Homeward Bound

In times of strife, Americans traditionally look to family and home for safety and security. And in these unsettling months, they are reverting to form. They are traveling less, making fewer trips to the mall, and eating more meals in the family kitchen, even if that means preparing dinner in the microwave or having it delivered by the local pizza parlor. Even the wealthy are changing their habits. Sales of expensive leather jackets, handbags, and jewelry by the likes of Gucci, Prada, and Tiffany have taken a nosedive, according to a recent report in The New York Times. Consumers are finding comfort by reading home-and-hearth magazines, working on crafts, and just hanging out with the family. Wendy Liebmann, president of consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail, said, "What we spend, certainly for this next period of time, will be about family and comfort … rather than acquiring stuff for ourselves."

Gift and home decor manufacturers had sketched out their designs and selected their color palettes for 2002 before September 11, already knowing that the "cocooning" phenomenon had great appeal; now, it has become a mantra. Retailers of decorative accessories can expect to get their share of the consumer dollar next year as Americans look to feather their nests.

Here is what the manufacturers told Gifts & Dec to be on the lookout for:

"Traditional" topped the list of design directions that gift and decorative accessory manufacturers reported taking. However, traditional doesn't necessarily mean formal. Today, traditional design must appeal to a younger audience that prefers a casual lifestyle. Formal traditional design, such as Stickley's Williamsburg Reserve furniture collection, for example, is not what interests this group. Stickley's own market research showed that the average age of consumers buying the Williamsburg collection was around 65. (In the automobile industry, Jaguar made a similar discovery when it learned that its average buyer was around 75 years of age. The company has since come out with two models designed to appeal to a more youthful market, while maintaining some of Jaguar's traditional styling.) In furniture, Stickley's La Rochelle, Mission, and Metropolitan collections are more suited to the younger demographic seeking traditional design.

Another example of a furniture manufacturer that is tapping into the market of traditional design with a casual flare is Lexington Home Brands. The company debuted its Haley & Carter collection at the October 2001 High Point market. The fictional couple (Haley and Carter), that give the line its name, are traditionalists with youthful spirit and enthusiasm, and a passion for furniture. According to Lexington, the collection targets both the traditional and transitional segments of the market, and seeks "consumers with a young attitude who are searching for a fresh look that is different than the furniture their parents had."

In Gifts & Dec's survey, traditional design was followed closely by "nesting/entertaining at home" and "Americana/lodge" as the next most popular design directions for the upcoming year. The new chapter of the Ernest Hemingway home furnishings collection, "Windemere," is a perfect example of these design directions. Introduced a few markets ago, the collection focused on the author's sojourns in Cuba, Kenya, and Key West. The latest chapter, which debuted in October 2001, focuses on his youth and his family's northern Michigan vacation home, Windemere. The Windemere collection, which uses materials such as tree limbs and bark, leather, bamboo, and animal horns, reflects an environment that is warm, simple, and countrified. While Thomasville produces the Windemere furniture collection, other manufacturers are responsible for lamps, rugs, throws and pillows, florals, and desk and floor fans.

"Asian" design, a mainstay of home decor over the last few years, received a middling response. Only 21 percent of the respondents felt that it would have a strong influence in 2002, compared with the 53 percent who put traditional in the top spot. Also, when asked whether they saw any design trend that was fading in popularity, 66 percent of the respondents said "yes"; out of those, 20 percent said that the Asian trend was on the decline.

Design directions that barely rated in the survey included "tropical," "shabby chic," "ethnic," and "Victoriana," among others.

"Earth tones" and "neutrals" ranked highest in the color schemes category of the survey, with 61 percent of manufacturers ranking them the most important hues for next year. "Jewel tones" (50 percent) and "brights" (42 percent) followed.

These results show that while color is still strong, it serves mostly as an accent to "punch up" a neutral environment. Expect cushions, pillows, throws, and area rugs to come in an array of colors. Even garden-styled decor, long confined to beige, brown, green, and other natural hues, will expand its spectrum to include a wider range of colors in 2002.

Mohawk Home recently debuted the Chris Madden Collection of area and bath rugs, bedding, throws, and pillows. Color and texture are the keywords, as the oversized throws are colorful and "made with the coziest and softest fibers available," according to a press release. Decorative pillows include innovative cording and embellishments.

Drexel Heritage introduced color in a number of its October 2001 upholstery entries. The Tuscan-inspired Villa Santina collection features chenille and other rich fabrics in a collage treatment of antique ocher, warm amber, buttery cream, burnt umber, and bronze accented by purple eggplant. Embellishments included passementerie featuring flat braiding, unusual buttons, ostrich feathers, and elaborate fringes. The company's American Tempo line features cotton, duck, and denim primarily in red, white, and blue colors.

The eclectic color palette of Susan Sargent will be addressing a wider audience with the April 2002 Lexington Home Brands introduction of home furnishings and accessories featuring her designs. The target market is the financially independent professional woman who has definite design preferences. She is a woman who is not afraid of color and pattern.

Among the other color schemes mentioned by Gifts & Dec survey respondents were "black and/or white" (33 percent) and "metallics" (38 percent). These are colors associated more with modern/contemporary design, which 33 percent of the respondents said would be a design direction for 2002. Regional tastes may come into play here, as modern and contemporary designs are still in vogue in upscale retail venues in the big cities, especially New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Interestingly, only 30 percent of the respondents opted for "pastels" as their color scheme of choice.

"Artist/illustrator" licenses were considered to be "important or very important" for 2002 by 55 percent of the respondents. We can expect that the popularity of "all-American" artists such as Warren Kimble, Bob Timberlake, Mary Engelbreit, and others like them will only grow over the next year, especially when they depict images of Old Glory and other patriotic icons in their work. Kimble's use of the flag on many of his folk art pieces has resulted in a huge demand for his product, according to a recent report.

Mary Engelbreit Studios recently signed seven new licensees, bringing to 40 the total number of manufacturers using her images on their products. Mary is also illustrating a series of children's books for HarperCollins; the first, to debut in fall 2002, will be 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Fashion designers' licenses were considered "of little or no importance" by 66 percent of the manufacturers surveyed. To the separate question, "How important are runway/apparel fashions in influencing gift and decorative accessory designs?", 65 percent answered "not important." To some degree, however, the aftermath of September 11 has introduced a new trend in the fashion world: an emphasis on American designers and designs. That's the kind of trend that could easily spill over into the gift and decorative accessories industry.

These are times of uncertainty for all Americans. Any doubts about whether they really are "homeward bound" are dispelled by this simple fact: In the last few weeks, sales of Campbell's soup have surged.

The survey, conducted by Judi Fulbright of Gifts & Dec's Market Research Department, is based on the responses of 195 manufacturers and vendors of home accents, candles, holiday and garden decor items, tabletop, frames, stationery, collectibles, and other gift products and accessories. Forty-six percent said that their most important distribution channel was the gift specialty store; only 4 percent said that department stores were most important, and only 2 percent said that discounters were most important.

Twenty-six percent of the respondents have annual sales of less than $1 million, 38 percent have sales of $1 million to $4.9 million, 15 percent have sales of $5 million to $9.9 million, 10 percent have sales of $10 million to $19.9 million, and 11 percent have sales in excess of $20 million.