart brand, which launched its legendary home program at Kmart 22 years ago, is aiming for ubiquity with new multi-category lifestyle collections available to anyone who fits the price point. Will all these brands end up on e-commerce or at off-pricers? We'll see.