Fabrics & Furnishings - Summer 2011 Issue by Fabrics & Furnishings International

Evteks 2011 Setting trends

Tom Hilb keeps Buying

The Best in drapery

Page 14

Page 17

Page 18

Sertex’s Bakıt Baydalıev says market adaptation and product diversity are crucial to success at Evteks

Vol. 21, No. 3

Heritage House makes third acquisition in seven years en route to $20mm business

F&FI brings you its top decorative drapery fabric suppliers

The Global Home & Contract Furnishings Newspaper • www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Summer 2011

Valley Forge Projects 2012 Business Upswing, Benefits for U.S. Mills Sourcing Expert Ahmet Sapmaz Sees Shift from China to U.S., Turkey by Eric Schneider

OMPANO BEACH, Florida — According to Ahment Sapmez, the 40 year-old vice president of strategic global business develop-

Ahmet Sapmaz

ment for Valley Forge Fabrics, the fabric business used to be about the largest producer and the smaller producer but today it’s about the fastest and the slowest. Sapmez is known throughout the world as one of the most important buyers of fabrics for drapery, upholstery and bedding if the not the biggest buyer of hospitality textiles. “We are the largest decorative fabric supplier to the hospitality trade with great strength in upholstery, drapery and for the past four years, a growing presence in bedding fabrics and sheeting,” said Sapmaz. “We prefer green suppliers because sustainability for us is a

very important factor in the actual product and the way it’s produced.” The perception is that green costs more but VFF started to cut profit margins even before the economic crisis, according to Sapmez, and it changed the green model. The buyer started to focus on price and delivery; green was less important to them, he added. “2012 should be a great year for the industry, “said Spamaz, “We’re optimistic. People have learned how to live in the economic crisis and survive. The consumer is looking for ways to improve lives without the same greedy spending frenzy we had before.” He explained that a lot of things

Indian Drapery Manufacturers Ramp Up Production Capacities Prospect for ready-mades remain positive but price sensitive by S. Vishwanath

umbai, India — Indian drapery manufacturers are bullish on the drapery business as mills begin to add new capacities, a move that points to a greater market share for India. Still, however, Turkish suppliers continue to ascend the ladder of success and China remains strong in mass production. India is carving out its niche in the market with draperies by offering quality and innovation at affordable rates.

The leading producer, D’ Decor Exports, India, has installed a capacity of over 12 million meters a year with almost 90% capacity utilization. “We are now in the process of expanding further with a new facility of 25,000 square meters with a state of the art weaving unit and it will begin operation by November of this year making the total capacity up to 16 million meters,” said Sanjay Arora, managing director, (Continued on page 18) D’ Decor

Sanjay Arora

are now happening in the hotel business: Revenue per room, or “RevPar” is up; occupancy is up; people are traveling more, sales of hotel properties are up and consequently franchises are changing and property is being renovated. Sapmaz’s business is unique because he gets specified in the job 18 months before the order arrives.

He estimates that it takes this long for the hotel to be designed and then built. It takes VFF 18 months to get the order from the approved sample. With the business slowdown, Sapmaz explained, VFF was the last to feel the impact because it had business in the pipeline and it took a while to empty that pipeline and feel the (Continued on page 14)

James Dunlop Supports Mokum’s U.S. Presence Days After Christchurch, NZ’s Earthquake by Marc Weinreich

HRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — James Dunlop Textiles is providing the primary support for Mokum Textiles in the U.S., a company that JDT acquired in the first quarter of this year. According to Ben Moir, president of JDT, business is “back on a growth phase after an 18-month flat market” that included damage to its facilities from a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that crippled parts of Christchurch in February.

Anne Stevenson & Ben Moir

“Our Southern logistics hub was destroyed and there was severe damage to our headquarters,” said Moir. “A temporary location offsite was set up within 48-hours of the quake and all payments and transactions were met on time and in full.” James Dunlop Textiles acquired the Mokum brand because Mokum has over 30 years of experience in textile design, development and distribution with a design studio in Sydney. According to Moir, three quarters of the product-line from JDT is developed in-house with proprietary designs. Other brands distributed include Christian Fischbacher, Creation Baumann, Designs of the Time, FR-One, Voyage, Lorient, Villa Nova and Zinc. The entire (Continued on page 8)

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F&FI L E T T E R S

Family-Owned Textile Manufacturer Reaches Centenary Year Dear Eric, I have been contacted by my friend and colleague, Harry Rosenthal of J Rosenthal in Bury, Manchester. J Rosenthal is celebrating its centenary year in a discussion with Harry, he informed me that F&FI acknowledges only those companies which participate in export business. I told Harry that I would make contact with yourself and explain that in fact, J Rosenthal has for years held relationships with countries outside of England, selling both product and designs. J Rosenthal has been associated with Home Fabrics for many years and over these years, we have not only sourced fabrics through the company, but in fact, entered into a partnership and formed a successful company in South Africa trading under the name Dreams ‘n Drapes. This company imported both ready-made curtains and bed linen via J Rosenthal and at that time, established this brand in the South African market. This company regrettably ceased

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trading due to import restrictions and duties at the time. We however, continue to work closely with Harry who has become not only an associate, but a close friend as well. J Rosenthal has over the years acquired other businesses that have certainly participated in the export market. Both J Rosenthal and in particular, Harry Rosenthal is well respected by suppliers and customers with whom he conducts business. I can only recommend that F&FI give recognition to their centenary year. There are not many family owned textile companies who reach this milestone. Best wishes & kind regards, Julian Gelb Home Fabrics Harry Rosenthal www.homefabrics.co.za

3 Island Avenue, Suite 6i, Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA Website: www.fabricsandfurnishings.com Telephone 001.917.251.9922 | ISSN: 1523-7303 Publisher & Editor | Eric S. Schneider Associate Editor | Marc Weinreich Art Director | Roxanne Clapp, RoxC LLC CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Printing/Distribution | Interprint Web Printing Technical | Fred Meyers www.TappanZeePC.com 914.631.5595 Web Design | Synthovation E.U. Legal Counsel | Herman Nayaert

Sol Resch, A Man of Many Fabrics, Passes at 93 My first boss taught me many lessons: Our product is not cheap. It is inexpensive; Once the buyer said okay, shut up. You made the sale. Don’t buy it back; Don’t confuse quiet and polite with weak and ineffectual; If you can’t be my friend, you can’t be my customer. My dad, Sol Resch, followed these rules for 56 years. He left this world on April 13th. He was 93. Sol was the sales manager for a lining house, Marvin Fabrics for most of his career. He also sold pillows and other feather filled products for Hauptman Fabrics. After retiring from textiles in 1992, Sol soon became the commander of the Jewish War Veterans Post #209; Jackson Heights/Elmhurst Queens. He

SIPCO NEWS NETWORK India | S. Vishwanath U.K. | Geoff Fisher Belgium | Jan Hoffman USA | Kelley Granger

broke all of the fund raising records. Local businesses and banks and such prominent people as Fred Wilpon, owner of the NY Mets gladly donated to Sol’s efforts. Councilwoman Helen Sears presented him with an award in 2003 from the New York City Council for “Distinguished service to our nation.” In 2006, Ivan Lafayette, State Assemblyman, presented him with award for “his commitment to our veterans.” At his grave, the US Navy played taps in his honor and then handed me a perfectly folded ceremonial U S Flag. I will cherish this ‘Old Glory’ for the rest of my life. Rest in Peace, Sol Resch 4/5/1918 – 4/13/2011. —Bruce Resch, son

E ditorial & P ublishing

Associate Editor Marc Weinreich Tel: 001.917.338.0382 E-Mail: marc@sipco.net

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Art Director Roxanne Clapp Tel: 001.813.991.1860 E-Mail: rox@sipco.net

