Linens and May upgrade private-label home lines

DSN Retailing Today, July 11, 2005 by Mike Duff

NEW YORK -- Two new private-label programs are hitting the home market, and the buzz is all good. Linens 'N Things unveiled its newest proprietary label offering in mid dune, and May Co., which ws acquired by Federated back in February, announced a wide-ranging collection just days earlier. Each of the collections, which spill over the boundaries of textiles and include accessory and tabletop items, is an example of how more comprehensive private and proprietary label offerings are raising the bar about what constitutes excitement in the field.

Linens 'N Things is offering 600 SKUs in its Nate Berkus Collection, developed with the designer who gained fame on the "Oprah Winfrey Show." May is introducing 1,000 SKUs in its HouseBeautiful group, developed in collaboration with the magazine of the same name, and license holder Cherokee.

The Berkus initiative breaks new ground at Linens 'N Things in two ways, chairman and ceo Norman Axelrod told DSN Retailing Today. It is the first full multi-segment collection the company has launched, and it is a breakthrough contemporary group. "It's broad but it's modern," Axelrod said. "When have we had a contemporary program before?"

The Berkus collection will focus around six groupings that reach from textiles to bath and home furnishings accessories to tabletop. The merchandising program will revolve around four dressed beds but will include dedicated merchandising in various parts of the store.

Berkus said he was eager to develop his own home furnishings line but was looking for a retail partner who would let him have a hand in everything and support him working across segment lines. He also wanted a long-term relationship. He said he found the right partner in Linens 'N Things. "It has worked out well," Berkus said.

Jack Moore, Linens 'N Things president, said the Berkus introduction is consistent with the merchandising philosophy he promotes, one that concentrates on making the home specialist a destination for consumers.

"Every retailer is trying to figure out how to be a store of first choice," Moore said, noting that the Berkus collection not only provides consumers with an exciting new range of goods but one that will evolve and keep them engaged. "This guy is just plain talented and he will grow," Moore added.

As Berkus did, May Co. developed the HouseBeautiful program with a hands-on attitude to the extent that the company even did its own color mixing, said designer Clay Chaffin, who guided the project.

The program was developed with Cherokee, which has become increasingly

involved in launching new licensed brands in both the apparel and home furnishings sectors and is looking forward to returns rolling in this year for the HouseBeautiful initiative.

"We expect ... HouseBeautiful at May Co. department stores to begin generating royalty revenues for us in our third quarter," Howard Siegel, Cherokee president, stated in commenting on the company's first-quarter results. "We continue to be very excited by the growth opportunities for the brands we own and represent as we seek worldwide licensing agreements."