Bathed in popularity - sales of towels and bedding at discount stores - HomeMarket Trends Supplement

Discount Store News, Nov 5, 1990 by Pete Hisey

Bathed in Popularity

The fall market was surprisingly upbeat this year, and nowhere was that more apparent than in the showrooms of bath products suppliers.

Research and sales results show that the consumer has heard the coordination message in the bedroom. Now, retailers and vendors say, that fashion-forward styling is moving into the mass market bath.

Bath suppliers universally reported strong 1990 sales and sharp increases in orders for 1991. A key component is the trend toward coordinating with popular bedding collections, a trend that virtually exploded this year. Several major bath suppliers had such tie-ins. A few examples: Hygiene Industries has introduced a shower curtain/accessories ensemble that coordinates with J.P. Stevens' Perspective pattern; Jackson, a division of CHF Industries, ties in not only with its sister company, Aberdeen, but also with Stevens' designer labels like Collier Campbell.

Another distinct trend is toward more comprehensive accessorization. Jackson, for instance, has gone beyond the traditional plastic wares to include hampers and loofah kits. Saturday Knight has included new gem-look coordinating accessories. Similarly, Hygiene debuted a series of deep-tone ceramics with gold rims and accessories covered with the shower curtain fabric.

And, the finished look popular in department stores has reached the mass market. While the staple at this level remains the vinyl shower curtain, higher-fashion fabrics are now universal, replete with toppers, valances, fabric trims, and embellished towels.

Here, Jackson had a clear edge. According to Barbara Hanson, director of marketing, the company's longtime direction toward the department store has been altered lately, as the mass market has become more important. Nevertheless, the company's strategy is now to sell the same (or at least very similar) high-fashion looks to mass merchandisers, rather than attempt to compete at the lower end. And, she said, consumers seem to be willing to pay higher price points.

In essence, vendors said that the strict segregation between upstairs and downstairs product lines is a thing of the past. Exception for designer labels, where long-term contracts forbid sales to discounters, discount buyers can pretty much buy whatever strikes their fancy.

And early indications are that discounters will push fashion farther this year. With recession now a fact of life, and inventories picked clean, discounters are in the enviable position of having healthy open-to-buys, customers practically begging for more fashion, and increased traffic.

Most vendors saw this situation coming, and prepared accordingly. Discounters shopping this market were met with an overwhelming selection to choose from, a selection that ran the gamut from low-end vinyl shower curtains to luxurious (and expensive) coated fabric ensembles.

Hygiene might have been the first to adapt to this new market. The company closed down its older plants, replacing them with two new 450,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facilities. The result, according to executive vice president David Baines, has been a sharp rise in sales, increased market share and a more innovative approach to the market. Most of the growth, he said, has come from major discounters and specialty stores.

Design stories differed greatly from showroom to showroom, but a few trends emerged, most linked with bedding trends. Highly contemporary designs, like Perspective from Hygiene and Times Square from Jakson, were popular. Ethnic influences, more painterly approaches, Victorian looks and Southwestern design combined with richer colors also appeared in the showrooms.

Teal, browns, deep green, mint green, purples and rich blues and reds seemed to be the trend colors, and designers looked to new geographical areas for inspiration.

A good example is Babushka, another Jakson pattern, which is inspired by Eastern European/Balkan traditions. Several designers at market week singled out the destruction of the Berlin Wall as a major design impetus.

In other bath developments, Dundee and Excell have teamed up for the first time to produce coordinated bath collections. The first was based on Dundee's Palatial, with Excell producing shower curtains and accessories to coordinate. Other collections took the opposite approach, with Dundee producing towels to match Excell products.

All told, the fall market may have been the most successful in recent memory. Each vendor tried to produce something different, something to spice up what could be a very quiet domestics department-come spring. Dundee, for example, introduced a one-off program called Up Front, a collection of moderately-priced towels in bold, saturated colors, aimed directly at giving home fashions retailers excitement early next year.

PHOTO : From Jakson, a new level of coordination with Colette, including embellished towels, gold trim, valences, and plastic accessories.

PHOTO : Hygiene Industries has tied in with J.P. Stevens to produce a line of bath products that coordinate with Stevens' Perspective line.