Liz Claiborne to launch
Lexington to have 140 SKUs at premarket
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, February 23, 2004
LEXINGTON, N.C. — LEXINGTON, N.C. — Lexington Home Brands will introduce its newest licensed line, the 140-SKU Liz Claiborne Home, next month at High Point's premarket.
Dealers will see a market-ready showroom presentation and can place orders on the entire collection.
Bob Stec, Lexington president and CEO, said extensive consumer research by Liz Claiborne gave designers a leg up in product development. The furniture reflects some well-documented attributes of the brand, he said.
"Liz Claiborne consumers talked about furniture not as inanimate objects, but as representing important moments," he said. "They look at a dining room table, and think, 'This is where my daughter told me she was having a child.' I don't think our designers ever had as much direction."
Such "moments" are the basis for the collection's three lifestyle themes — formal-leaning Homecoming Sunday and the more casual Family Days and Friends and Neighbors. The line is split evenly between case goods and upholstery, with the upholstery available in 80 exclusive fabrics.
Prices are in the middle of Lexington's range, with beds retailing from $1,000 to $1,599 and sofas from $999 to $1,799. Lexington already has begun production, using a mix of sourced and U.S. product, and the collection is scheduled to reach retail floors in late June.
"After Labor Day, when the kids are back in school and the weather's changing, the consumer's focus goes back indoors," said Stec. "When her mind turns to the home, we want this collection on retail floors."
The company will carry inventory to service Liz Claiborne Home at warehouses in High Point and Lexington, with a commitment to 18- to 21-day delivery.
Stec said the collection can be sold in lifestyle suites or mixed and matched.
"It's three moods, each with all categories, all mixable with one another," he said. "At premarket, we're going to show it totally blended."
Homecoming Sunday will feature mahogany veneers and rich, but livable, looks evoking special occasions in the home. Friends and Neighbors will include a casual component evoking moments like book clubs or friends dropping in for coffee, highlighted by mixed media and warm, light brown finishes on wood. Family Days also will offer mixed media, and painted finishes.
Hand-painted accent pieces will stand alone.
Liz Claiborne Home will be displayed in 8,000 square feet of Lexington's showroom, with another 2,000 square feet set aside as workspace to discuss floor plans, fabric options and a Liz Claiborne slipcover program.
"We'll have specs for paints, flooring, everything they'll see here," said Scott Ballard, Lexington vice president of sales. "If a dealer comes in and says, 'I want this room,' we'll have a card with everything from product selection to flooring on it. We want to make this something they can replicate in the store."
Moldings and doorways are fairly simple for easy reproduction at retail.
Three retail footprints will allow dealers to meet Lexington's requirements for flooring the collection. The company expects stores to provide a visual environment that meets brand standards; create an emotional tug through all five senses with music, food and scents; and provide strong brand visibility on the exterior.
Lexington also is setting up a retail sales training program via its representatives and the Internet to certify retail salespeople to sell Liz Claiborne Home. In addition, retail sales staff will receive frequent-flier miles for every product in the collection they sell. That incentive, paid by Liz Claiborne, gives salespeople the choice of cashing in miles for a prepaid balance on a Liz Claiborne Visa card.
Lexington will back the collection with what Stec called "the largest national advertising campaign we've ever done." Ads will hit shelter publications in the fourth quarter, and Lexington will produce a 32-page consumer catalog to drive business to dealers.
"We're going to control all the advertising, all graphics and photography," Stec said. "We're creating all the materials and they'll be available to all retailers carrying the collection."
