Retailers put emphasis on home decor - Discount Industry Annual Report. Part II: Merchandising and Productivity Analysis

Discount Store News, August 5, 1991

Retailers Put Emphasis on Home Decor

In 1990, many chains began to take a "category killer" approach to non-electric housewares.

Big players like Kmart and Wal-Mart, smaller regional chains like Stuarts and Rose's, and variety chains like Sprouse, have taken a hard look at which categories made the most sense to be "committed" to, and which were only a distraction from their primary merchandise opportunities. It appears they have determined that the entire world of home decor is a key element to the "killer" merchandising strategy.

Everything from crafts, area rugs and throw pillows to closet shop, lighting, picture frames and gadgets were developed at many chains, gaining floor space, and increased ad frequency.

Kmart, Ames, Jamesway and Harts were among the full-line discounters which expanded the crafts department at most stores during the past year, as did variety store chains, fabric stores and home decor stores like Waccamaw and nursery chains. The close link between home fashion trends and home crafts projects like silk flower arrangements, tole painted and stenciled home accents, handmade throw pillows and other home decor crafts, has fostered a rebirth of the category.

An aggressive stance in crafts could also help chains facing Wal-Mart, which is well-known for its service-oriented fabric and crafts department.

A close cousin to the crafts category, picture frames, has still not peaked as sales of better quality, higher-ticket styles continue to climb. The custom frame business in craft specialty chains was a major source of growth last year. One full-line regional discounter, Van Leunen's in Cincinnati, began experimenting with a category killer approach to framing last year by working with a local framing store. Van Leunen's customers were offered one-stop shopping for frames; if the store's expanded frame department did not meet their needs, custom framing was available.

Several new retailing formats have sprung up to take advantage of the home decor craze. They include Jamesway's My House store, Ames' Crafts & More stores and departments, Ben Franklin Crafts stores and Pergament's soon to be opened chain of home decor specialty stores.

The home decor segment is so hot that virtually every direct mail cataloger and most home center chains are trying to gain peripheral sales by offering home decor merchandise. Most recently, Pergament exploded its home decor and housewares categories to include a Rubbermaid "boutique" and an International department spotlighting wicker, brass, and other home accents resembling Pier 1. Soft home direct mail retailers like Hanover House's Domestications arm added some RTA furniture and dinnerware to its comforters and window coverings, while novelty catalog, Lillian Vernon, developed its own coordinated patterns for closet shop and bath.

Ready-to-assemble furniture was a tough decision for merchandising execs since some chains decided this space-intensive, relatively high-service category didn't earn its keep in terms of gross margins. Other chains however, most recently Kmart, have decided to establish category dominance in RTA as evidenced by its Long Island, N.Y., stores opened in May. Both the Sayville "test" store and the Levittown prototype devoted about 10 gondola runs to RTA and lifestyle furniture. The furniture category was paired with an enhanced lighting department.

The marriage between hard lines housewares and soft home merchandise was consummated last year as manufacturers from both segments designed products that made the most of both product areas.

The blending was most apparent in tabletop and bath. Textiles ranging from tablecloths and napkins to potholders and appliance covers were paired with dinnerware, flatware, glassware and serveware patterns. Soap pumps and trash cans that pick up shower curtain and domestics designs are more frequently being paired together instead of being relegated to separate category displays.

Manufacturers like New York-based International China (creator of the "Marmalade" pattern and others) and retailers like Kmart and Target have paved the way for this integrated approach to kitchen housewares, and now coordinated merchandising is becoming more the rule than the exception.