Anything that says America - home center stores sell patriotic products - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Nov 5, 2001 by Lisa Girard

Dealers, suppliers rush to cash in on patriotism with new products

NATIONAL REPORT -- There's a new wave of patriotism sweeping the nation, and several manufacturers in the home products industry are offering consumers creative ways to express their pro-America sentiments in and around the house.

In addition to flags -- which have continued to sell briskly at virtually every home center and hardware store since the Sept. 11 tragedy -- patriotic themes can be found in categories such as wallcoverings, window treatments, indoor and outdoor wood pieces, floor mats, stickers, cookware, apparel and a variety of other items. Stores are being inundated with letters and faxes describing the latest and most innovative products available from manufacturers across the nation -- and the world.

"I've been flooded with information from all kinds of vendors I never heard of before," said Brace Phillips, vp at Crowder Brothers Ace Hardware in Lakeland, Fla. "People want patriotic products."

Some of the items selling at Crowder Brothers are patriotic doormats, candles in flag colors and decorative yard flags, as well as license plates, bumper stickers, window stickers and flag lapel pins. Phillips also expects to sell a lot of red Radio Flyer wagons for Christmas.

In addition to T-shirts, hats and car flags, Palmetto Ace Hardware in Miami has sold several gas masks. At Prescott True Value Hardware in Arizona, some of the more interesting items include red, white and blue suspenders and coffee mugs that say, "United We Stand." Suzanne Springer, a member of the family that owns Prescott True Value and the store's bookkeeping manager, also plans to stock many patriotic holiday items, including Uncle Sam nutcrackers.

"We've sold a lot of t-shirts, hats and signs for the yard," she said. "In fact, we don't normally sell any clothing but have gone through 250 shirts since it happened."

Andre Fontana, manager at a Home Depot in Tampa, Fla., said that keeping flags in stock has been a problem. "I can tell you this, flags and mats and anything else we had with a flag symbol on it have sold very quickly, whereas it used to just sit there on the shelves," he said.

Since the day of the tragedy, Lowe's has been trying to get additional flags from its supplier and has been able to replenish its supply weekly, according to company spokeswoman Chris Ahearn. The company recently added patriotic car magnets to its merchandise mix with plans to donate $1 from the sale of each unit to the American Red Cross.

A variety of manufacturers have seen the last several weeks as an ideal time to launch new patriotic products -- or to dust off some old ones. Cleveland-based Imperial Home Decor Group has put all of its patriotic theme wallpaper prints into a line called Spirit of America, which is available through paint and wallpaper dealers and home centers. The line offers traditional American folk art borders and sidewalls -- in reds, whites and blues -- as well as several borders with hearts, stars, flags and other Americana. And IHDG is donating a portion of sales from another new product -- an instant USA Stars and Stripes stencil package -- to the American Red Cross Relief Fund.

Jo Rogers, president of Free Spirit Enterprises in Santa Barbara, Calif., was planning to launch her new mailbox light in early 2002. This self-contained light, which attaches to the door of a mailbox and works by motion, has a flag on it and is available in red, white and blue.

Because of recent events, she decided to speed up its release and will have the product available this month in hardware stores, drugstores and home centers. Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to the relief effort.

Similarly, as part of the launch of its new no-mix, no-water concrete, Einstone Concrete is giving away plastic molds in the shape of the American flag at several hardware stores in the Miami area. "We had intended to launch this month, but this changed our whole outlook on the launch," said Kathy Fitzgerald, Einstone's brand manager.

"The response when we've advertised with the flag mold has been unbelievable," she said.