LAS VEGAS MARKET
DECOSIT PREVIEW
DESIGNER’S DREAM
Daniel McKinnon, Messe Frankfurt executive director, N.A. tradeshows, inaugurates World Market Center with Interior Lifestyle
Patrick Geysels, Decosit show organizer, remains selective but open to companies that apply to Decosit 2005
Hunter Douglas Hospitality marries window coverings and fabrics to inspire designers, said Bob Harnach, president
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The Global Home & Contract Furnishings Newspaper • www.sipco.net
Vol. 15, No. 3
Summer ‘05
Marriott International Upgrades Its 208,516 Guest Rooms Cheryl Rowley and Richmond International Create New Room Standards by Jon Hendrix
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ETHESDA, Maryland — Marriott International Inc. has commenced a dramatic redesign initiative, highlighted by an effort to reinvigorate 208,516 guest rooms across two of its full-service brands: Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts. The new Marriott rooms will have a “a whole new look and feel,” according to J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International. The upgrades to these brands, which were announced in March, top off a slew of renovations and refurbishments that will take hold across each brand in the BethesdaMaryland-based hotel operator’s portfolio. In accordance with the industry’s continuing obsession with bet-
J.W. Marriott Jr. ter beds, Marriott is sending much-maligned bedspreads the way of the dinosaurs in favor of sheeted duvets. And guests who like pillowfights will have one more pillow per bed to swing away with (pillows increase on king beds from five to six, on doubles from three to four). The company is upgrading to 300hundred-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets from 180-threadcount sheets. The sheets should also be softer to the touch: 60-per-
cent cotton sheets replace 50/50 cottonpoly blends. The company will also introduce bedding components that are new to its brands. Beds will have synthetic or down feather mattress toppers, decorative bed scarves, bed skirts, euroshams, and an optional bolster, said a company spokesman. Cheryl Rowley Design Inc. contrived two prototypical design schemes (one in a contemporary style, the other transitional ) for the (Continued on page 36)
Duralee Eyes $100 Million Sales by Catering to Designers by Eric Schneider
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Marty Rosenberger, Len Silberman, Robin Gordon, Lisa Rivera
AY SHORE, New York — Duralee Fabrics Ltd. expects to hit the $100 million sales mark by 2007 by catering to residential and contract interior designers, according to Len Silberman, founder and CEO of this aggressive fabric wholesaler and furniture manufacturer. “The designer has changed the world. They can make or break a marriage based on the colors they select. If the designer likes what you do, they stay with you,” he said. It took Duralee 50 years to
Contract/HospitalityNews
achieve $50 million in sales but it may take only five years to achieve the $100 million goal, Silberman explained. Duralee recently purchased a 180,000 square foot facility on 35 acres in Morgantown, North Carolina, to house its furniture manufacturing. After filling up its expanded 110,000 square foot Bay Shore headquarters with inventory and personnel, the company found it had “run out of parking.” Ultimately, two thirds of the newly-purchased building will also contain fabric shipping and inventory opera(Continued on page 20)
Breaking news starting on page 32
Left: Marriott Hotels & Resorts guestroom design Right: Cheryl Rowley’s rennaisance bathroom design
Hangzhou Upholstery Mills Turn in 20% Annual Gains Since 2000 by Eric Schneider
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ANGZHOU, China — The mills of Hangzhou, a weaving stronghold about two and a half hours outside of Shanghai, have generated sales growth of as much as 20 percent a year in each of the last five years. These same mills are further accelerating their growth in the quota-free era that began in 2005. Everyone agrees that Chinese mills are the lowest cost weavers in the world today, but most of the Chinese mill owners recognize the importance of improving
design and quality levels to maintain that success. Now that lofty sales goals have been realized, some companies are taking the opportunity to improve product quality, testing facilities and design departments. Several mills are trying new qualities that are chenille free just to prepare themselves for a possible downturn in the strong chenille market down the road. Many Chinese mills are targeting 50-70 percent of their sales to the U.S., by far their largest market, with Europe a (Continued on page 22)