Two Trends To Watch
Carole Sloan -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 12/1/2000
There are a couple of interesting trends on the home furnishings front. One is the Martha-Stewart-at-Kmart marketing phenomenon, which has been developing over the past couple of years. The other is the switch from casual to formal, which is just surfacing, especially in Europe.
If there's anyone in the home furnishings world who isn't yet aware of the new Martha Stewart Everyday Housewares collection, his or her future in the business is going to be short-lived. Any home furnishings professional who hasn't walked through the nearest Kmart store isn't doing his or her job. This is one of the most comprehensive and well thought out assemblages of cookware, pots and pans, flatware, bakeware, dinnerware, and glassware to be found anywhere. There are about 650 items in the debut collection. They work together, but they're not coordinated in the "matchy matchy" way that so many home furnishings lines are. The collection is exclusive to Kmart, and, if early results are any indication, customers like it a lot.
Martha has been promoting the collection herself-on television and in print-just as she has been doing with her bed and bath and garden and outdoor furniture collections. By harnessing the power of Martha, Kmart's new chairman predicted that the company would become the number one housewares retailer, overtaking Wal-Mart in the top spot.
What this means to others who sell these types of products is that there is a new, formidable competitor sitting there in a nearby Kmart store. The marketplace has been changed dramatically, and permanently. The impact of a knife or a dish carrying the Martha Stewart imprimatur is enormous. And, despite the connotations that are attached to a Kmart line, this collection is like the bedding and bath collections: It is of respectable, if not excellent, quality. Customers who never thought of shopping at Kmart before are doing so now. And they're also shopping at Bluelight.com, the Kmart Web site partially financed by Martha Stewart.
More than the bedding and bath products, the housewares present a challenge to other retailers. Housewares are bought not only for personal use but for gift-giving. Not many folks purchase mattress pads, bed pillows, or comforters as gifts. But they do give casserole dishes, knife collections, and sets of spatulas.
The advent of the Martha Stewart collection doesn't mean that everyone else in the business should abdicate. It's merely a signal-a wake-up call, if you will-that it's time to look around the store, check presentations and assortments, spiff up displays, make sure that inventories are up to snuff, and, most importantly, make certain that the salespeople are the best in the marketplace.
The Martha phenomenon is awesome, but not unbeatable.
The New Formal
Once again, home furnishings professionals have all jumped onto the same bandwagon. Not so long ago, everyone was talking casual. No one wanted to be formal. That was the way that our grandmothers lived. Casual was "today."
Well, fast-forward to this year's markets-especially the European ones such as Maison & Objet in Paris, Decosit in Brussels, and the Gift Show in Florence. From decorative fabrics and dishes to bedding and lighting, the prevailing direction was dressed up, formal, and openly elaborate and embellished. It was a far cry from the casual, understated plain-Jane look that prevailed in the late '90s.
Fabrics such as brocades and damasks were back in vogue, albeit with a decidedly 21st-century slant. Luster, sheen, and shimmer were everywhere. Organza, taffeta, and moiréwere the new favorite fabrics. And abundant embroidery showed up on everything from bedding and window coverings to table linens and bath accessories. Along with embroidery came braids and trimmings of every size and shape, in luxurious constructions like mohair or silk for tassels and fringes.
The rule of the moment: the more opulent, the better. Gold and silver threads peeked out in many embroideries and braids. With all the opulence and lavish treatment of fabric and furniture comes the return of color, color, and more color. Purple, and its family of shades ranging from aubergine to berry tones, was the predominant color statement in Paris, although the color palette was significantly broader at both the Brussels and Florence shows, with deep, almost jewel-like tones taking precedence.
Once again, it seems that the home furnishings industry is capable of embracing only one direction at a time.
Industry veteran Carole Sloan is aFurniture/Todaysenior editor and columnist, and the founding editor-in-chief ofHome Textiles Today.