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Table of Contents F&FI Summer 2011 | Vol. 21, No. 3 MDS Announces U.S. Showrooms, Fabric Exchange Program at Showtime. . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Boca Bargoons Targets Ready-Made Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Eger Helps Crypton® Penetrate Residential Furniture Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calico Corners Projects Double-Digit Gains, Urban Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Surtex Panel Points Towards Bold Designs, Small Objects for Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Evteks 2011 Preaches Market Adaptation, Product Diversification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Hilb Makes Third Acquisition in Eight Years, Builds $20 Million Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Heritage Acquires Certain Assets From Dana Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

UK, BENELUX EFTA Peter Gilmore Tel: 44.(0)20.7834.5559 Fax: 44.(0)20.7834.0600 E-Mail: pgilmores@aol.com

Italy, Germany, Spain, France Isa Hofmann Tel: +49 611.890.59640 Fax: +49 611.87086 Email: info@ihofmann.com

Contract/HospitalityNews Abercrombie Expands Domestically, Acquires Cone Jacquards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Valley Forge Tencel+Plus Upholstry Launches Hospitality Industry First . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Global Marketplace India’s Wow Textiles Grows North American Jobbing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tissat, Deslee Form Joint Venture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Zealand’s Textile Industry Raises Money for Breast Cancer Research . . . . . . . . . . .

16 16 20 20 20

CHINA Vincent Kwan Tel: +852.2780.2968 Fax: +852.2780.2974 E-mail: vinceintl@gmail.com

Check out this issue online! Go to fabricsandfurnishings.com SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

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Departments Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Photo Gallery - Proposte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Advertiser Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4

INDIA TURKEY Rekha V. Sevim Keskinci Tel: 91.80.26685821 Tel: 90.532.236.25.24 Fax: 91.80.26684670 Fax: 90.216.390.20.27 E-Mail: skeskinci@gmail.com E-mail: s_wishwanath@hotmail.com

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essentials + earth elements

ESSENTIALS + EARTH ELEMENTS D R A P E R Y H A R D WA R E C O L L E C T I O N S B Y J OA N N E / J. F. FA B R I C S

MDS Announces U.S. Showrooms, Fabric Exchange Program at Showtime New Warehouse Opens Behind Record Annual Sales by Marc Weinreich

TLANTA, Georgia — MDS Fabrics, a global manufacturer and exporter of home furnishings and fabrics is opening up satellite showrooms across the U.S. over the next six months and will relaunch its fabric exchange program at Showtime. The company is also expanding from its 5,000 square-foot Atlanta-

Sunil Eamani based warehouse to one in South Carolina that is double in size. Under this exchange program, clients will be able to return rolls of fabrics after six months if it’s not selling as well as expected. The program was last active in 2007 but Eamani suspended it because of

a “few bad apples that abused the program.” “From a retail perspective, the markets were really hurting in 2009 and 2010,” said Sunil Eamani, president. “We’re bringing back the program now because we are selling on demand based on the displays at retailers. No one is carrying in bulk anymore.” MDS reported sales of $500,000 in 2010 and initially it projected a 20% increase for 2011 but now, at the close of the second quarter, it is on target to report between one and two million dollars in annual sales by the end of the fiscal year, according to Eamani. “Last year was great for us as we started serving new segments such as catalog companies,” said Eamani. “Now we’re penetrating the international designer markets. We will grow to be a $100 million company with diversified products in five to 10 years.” MDS is also re-releasing its classics in the latest color trends, a move that Eamani sees as a nod to the symbiotic relationship between his business of home fabrics and the broader fashion industry. “The home furnishings industry is borrowing heavily from the fashion industry and vice versa,” said Eamani. “Our customers need to stay current with the color trends,

hence they are asking us to re-create our classics in the latest trendy colors.” The company manufacturers and exports crewels, silks, velvets, linens, blends, rugs, pillows, draperies, throws, bedding, quilts and handbags. Although its marketing team and corporate offices are based in Atlanta, it has facilities in India including another set of offices in Hyderabad in the Andhra Pradesh state; a production and handwork facility in Kashmir; and a distribution center in New Delhi. MDS tested the U.S. market for more business by opening up pilot showrooms on both coasts. After success with a showroom in Atlanta and Denver, it now has plans to open up showrooms in other major cities across the U.S. over the next six months, including a showroom in New York City, Miami and other key cities in Florida, Chicago and Kansas City. Eamani calls Atlanta his home for now but he will be moving back to India in 2012 in order to acquire mills with in-house capabilities for silk and velvet. Over the next six months, Eamani will invest in velvets and silks and in transferring the hi-design attributes of his proprietary patterns onto these fabrics. Eamani admits that the success (Continued on page 14)

Boca Bargoons Targets Ready-Made Population by Jeff Zbar

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allendale, Florida — For a company that initially made a name for itself selling yardgoods, Boca Bargoons is in a deep transition that’s highlighted by custom-ordered furniture, in-house workrooms and a possible franchising. The company is positioning itself for a new generation of clients with an affinity for more inexpensive, ready-made goods as opposed to the elder generation that once picked and pieced together custom home textiles. “I looked at my store and got tired of it,” said Ed Wollstein, founder and owner of Boca Bargoons. “If you’re successful, you just coast. The old-fashioned yardgoods store wasn’t cutting it any more. We’re still a mill store, but we don’t sell the ordinary.” He is sitting in the space that he expects to become the prototype for Boca Bargoons. Dressed in jeans, a collared Nassau Bahamas shirt and running shoes, he’s discussing the new marble flooring laid earlier this year where rows of fabric samples

Boca Bargoons once stood. Scattered about is furniture from Ferguson Copeland Guy Chaddock & Co., a company that will offer made-to-order furniture upholstered with Boca Bargoonssourced fabric. Nearby, son, Edward, 25, is showing off the iPad he hopes will gather customer contact information in order to improve marketing strategies for the onetime yardgoods store that the Wollstein’s will transform into a

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full-service design boutique. The working name is “Hemmingway Design Center” – named for the sewing process. They plan to soon introduce the concept systemwide. Plainly, Boca Bargoons – the store that found success selling close-outs – is changing with the times. Red “40% Off” tags still hang from scores of rolls and bolts. But during an otherwise normal Wednesday afternoon, a number of (Continued on page 10)

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Dunlop Supports Mokum’s U.S. Presence Mokum product-line is developed in-house as well. The JDT warehouse in Christchurch needed to be emptied and will need to be rebuilt and there was a temporary closing of its showroom, according to Moir. Operations continued but some staff members relocated to Auckland. “The local recovery teams have been amazing, repairing the infrastructure rapidly,” said Moir. “The direct impact of the quake on us was minimal, but the ensuing two to three months were slower in sales for everyone.” As a testament, however, to emerging relatively unscathed, JDT is supporting the post-quake clean-up program by funding some of the less fortunate families who lost everything. The company has committed to this on-going support for several years as well. JDT is focused primarily on “lifestyle” soft furnishings. Its contract team, which was established 10 years ago, has developed a stronger focus over the last two years to maintain relationships with key specifiers, architects and project designers and has received strong support from the hospitality market over recent months. In March, Moir flew from New Zealand to Los Angeles to attend West Week with Anne Stevenson, vice president of U.S. and agency sales at Mokum. According to Stevenson, she and Ben received confirmation from the showrooms that the Mokum brand in the U.S. marketplace will continue to be given prime support. “We were pleased to hear the accolades and positive responses to Mokum from interior designers whom we met there,” said Stevenson. “We hope this will translate into solid growth this year and next.” New Zealand and Australia are the traditional markets for JDT and Mokum Textiles; increased demand from the U.S. and Asia will yield a larger presence of these brands in markets over the next year as well. JDT will offer Mokum the full support of inventory, sales teams, and process innovation through the

