Retailers set a festive table to ring in the holiday cheer; traditional colors, fruits, metallics Christmas motifs popular

Discount Store News, Nov 6, 1995 by Teresa Andreoli

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT -- Winter holiday tabletop should be a bright spot for retailers this year, reprising last year's substantial sales gains. Some retailers are expecting sales to rise 10% to 40%.

Popular items this year continue to be table linens, serving sets, canisters and anything with holiday themes, especially products featuring traditional colors, metallics, fruits, leaves and traditional Christmas motifs of Santas and wooden soldiers.

"Last year, Christmas tabletop was 40% over 1993's results. Sales this year are planned for an equally aggressive increase," said Lori Sangster, a Hills domestics buyer.

Hills' table linens are trending a double-digit increase, Sangster said. "Everything is working, basic as well as seasonal, but key growth categories continue to be coordinates and seasonal merchandise," she said.

The Canton, Mass.-based discounter will debut a new holiday program this month that groups merchandise into gift outposts, Hills president and ceo Jack Smailes said. In the home area, a Christmas kitchen theme is planned, with holiday-themed placemats and towels gaining a big presence.

Pamida, Omaha, Neb., has drastically increased the presence of Christmas-themed tabletop. The store now devotes six endcaps and three tables to Christmas kitchen tabletop and rugs. This was a big jump from last year, when the regional displayed only a single table of solid-color Christmas tablecloths.

"We are literally laying out the entire department to shout `Christmas,'" said Richard Tidwell, Pamida's vp, dmm.

A buyer for a Southern-based regional said that last year's Christmas tabletop soared 19% over 1993. "Last year went exceptionally well, but it's always been a good category for us," the buyer said. An item working particularly well for the chain is a 12-piece serving set (dessert plates and mugs) in two different patterns.

"Consumers have been responding to the way tabletop can change the look of, a home without much major investment," said Helaine Suval, senior vp of Excell, a leading domestics manufacturer.

Christmas has been a very strong category for the past five to 10 years," said Jeff Joyce, retail marketing manager, Libbey Glass. "Consumers keep coming back year after year to add or replace items, and it seems the trend to spend more holiday time at home will continue."

He also pointed out that canisters present a tremendous opportunity for holiday gift giving. Joyce said that he has noticed that consumers buy empty canisters so they can fill them with candies, cookies or other items and present them as gifts.

Lechters, the housewares specialty store, was scheduled to introduce a seasonal private label program this year to capitalize on the growth of holiday merchandise, said vice chairman Steen Kanter. He did not mention the specific items in the line. However, he said that Lechters will offer three different coordinated Christmas programs under the names Cooks Club, Regent Gallery and Simple Solutions. These brand names will also be used for non-seasonal merchandise.

Color, pattern, design and new accessories are big areas of change for manufacturers these days. Corelle's accessory line, Accessories First, has been expanded since its introduction last year.

"Christmas trees are still going strong, but patterns of fruits [such as apples and plums] and anything whimsical" have emerged as a hot trend, said Anna Eide, Corelle's design leader for tableware. Gold and bold--meaning copper color and brass metallics--are still strong patterns.

Cachet, Town & Country Linens' line, has at least two new fruit design patterns, Holiday Apples and Fruit Paisley, and one somewhat whimsical Santa/wooden soldier/teddy bear pattern called Santa's Treasure.

Metallic designs have gotten the thumbs up from Home Decor. "Our most popular holiday items are the gold lame tablecloths [a 52-sq.-in. cloth that carries a suggested retail price of $5.50 and a 90-in. round at $17], placemats, runners and napkins," said spokeswoman Maria Ouellette.

"The metallic gold mylar thread along the edge of our Symphony line in napkins sells very well at Holiday. We introduced it two seasons ago, and the category has grown since," she said.

Denim Christmas has been a hit for domestics manufacturer Excell. "The pattern has a country feel--bright Santas and gingerbread designs," said Suval. Double-bordered engineered tablecloths and placemats were huge, and most retailers purchased both skus, she said.

Products for the harvest season (a quickly growing transition time that links fall patterns through Halloween and even Thanksgiving) and Christmas have been extraordinary, according to many manufacturers.

Fall colors include gold, hunter green and dark brown. Motifs of leaves, pumpkin gourds and corn are in big demand this year.

"I see retailers placing a larger emphasis on major holidays and other seasonal holidays like Halloween or even the Super Bowl," added Libbey's Joyce.