retail and designer supply chain to improve the sustainability of the industry. “Long-term initiatives will help grow the brand, but the real driver will be doing the basic supply chain processes very well,” said Moir. “This industry is really quite simple, provided it is kept simple and with respect for all those involved in the journey from the cotton plant to the consumers home.” Despite the acquisition of Mokum, Moir was hesitant to

highlight key personnel among new and existing staff, a testament to his belief that each and every individual plays a crucial role in the business. “I recently called our logistics center at 7:00pm on a Friday evening and there were still four guys cutting to complete an export contract in time to meet a late flight to Singapore that night - that’s ‘key personnel’ at it’s best.” JDT has been a privately held company since 1907 and is now in it’s fourth generation of the Dunlop

family. The company has its head office in the Design Center of Christchurch on Victoria Street, operating mostly for international transactional activity and finance functions. Its logistics center is located next to the Auckland International Airport in a state-ofthe-art wireless, paperless, modernist 35,000 square-foot warehouse with 40-foot studs and fixtures. JDT is represented in showrooms in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand

and the United Arab Emirates. The main New Zealand showroom, sales, and product development studio is located on the edge of Auckland Central Business District. This is the flagship 10,000 square-foot showroom supported with interactive blu-ray screens. JDT applications via iTunes allows clients to filter needs and review the scale of interior design choices on screen, furthering the relationship JDT has with its designer and retail customers. F&FI

Kevin Schroder, South Island sales consultant; Angela Cameron and Tammy Mounsey, Christchurch showroom consultants

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Eger Helps Crypton® Penetrate Residential Furniture Industry by Eric Schneider

est Bloomfield, Michigan — Crypton Inc. has launched an aggressive marketing and sales campaign into the residential furniture industry after becoming a household name in the contract fabrics industry this past decade. “In the past 18 months we have emerged from the perception of being a fabric just suited to contract

to one that is now getting a great deal of attention,” said Randy. Crypton has hired Jack Eger a consultant to forward the new Crypton initiative “in what, for us, is a very rapidly growing market— the consumer—from residential furniture to other things as well,” said Randy Rubin, co-principal of Crypton with her husband Craig. Randy oversees the company’s marketing and branding. “We have had tremendous

(Continued from page 6)

Boca Bargoons Targets Ready-Made Population shoppers are seen perusing sample books. Ed Wollstein, 53, launched Bargoons more than 20 years ago as a discount fabric store. The name, Wollstein admits, is a play on the word, “bargains,” because the story made a name for itself sourcing brand name, closeout fabric from high-end mills around the world. Today, the stores carry a mix of closeouts and first-quality goods from the likes of Kravet, Robert Allen, Duralee, Scalamandre, Brunschwig & Fils and Bennison. Wollstein then sells many of these goods below trade wholesale prices. For years, he walked a fine line between providing the deep discounts of a retailer while keeping the manufacturers satisfied. He found his niche in delivering product often available only at a design center and his inventory was in stock. “It’s a retail-versus-decorator dilemma and my goal is not to undersell manufacturers,” said Wollstein, who learned to sell hawking apples, roses – even Christmas trees – outside his mother’s Manhattan beauty parlor at 84th and Lexington. He later worked with Jay Stein, the founder of Stein Mart. “He was a wild buyer, ‘Let me have two of these and three of those’,” recalls Wollstein of Stein. “I’m not formally trained. I’m a street fighter. I watched my mom buy things wholesale and learned how to deal with people.” Wollstein still owns the company he started. His family is scattered throughout the organization. His brother, Paul, runs the store in Fort

Ed Wollstein, Murray Maratchi, and Edward Wollstein

Myers, Florida. Brother Bernie manages the Boca Raton store. Son, Edward, one of four children involved in the business, works in Aventura. Wollstein, who is based in the company’s Alpharetta, Georgia headquarters, spends much of his time driving from store to store. At one point, Wollstein had 18 stores. He shed locations in Texas, California, Colorado and Las Vegas, and today is down to a dozen. Changing consumers’ calls for a change of the retail mindset as well. Wollstein and Edward recently met with David Summers, a marketing executive from Ferguson Copeland Ltd to discuss the planned introduction of Ferguson Copeland Guy Chaddock & Co. furniture. The idea came from Bargoons’ Scottsdale location. “The concept should work well with the evolving Bargoons model,” said Summers. “It’s something different than you expect in a fabric showroom. Only a limited number of people could put that together.” Murray Maratchi, 58, is a former principal with Sultan and Sons who heads Aventura’s budding design center. He approached Wollstein with the idea of creating a workroom. “As a showroom with one million yards of fabric in stock, Bargoons is setting itself apart,” said Maratchi. Company executives attended Proposte in Lake Como, MoOD in Brussels, Heimtextil in Frankfurt, and will be attending Showtime in Highpoint. Ed will walk the floor at Showtime in July but gave up on setting appointments, a luxury he could afford with his reputation as a ready buyer. “I’m not there to look, “said Wollstein. “I’m there to buy. It caught on that I buy right then and there. If you’ve been in this business for 30 years, people want to be in your store. I now carry everybody’s line and we pay our bills.” F&FI

success with Kolcraft Mattress, the largest infant crib mattress manufacturer as well as Woodard Outdoor Furniture, American Leather, Pride Lift Chairs and Jo-Ann Fabric to name just a few,” said Randy. “We have also developed a very large business in the area of pet beds and throw blanket covers called Throvers® sold to retailers throughout the country and on line.” Eger was the former director of Sales for Victor Group from 2009 to 2010 where he headed the integration of the Craftex brand. Prior, Eger was a principal of Craftex, a jacquard mill based in Pennsylvania that went bankrupt before Victor took over the intellectual property. Eger was at Craftex from 1995 to 2006. “We have some good opportunities in residential with Crypton’s open line product,” Eger

said, after a sales trip to the recent High Point Furniture Market in April. As a consultant Eger reports to Craig Rubin, president, and Lance Keziah, executive vice president of sales who has been with Crypton for about six years. Mattress fabrics are making their way into Buy Buy Baby, Babies are Us and Sealy with Kolcraft Crib Mattresses. Mattress Protectors are now being sold through major retailers such as Amazon, JC Penny, Target, Sears and Frontgate. Another category is aftermarket environmentally friendly furniture protection sold as Crypton for Guardian Furniture Protection now in hundreds of independent stores and 15 of the top 100 furniture retailers in the US, according to Randy. “The introduction of our ‘Powered by Crypton Fabric

Jack Eger Treatment’ that provides stain and microbial resistance has opened the door to many new opportunities that will unfold throughout the year,” said Randy. “We really are getting into residential—finally! It only took us ten years to be an overnight success but our fabrics are finally much softer and we are using a wide range of textures. The consumer is going for value and the germ factor is playing into our strengths.” F&FI

Calico Corners Projects Double-Digit Gains, Urban Expansion, Growth of In-House Jobbing Marc Weinreich

ENNETT SQUARE, Pennsylvania – Strong growth is projected for the Calico Corners/ Calico Home stores over the next year, according to Roy Simpson, Jr., president and CEO, who considers his company one of the largest retailers of fine decorative fabrics and custom window treatments in the U.S. The gains will be fueled in part by the company’s expansion into urban markets and the growth of its in-house jobbing operation. “We felt that our reputation was of a company that stocked primarily traditional fabrics,” said Simpson. “That view is quite outdated. We’ve launched fabric collections from Iman Home through PK Lifestyles, Thom Filicia from Kravet, DwellStudio for Robert Allen @ Home and have been very successful with Thomas Paul graphic prints from Duralee. We address almost every style now, be it modern, transitional or traditional.” Calico Corners’ business model shifted over the past few years from one that relied on stocking large bolts of fabric in its stores to a model that called more for displaying approximately 6,000 fabrics in various sample forms. Customer orders are usually shipped within one business day. Calico has also continued to update its offering of custom window treatments. The company’s systems are continually advanced to assure that orders can be created efficiently, with high quality and

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one of the lowest remake rates in the industry, according to Simpson. In recent years, the company fabricated annually more than 100,000 custom window treatments for its customers. Currently there are approximately 100 Calico Corners/Calico Home stores across the U.S. and Simpson expects to open 20 stores in a number of major U.S. cities over the next five years. The stores will be smaller than those that customers are used to seeing. Their location in urban areas may come as a surprise to many who are used to seeing Calico Corners almost exclusively in suburban locations. Simpson takes little credit for the new look and instead attributes it to a great team at the company’s headquarters in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, including recently hired Vice President of Creative Affairs Greg Lawrence, formerly the print director at Duralee; Lori Cropp, merchandise manager; and Julie Morris, director of custom products. Simpson is also proud that the Calico stores carry large quantities of fabrics woven or printed in the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California. “We try to support mills and print plants in the U.S. whenever possible,” said Simpson. “We want to see a vibrant textile industry remain here.” Custom window treatments, slipcovers, reupholstery, tableskirts and pillows are also made in the U.S., according to Morris.

“They’re all sewn right here because they’re created just for our customers and their homes,” she said. “They’re not ready-mades that traveled thousands of miles.” The array of fabrics now offered at Calico Corners ranges from $15 to $200 per yard and Simpson is quick to credit his vendors for being able to keep prices affordable. “ Our vendors have been very cooperative,” said Simpson. “Even through tough times, most deliveries remained on time and they have been very fair in face of the pricing challenges.” Outside of residential and on more of a one-off basis, Calico Corners has worked on boutique hotels, bed and breakfasts and on projects for high profile customers including the home of Vice President Joe Biden, many Senators and members of Congress, Hollywood actors and professional sports stars. F&FI

Julie Morris Roy Simpson, Jr.

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Surtex Panel Points Towards Bold Designs, Small Objects for Americans by Jacqui Smith

EW YORK, New York – American designers are finally bringing cerebral meaning to such everyday items as pillows, linens, mugs and full sets of dinnerware, according to a Surtex panel. A panel discussion, “America Embraces Design…Finally” was hosted by seven design professionals at Surtex, the business-to-business art and design market that celebrated its 25th anniversary in May with a show at the Jacob K. Javits Center. The show is a gathering of designers, licensees, licensors, manufacturers and retailers of

all product categories and the panel was hosted by seven design professionals: David Bolotsky, president, UncommonGoods. com; Elizabeth Bournaud, owner, Francois Bournaud; David Hedley, owner, Artwork Design Ltd: Michelle Ishay-Cohen, executive art director, ABRAMS; Tom Mirabile, senior vice president, Global Trend & Design Lifetime Brands, Inc.; Richard Roman, president, Revman International; Lynn Shanahan, CEO, C2 Group and president of Marimekko North America; and Dan Rubinstein, moderator and editor-in-chief of Surface Magazine. “Where we see Americans

Evteks 2011 Preaches Market Adaptation, Product Diversification by Marc Weinreich

I David Bolotsky, Lynn Shanahan, Richard Roman, Dan Rubinstein getting bolder with design is in small objects,” said Shanahan. “Whereas a sofa will remain conservative.” Ishay-Cohen pointed out that the Internet has emboldened (Continued on page 18)

stanbul, Turkey — Turkey used to be a follower of trends, according to Ibrahim Burkay, head of Uludag Exporters Association, but “2012 global home textile trends will be set at Evteks 2011 and Turkey will become the trend setter.” Now in its 17th year, Evteks saw a 45% increase in foreign participation, highlighted by such first-timers as Gruppo Carillo, Algemene, Enzo Degli Angiuoni and Novatex. Over a thousand firms participated on the 120,000 square meter fairground including buyers

from 60 countries. Seminars at the expo were held throughout three of the five days and included such topics as innovative fibres for the contract market, forecasts of summer 2012 trends and (Continued on page 16)

Fatih Altunyurt and Bakit Baydaliev

(Continued from cover)

Sapmaz Projects 2010 Upswing slowdown. VFF is getting orders now and and is starting to book more business. “The big mills used to have the power to do creative stuff but due to the economic crisis the little guys became more creative,” said Sapmaz. “The biggest handicap now is the shortage of raw materials in the past eight months. For example, what sold for $1 in China in 2007 or in India at $1.40 for something comparable to China, is now $2 and you have to wait four months to get delivery whereas in the U.S. the price is, again for example, $2.30 to $2.40 and you get it in one month.” Sapmaz also explained that the hospitality buyers are spending their client’s money. They have to be more responsible than the residential buyer, he says, and the hospitality buyer has to buy from responsible resources like approved vendors who sell a product that performs to a certain level to meet fire codes. The hospitality buyer needs to buy from trusted sources rather than from where the product might not meet expectations. “The economy shook out marginal suppliers in the hospitality

VFF Linens

business,” said Sapmaz. “It’s nice to be around and growing where there are less suppliers in the business.” Sapmaz said that Turkey and the U.S. are now doing the best job of delivery, service and supplying the unique on an exclusive basis. He said that U.S. upholstery mills survive because they specialize in certain products today. You may not find everything at American upholstery mills these days but what you do find are specialized chenille ranges with set warps and good service. He thinks that the trend in the hospitality world has come back to the U.S. “We’re moving away from China because of inconsistency in quality,” said Sapmaz. “Besides, the Chinese mills have people lining up domestically for their fabrics so Chinese mills have shifted their attention to the domestic market.” He believes that inventory is “death” to a wholesaler but that this has also worked to the advantage of the American mill because delivery is possible in three to four weeks as business picks up incrementally. Sapmaz scours the world for suppliers of VFF’s hospitality fabrics that meet its high standards. One may ask, how does he choose VFF suppliers? “The upholstery collections produced in India are the same from mill to mill,” Sapmaz said. “There is no exclusivity which is what we look for; we need the unique and exclusive in the Valley Forge Fabric collections.” He said that export is demanding for the mill; high quality has to be consistent; color has to match from dye lot to dye lot and shrinkage has to be a low percentage. The

repeat order must be identical. “Our customers expects that from us so we expect that from our supplier,” said Sapmaz. He said that the downfall of China and India is that service has deteriorated as their domestic business has picked up. Minimums have also been reduced from 1,000 meters per color to 200 meters; furniture manufacturers can now buy direct from the mill and bypass the jobber as a result. This also occurs in the drapery fabric business as well, he said. Sapmaz was born and raised in Kadikoy, Istanbul and comes from a famous Turkish textile family. His family is still in the textile business today. Before he joined VFF in 2007, he lived in Paris for four years where he worked for a major drapery mill.

He attends Evteks, Intertextile Shanghai, MoOD and Heimtextil. His travel schedule rivals that of the biggest fabric mavens in the industry with at least two to three trips per year to China, Pakistan, Turkey, Taiwan and Bangladesh. “I like traveling in China because the culture is so different than what I am used to,” said Sapmaz. “The mills in Europe, especially Austria, Italy and Turkey had waste management programs that were way ahead of the American suppliers.” One of the things he noticed throughout his travels is that people want to recycle and even use the heat produced by the factory process to heat the factory. He likes doing business with mills which follow ISO 14000. “Some factories aren’t even thinking about this today,” said

Sapmaz. “The U.S. investment in mills is old money and they have to catch up in the green area.” Sapmaz is referring mostly to the upholstery mills. In drapery, he said, it’s a “different game.” The drapery mills talk directly to the retailer whereas the upholstery mills talk to the furniture manufacturer and jobber. “This has to change,” said Sapmaz. “Where is the furniture being made today? The mid market is made in China and it is acceptable to the hospitality market. The furniture manufacturing mix is between the better end in the U.S. and Europe and the mass market made in China today. We still have U.S. production of better goods going forward offering better delivery and a sustainable footprint.” F&FI

(Continued from page 6)

MDS Announces U.S. Showrooms, Fabric Exchange Program at Showtime New Warehouse Opens Behind Record Annual Sales

MDS enjoys has not come easily. Competition from China has compelled him to slightly raise prices and he has placed a cotton surcharge on large orders. Still, he is proud to report that MDS has retained all of its clients throughout a period of rising costs of raw materials. “India has been the largest supplier of handmade crewel all around the world,” said Eamani. “We are running into issues when competing with China but the only way to stay ahead is product innovation and quality.” He said that the key to surviving is by diversifying and recognizing that everything is cyclical; markets that were once poor should be capitalized upon before others jump on it. “We would not be afloat if we just served the furniture manufactures,” Eamani said. “Retail is coming back but was absolutely down last year. Developing

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

a designer and retail market presence gave us the capital to support our wholesale customers. We are also offering cut yardage programs to all customers which helps minimize the initial costs.” F&FI

Measuring fabric inside the MDS warehouse

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Contract/HospitalityNews C/HNEWS I Abercrombie Expands C/HNEWS I Valley Forge Domestically, Acquires Cone Jacquards Tencel+Plus Upholstry Launches Hospitality M Industry First Marc Weinreich

IDDLEBURY, Indiana -- After a swirl of industry reports, ITG has confirmed the sale of its Cone Decorative business unit to Abercrombie Textiles. John Regan, president and CEO of Abercrombie Textiles confirmed that Cone Decorative is no longer under the management of International Textile Group and that the transaction closed March 31. A purchase price was not disclosed. “We are historically a body cloth manufacturer with a little bit of jacquard capacity, whereas Cone Mills is the opposite: they have a lot of jacquard capacity and do some body cloth as well and that’s the nice mix,” said Regan. “The compliment of the two made for a really nice fit. Our effort here is to create value domestically.” The sale includes the plant facility and its assets located in Cliffside, North Carolina as well as current inventories, all products and certain intellectual properties of the business. Abercrombie also has a manufacturing facility in Shelby, North Carolina, which is some 20 miles from its newly acquired facility in Cliffside. Corporate headquarters are in Middlebury, Indiana. Abercrombie has consolidated its showroom

in High Point, North Carolina with Cone Mills’ showroom; the combined showroom is now located in the historic Mastercraft building at 333 Wrenn Street in High Point. In total, the company now has in the neighborhood of 130 employees. “The 96 employees we hired from Cone went from a big, corporate mentality to an entrepreneurial mentality,” said Regan. Regan considers the company “pretty well balanced” between such sectors as hospitality, residential furniture, contract furniture, health care and recreational vehicles and he believes that improved lead times is critical to the recovery of each of those sectors. The archive of pattern development at Cone Mills goes back almost 125 years. The design team is currently headed up by Debbye Lustig and Wendy Haithcox. Chris Richard is the new COO for Abercrombie Textiles, who joined after the acquisition In the years leading up to his purchase of Abercrombie, Regan said that the more he traveled sourcing textiles, the more evident it became how quickly China was expanding. This realization compelled him to buy a small,

Wendy Haithcox, Dir of Design, Abercrombie; Debbye Lustig, Dir of Design, Cone Decorative; John Regan, President/CEO, Abercrombie Textiles, LLC

(Continued from page 14)

Evteks Preaches Adaptation textile and design futures. Perhaps the most notable trend among exhibitors is the recognition that embracing change and accommodating customers during volatile market conditions are the

fundamental keys to success. “The winners are those who can do something different, who can do it quickly and most importantly can do it as one would make a work of art,” said Vedat Aydin, president of

Sipco News Network

P Aerial view of the state of the art jacquard weave floor.

OMPANO BEACH, Florida — Valley Forge is the first supplier to offer Tencel+Plus fiber in upholstery. The VFF upholstery is called ‘Tencel+Plus™Lyocell Eucalyptus Upholstery.’ “Although it is unique to VFF as we are the first company to offer it, we do not have the exclusive on the upholstery fiber like we do for the bedding fiber,” said Ken Koneck, a company spokesman. This is a natural fiber for upholstery that passes ACT standards, according to Koneck. It fits into VFF’s karma as a supplier of green, sustainable textiles. This product utilizes FSC certified Eucalyptus trees used for Tencel+Plus™Lyocell. Eucalyptus trees are a rapidly renewable resource that grows to full maturity in less than eight years. The trees are processed with minimal energy, water and chemicals in a proprietary Lyocell production process at Lenzing Fibers. Tencel+Plus™Lyocell is the only certified textile from Eucalyptus verified by Lenzing Fibers for both commercial performance requirements and fiber origin, according to VFF. Tencel+Plus™Lyocell Eucalyptus Upholstery fabrics are part of the VFF Ten Under Ten collection, which spans five volumes and 413 sku’s. All fabrics in this collection are made in the U.S., pass NFPA 260, 50,000 double rubs and exceed all other requirements for heavy duty upholstery use, according to VFF. In addition, each fabric has a unique C# representing the certification of the fiber by Lenzing. The collection was on display at HD in Las Vegas in VFF Linens May. F&FI

niche textile company in the U.S. to keep its value and meet what he expected to be a resurging demand for domestic production. “I bought Abercombie in the latter part of 2006 when it was just a contract or specialty weaver,” said Regan. “It was the first time I got into the actual ownership of the means of the production, the equipment to weave the fabric. We have since grown through the recession developing product and people and going out and selling. The impact of raw materials is horrific but we have a lot of extra capacity and we’re now growing to fill or reach that capacity.” International Textile Group is a global, diversified provider of textile solution for a variety of sectors including: performance and specialty apparel fabrics, advanced uniform fabrics, technical commercial fabrics, engineered automotive components and luxury interior furnishings. ITG’s business units include: Burlington Worldwide, Cone Denim, Safety Components and Carlisle Finishing. It has approximately 9,000 employees worldwide with operations in the U.S., Mexico,

China, Nicaragua and Vietnam. “We believe this is a positive change for Cone Jacquards and will provide significant opportunity and support for the growth of the business,” said Joseph L. Gorga,

president & CEO of ITG. “Our employees have worked hard to improve the operations and bring an elevated styling and design that is recognized in the market.” F&FI

Zorlu Holding Textiles Group. “We have to lock into this goal of change and transformation.” Sertex, the subsidiary of Istanbul-based Flokser Group which manufacturers and exports fabric, leather and suede is surviving by diversifying its product to now include a recently purchased

Çorlu-based mill for woven fabric. Before the recession, Sertex saw about 70% of its business come from exports and 30% in domestic markets. Now, it is a 50/50 split, according to Fatih Altunyurt, director of exports for Sertex. Currently, the company has 30 franchises abroad and 18 already

exist in Turkey. Bakit Baydaliev, product and marketing manager, expects that 80% of the company’s revenue will come from franchises over the next few years and “we are really looking to expand our new woven fabric mill because diversity of product is more important than ever.” F&FI

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

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F FI NE W S

Hilb Makes Third Acquisition in Eight Years, Builds $20 Million Business by Eric Schneider

ONCORD, North Carolina — With the acquisition of Dana Mills, Heritage House Fabrics LLC makes its third acquisition in less than a decade after starting up as a drapery fabrics distributor in 2003 that was producing $700,000 in sales during its first year when Hilb jokes he was “already an old man.” Heritage House LLC generated $23 million in sales in 2007 and hopes in 2011 to recapture this pre recession pace with Dana and other acquisitions to follow. Hilb started Heritage House LLC in 2003 as a drapery fabrics importer and distributor. In 2004, Heritage acquired the assets of ITC, an upholstery importer and converter; Belle Fabrics, another upholstery importer was acquired in 2007 and Dana is its latest acquisition. According to Hilb, Heritage is “on the look-out” for other acquisitions in the fabrics industry. His strategy has paid off to continue the businesses he acquires by producing running lines for existing customers. His sales are strong though he has been affected by the industry slowdown along with everyone else, he said. About 95% of his sourcing of Heritage drapery product is in Turkey. He feels that China is not competitive in this category and Hilb sees a resurgence in Turkish goods in general. He visited Evteks this year to see his principal vendors geared to the mass market lines he sells in the States. He is also a frequent exhibitor at Showtime in High Point, North Carolina. “Showtime initially started with different dates,” said Hilb. “We had a tremendous number of jobbers, small manufacturers and non furniture people that came originally; now we have a few jobbers. Today, it’s only a furniture fabric show. We still sell upholstery through our ITC and Belle Fabric lines but it’s only five-percent of our total sales. We sell a lot of closeouts at Showtime so it still pays to be there. With the dates changing to December and June, what retailer would still come?” Hilb’s strength lies in his ability to find a way to make these smaller entrepreneurial niche companies to work to his benefit by supporting them financially and squeezing cost efficiencies out of the total structure. “As the available business continues to shrink, there will be other opportunities to make further acquisitions in the fabrics industry,” said Hilb. “We’re extremely well financed so a niche player could do well selling out and becoming a part of Heritage. We handle millions

Summer 2011 n

of yards of product with very little inventory shrinkage. We wring out efficiencies from warehousing and distribution.” Heritage sells half of its product to the residential jobber; 20-percent to contract jobber which is growing fastest with five percent each to furniture manufacturers and other manufacturers; 10 percent to retail fabric chains stores and another 10 percent to miscellaneous customers. Tom Hilb F&FI

Heritage Acquires Certain Assets From Dana Mills Sipco News Network

ONCORD, NC—Heritage House Fabrics has purchased the inventory, patterns and name of Dana Mills Inc. from Deborah Newberger, principal of this 41-year-old Chicago, Illinois area based converter of contract fabrics and blackout linings started by her

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

father, Leonard Newberger. “Dana started as a converter to the mobile home trade in 1969 and evolved with the fabrics industry,” Deborah said. She will continue to work from her home base in Chicago as an employee of Heritage House “selling fabrics, (Continued on pg 18)

F FI NE W S

(Continued from front cover)

Indian Drapery Manufacturers Ramp Up Production Capacities Exports, India. GM Fabrics, India currently utilizes 80% of its total capacity for drapery and ready-mades, which adds up to 11 million meters per year and the company expects to produce another 2.4 million meters this year. Dicitex Furnishings Private Limited produces 10 million meters per year and will be adding 300,000 meters for drapery and readymades this year. “The drapery division contributes $30 million annually while ready-mades are getting more attention in the domestic market and American markets want cheaper product but the volumes are larger,” said Rajneesh Arora, vice-chairman, Dicitex Furnishings (Pvt) Limited, India. “Growth expectation is high in this segment. Fabric sales will eventually move to complete made-ups. The new range of fancy yarn blends with polyester and jacquard curtains with new innovative yarns, sequins, laser cuts and burn out ranges should give us new business.” Price range for contract supplies begins at $2.75. FR starts from $4.50 and the company offers tropical as well as inherent treatments as well stain, water repellent and anti bacterial. While the drapery fabrics business is growing at a rate of 15% every year, ready-made curtains are becoming popular in several global markets. GM Fabric expects that ready-made markets will remain sensitive to global volatility yet positive in the long run and it expects to grow by 20% over the next year. “Ready-mades has fared well in markets in the U.K. and Ireland but the American market is more price sensitive and is orientated towards Chinese merchandise while the U.K. is also sensitive but the market there is receptive to our collections,” said Gurvinder Singh, managing director, GM Fabrics. Alps Industries Limited, India mill has established machinery for drapery fabrics with vertical infrastructure which have a capacity of 12 million meters. “We are planning to expand capacity by 30% in weaving and 25% in processing, “U.S., Canada, Europe and India are important markets for Alps,” said Sandeep Agarwal, managing director, Alps Industries Limited, India.

Alps’ Vista is a brand leader in Vertical, Venetian, Roman blinds, drapery rods and curtain tracks in India and exports blinds to many countries as well. Alps’ targets of ready-mades will be around 30% of total turnover and in monetary value this equates to approximately $40 to 50 million, according to Agarwal. India will need an estimated 240 million square feet of commercial property and 4.25 million units of residential real estate to meet the demand between now and 2014, claims a study from Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate consulting company. “There is tremendous potential in the ready-mades markets, both domestic as well as international including the U.S.,” said Sanjay. “The Indian domestic market is at a nascent stage and the growing housing industry particularly for the burgeoning middle-class is substantial.” He believes a considerable increase in demand for readymade curtains and its integrated units extend a unique advantage to offer products for the masses as well as the classes. “D’ Decors focus will be in the Indian domestic market,” said Sanjay. Silk look polyesters are offered at a reasonable price and continue to be market favorites while new viscose poly-blend collections have been well accepted in the market place. In 2010, D’ Decor Exports sold $96 million worth of drapery and projects 26% growth in annual sales this year. F&FI

7. Dicitex Furnishings 1. Kucukcalik Tekstil TURKEY Principal: Yilmaz Kucukcalik Annual Sales: $280 million Plants in Egypt and Turkey

8. Ado

2. Korteks division of Zorlu TURKEY Principal: Zeki Zorlu Home Furnishings: $400 million Drapery: $200 million

ITALY Principal: Giussepe Carillo Annual Sales: $45 million Managing Director: Gurvinder Singh Brands: Via Roma, Mae, Scudo, Dormire

TURKEY Principal: Recep Tanriverdi Annual Sales: $200 million

10. GM Fabrics

INDIA Managing Director: Gurvinder Singh Annual Sales: $40 million 80% of business is from Drapery

4. Baydermirler

TURKEY Principal: Erdogan Baydermir Annual Sales: $160 million

5. Albani Group

11. Alps Industries Limited

GERMANY Principal: Rolf Albani Annual Sales: $125 million Factories in Turkey, Czech Republic and Vietnam; Bought machines from Caprice of Australia and placed them in Vietnam

_________________ 6. D’Decor INDIA Principal: Sanjay Arora Annual sales: 189.5 million. Drapery division: $96 million

(Continued from page 14)

surface designers with another marketplace that has seen escalating growth with the American consumer but such corporate entities as Apple, H&M and Starbucks have “put the valve on design.” To stay clear of this cap on creativity, Roman holds annual design competitions within his company in order to stimulate design motivation and innovation. “You have to be receptive and open,” said Bournaud. “Have your eyes and ears open and you will be inspired.” F&FI

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

GERMANY/USA Annual Sales: $100 million Europe and US: 50% converting and 50% weaving

9. Gruppo Carillo

3. Tanriverdi

Surtex Panel Points Towards Bold Designs, Small Objects

Sandeep Agarwal, Managing Director, Alps Industries Limited, India

INDIA Principal: Rajneesh Arora Annual sales: $85 million Drapery division: $33 million

INDIA Managing Director: Sandeep Agarwal Annual Sales: $100 miliion Drapery: $18 million__________________

12. Rockland Mills, Inc.

USA President: Stanley Fradin

13. Ningbo Veken Elite Group., Ltd. CHINA

(Continued from page 17)

Heritage Acquires Assets making deals and getting people what they want,” according to Deborah. “Dana Mills will become the contract division of Heritage House,” said Deborah. “The customer will not notice any differences in doing business with Dana except the name on the invoices will change,” Dana produces a range of transfer printed fabrics, sheers, plains and printed goods for the hospitality trade including FR. Deborah expects to attend the Hospitality Design Show in Vegas in May as well as MoOD in Belgium although she will not

be an exhibitor at either event. Heritage will exhibit at Showtime in High Point in July as it usually does. Thomas Hilb launched Heritage House LLC in 2003 as a drapery fabrics importer and distributor. In 2004, Heritage acquired the assets of ITC, an upholstery importer and converter; Belle Fabrics, another upholstery importer was acquired in 2007. Dana is the latest acquisition. “We will continue to be on the lookout for other acquisitions in the fabrics industry,” Hilb said. F&FI

Summer 2011 n

F FI p h o t o g a ller y

Proposte Sees Buyers Market As Euro Mills Struggle

Proposte

The 2011 version of Proposte in Como, Italy showed what happens when raw material costs like cotton skyrocket and many mills rush to the doors leading to higher end production only to find that Turkey and India are knocking on European doors for the same business at better prices. Some of the Italians produce beautiful fabrics still not matched by anyone else in the world but the competition is closing fast. The high end market isn’t big enough to support all the mills in it and many prominent Italians expressed fear while others contemplate closing, sale or going broke. Sure, the buyers turned out to review the 105 lines at Proposte but the orders are thinner than what many require to stay afloat. Further, mills don’t want to weave in advance not knowing their final prices due to the spiraling material costs. The Euro at $1.42+ to the dollar also doesn’t help. Many mills are offering cut length service in Europe to get more business but mills don’t exist to sell cut length. The buyer doesn’t want inventory either. It is definitely a buyers’ market. More mills are turning to converting and branding their lines as they themselves shift into wholesaling fabrics. No doubt, there will be further consolidation amongst mills and wholesalers as the market rationalizes over production. Here were some of this year’s stars! —Eric Schneider Peter and Jeffrey Layne, principals of Arc-Com Fabrics, Orangeburg, NY with designer Amanda Eton

Andrea Maharaj, director of Duo Textiles, international sourcing company in Johannesburg, South Africa with customer and friend, Tessa Sonik, high end wholesaler in Sandton, S.A.

Sylvie Picard, chief buyer and Gerard Calmettes, principal of Chanee, Ducrocq and Deschemaker brands, Saint Denis La Plaine, France wholesaler with Jo De Munster (middle), managing director of BekaertDepla Fabrics, Deerlijk, Belgium

Carlos Suarez of High Five, New York based sales group with Lorraine Lang and John Brewer, designers of Stark Fabrics, New York, NY

Matthew Crew, creator of Vanilla brand from Pavilion Textiles Ltd., Northampton, UK with Adele Lacey, UK sales manager for Rufflette Ltd., Manchester, UK and Jaime Marquez Malone, an up and coming editeur, James Malone Fabrics based in Malaga, Spain. He just made a deal with Jules & Jim Fabrics, Paris to represent James Malone in France on an exclusive basis including a display at J&J’s Rue Therese showroom.

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Jennie Wilde, vice president marketing & design, Robert Allen Corp. with Ian Heunis, president, Lead2Design, Deerfield Beach, FL. Heunis inked a deal to represent JJ Exporters Ltd., a fabric mill based in Kolkata, India in the U.S.

Sushant Gupta and brother Sunil Gupta, principals of Swadeshi Silks,, Bangalore, India with Mark Knight, vice president, design (middle) for Kasmir Fabrics, Dallas based wholesaler and his principal Linda Kasmir (front) with Maria Garber Kremer, U.S. agent.

Bernie de Le Cuona, CEO, de le Cuona, Mistress Page’s House, Berkshire, UK with Rudi del Chambre, principal of Deltracon, Belgium

Eric Guegain, principal of French mill Albert Guegain in Villiers-Outreaux with Pascal DeZutter and Gerard De Zutter (father and son) principals of WIND, Waregem, Belgium based wholesaler

Scott Kravet, Cynthia Tella and Miyung Berger, the Kravet Fabrics Corp. design team seen shopping hard at Proposte

The tanned and shaded Jerry Mobley and Julie Brady, principals of J Queen, New York based readymade house that is now offering piece goods to match their bedding with Archie Tchernov, Moscow based Arben principal and creator of the new ‘MOD’ Moscow design center with 70,000 square foot, including 10,000 square foot Arben Galleria.

Patrick and Pierre Frey, principals Pierre Frey, main showroom on Rue du Mail in Paris, the single largest wholesaler in France, a European powerhouse in fact with designer friend (middle) Sr. Erasme Figli, Italy.

Designers Anastasia Marchenko and Bukaeva Natalia with Klean boss lady Kleamenko Oxana, the Moscow based wholesaler with Alessandro Sinigua, export director of Vigano, Italian jacquard velvet mill

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F FI G L O B A L M A R K E T P L A C E

India’s Wow Textiles Grows North American Jobbing by Eric Schneider

ANCOUVER, Canada — Wow Textiles, a $12 million jobber, importer and distributor is making timely acquisitions in order to capitalize on the decline of smaller fabric jobbers in the under $2 million and under $5 million sales range, according to its principal, Swapna Kataria. “We are able to start and finish these smaller deals in a couple of months when the owners want to sell and not waste their time or ours in the process,” said Kataria. “The reality of the fabrics industry has changed because you can’t generate multi-million dollar sales from 50 fabrics in a book anymore,” said Kataria, an international fabric jobber based here as well as in Thessaloniki, Greece and India.

“The shelf life of the books on a counter used to be four to five years and today it’s only one year,” he said. “If you launch a collection in July you’ll see sales life for maybe two Christmas seasons.” In 2007, Wow Textiles of India bought Aftex, a drapery fabric wholesaler in Vancouver; Wow is Canadian-owned by Kataria. He makes frequent trips two to three times a week between Vancouver, his home and Toronto, his headquarters. He also makes frequent sourcing trips to India and China. In 2008, he expanded his Canadian operation to Thessaloniki where he services Eastern European markets. “The value of the Euro was very strong versus the dollar at that time and I was able to benefit by

making some other purchases in North America.” He recently purchased the assets of Ashborne Upholstery in Philadelphia, his first U.S. acquisition. Prior, he bought Fabcan, a contract jobber in Montreal. He and then sells parts of each line through Aftex in Canada. In addition, Kataria purchased Decofab, a vendor to Sears of Canada in the corporate textile market. “With some of these acquisitions, I bought dead inventory in America and sold it successfully in Asia and Eastern Europe,” he said. For example, Kataria buys 500 meters in 60 colors and then sell 20 colors in North America and the rest is sold in other parts of the world; colors that don’t sell in the U.S. like bright purple sells well

in Sri Lanka; dark green and dark blue sells in Malaysia; reds sell in India.” Kataria is able to decide which colors sell best in other parts of the world and capitalize on that knowledge through his distribution

network. He sources in China and India and has a meaningful drapery hardware and industrial fabric business through his contract operation. He also considers himself a “big supplier” to workrooms. F&FI

New Zealand’s Textile Industry Raises Money for Breast Cancer Research Fishing Competition Donates $10,000 to Sweet Louise Breast Cancer Charity

Tissat, Deslee Form Joint Venture Sipco News Network

EST VLAANDEREN, Belgium — Deslee Interior and Tissat International have formed a 50/50 partnership to be known as TissatDeslee Interior Fabrics in order to jointly market their fabric lines which also includes the Versari brand that was acquired by Deslee in January. Henk Dedecker, Deslee general manager expects a turnover in excess of 15 million EUR in 2011 but the exact trading name of the new venture is not yet clear. Dedecker is also looking to make further acquisitions for Deslee. The new venture expects

Brett Fleetwood, principal, Scorpio Agencies with Nick Dunlop, principal of James Dunlop wholesalers, Robin Warin and Jim Turrel of Charles Parsons wholesalers. Sipco News Network

Henk Dedecker, sales manager of Deslee/Tissat joint venture with Rik Buysse, co director to expand its range of higher and mid-market offerings in both the residential and contract markets with a broader line in

total than either offered prior, according to company officials. F&FI

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Houston Office:

2700 Greens Rd, Bldg. J, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77032 TEL 1(281) 590-4500 • FAX 1(281) 590-4501

LAS VEGAS Office: 6375 S. Pecos Rd., Suite 106, Las Vegas, NV 89120 TEL 1(702) 307-3809 • FAX 1(702) 638-9000

21086 24th Ave South Suite 127, Seatac, WA 98198 TEL 1(206) 241-5500 • FAX 1(206) 824-1140

washington DC office: 23723 Air Freight Lane Suite 220, Dulles, VA 20166 TEL 1(703) 996-8885 • FAX 1(703) 996-0415

LOS ANGELES Office:

hong kong office:

5733 Arbor Vitae St., Suite 204, Los Angeles, CA 90045 TEL 1(310) 642-8001 • FAX 1(310) 642-8012

Rm B, 11/F, Nathan Commercial Building, 430-436 Nathan Road Kowloon, Hong Kong 852-27700218 • 852-27700215

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

trophy was not won this year as “not one good sized Kingfish was entered,” Fleetwood said. “However Hamish McCourtie from James McCourtie Textiles Agency was very close to winning the prize but he lost two great fish at the side of his boat after fighting them both for an hour each; maybe next time Hamish will get a stronger leader line.” The team boat prize was won this year by Team Charles Parsons. Jim Terrell took the prize trophy away from Nick Dunlop representing James Dunlop Textiles. Next year’s event is scheduled to be held on Friday, March 9. For more information, visit www. nztextilefishingcompetition.co.nz. F&FI

HRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The annual New Zealand Textile Industry Fishing competition held March 11 and organized by Scorpio Agencies Limited was the biggest in its history with 170 anglers registering for the event and over $10,000 raised for the Sweet Louise breast cancer charity. The Fisherman came from as far away as Australia and Indonesia to compete for the titles and many coveted prizes including the James Dunlop Textiles King Fish Trophy, New Zealand Window Shades Snapper Trophy and the Ice House Boat trophy. “The weather conditions for the event were stunning and the Hauraki Gulf turned on a beautiful day,” said Brett Fleetwood, one of the organizers. He said that Team Oceanbridge won the Snapper Trophy. This company has been involved in the New Zealand Textile Freight Forwarding business from the Motuihe Island, Auckland, New Zealand, U.S. for 35 years . the scene of the annual fishing day The King Fish

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F FI c a l en d a r June 13- 15 NeoCon Explore and discover thousands of ground breaking products & resources at the NeoCon World Trade Fair in Chicago. This premier tradeshow will be showcasing the largest exhibition & conference for commercial interiors and will offer the North Architecture and Design community with over 150 CEU-certified association forums & seminars, leading keynote speakers, building and design resources and materials, latest products and modern exhibits. More than 700 top exhibitors will be taking part in the event and will draw over 40,000 tradeshow visitors from North America and all over the world. NeoCon World Trade Fair is a perfect platform for displaying cuttingedge products for retail, healthcare, residential, office, healthcare, green/ sustainable, institutional/education, government and hospitality. 1000’s of products and services, networking events & award programs, special exhibits, 100’s of key manufacturer’s representatives. Concurrent events: NeoCon East, IIDEX NeoConCanada Merchandise Mart Chicago, IL 800 677 6278 merchandisemart.com

July 19 - 21 Home Textile Fabric & Sourcing Expo (HTFSE) The only event in North America features solely on sourcing for fabrics & materials intended for home applications. HTFSE will provide a best platform for manufacturers, retailers, jobbers, converters, contract specifiers & designers a one stop sourcing venue where they can locate new materials &

Advertiser Index

For more information about one of our advertisers, see the page number listed: Alps Industries Limited. . . . . . . . 9 Babei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 23 Classical Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 D’Decor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13 De Leo Textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Dicitex Furnishings. . . . . . . . . . . 21 Express Air Freight. . . . . . . . . . . 20 GM Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 High Five Textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Indigo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Joanne Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Kravet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Messe Frankfurt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Rockland Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Textirama/MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . 11

fabrics for their latest collections. Visitors include: Manufacturers, Designers, Research & Development, Wholesalers, Converters, Jobbers, Agents Buying Offices are the target visitors. Profile for exhibit includes Cotton, Knits, Leather, Linen, Pile Fabrics, Prints, Silk, Silk Look, Synthetics, Trims, Vinyl, Wool. Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, U.S. http://www.hometextilessourcing.com/

August 2 – 3 New York Direction by Indigo International Exhibition of Creative Textile Design Held three-times a year, DIRECTION by Indigo expands the Indigo brand to North America, offering a goldmine of original designs and concepts to product developers, manufacturers, designers, and retailers. Direction by Indigo is an international exhibition for creative textile design in New York, US. The event attracts an array of international and regional exhibitors form home textile and fashion world. Direction by Indigo showcases richly creative merchandise, including designs for prints, embroideries, knits, appliqués, jacquards and transfer papers, addresses all segments of the fashion and home markets. Direction by Indigo will be attended by eminent American fashion professionals, decision-making executives and product development teams in apparel, home, paper-goods and many more. VISITOR’S PROFILE Product developers, manufacturers, designers, and retailers start each season at DIRECTION by Indigo acquiring the necessary inspirational elements needed to prepare creative and innovative collections. EXHIBITOR’S PROFILE International textile design studios presenting collections for all fashion and home universes, trend forecasters, international publications, design software, color matching systems, and the SURFACE seminar series featuring fashion, technical and related topics from renown fashion industry experts. Venue: Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, U.S. Indigo-Salon.com

3 – 5 Home Decor Exhibition Shenzhen Hometex EVENT PROFILE Home Decor Exhibition is the biggest home textiles exhibition for import to China and the best sourcing platform of household fabrics such as curtains, sheer, accessories, sun-protection products, wall coverings, carpets, upholstery fabrics, bed linens, etc. It greets 1200 exhibitors, 100,000 trade visitors under one roof of 130,000 sq.m. every year. Profile for exhibit includes Curtain/ Sheer, Bedding, Hotel Textiles, Decorative Fabric, Bed Linen, Upholstery Fabric, Window Decorations & Accessories, Wall Paper & Wall Cloth, Interior Decorations, Home Textile

Design, Textile Machinery, CAD/CAM, Magazines, etc. Venue: Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China http://www.szcec.com/eng/

29 - 31 Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Organized by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Limited at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China, the Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is a recognizable event for exploring various avenues about the textile industry. It offers enormous opportunities to enter into Chinese textile industrial sector. The event proves to be highly effective in attracting various manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers etc. from all over the world. Architects, contract business, interior design companies, hotels & resorts, furniture manufacturers, import & export corporations, wholesalers, retailers are the target visitors. Vietnam, Australia, Austria, Belarus, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, UK

and USA. Venue: Shanghai New International Expo Centre 2345 Longyang Road Pudong Xinqu, Shanghai, China Contact: Messe Frankfurt Hong Kong 3506 China Resources Building 26 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2802 7728 Fax: (852) 2598 8771

September 13 - 15 MoOD, Indigo & Expofil Déco Read as Meet only Original Designs - is the first and most authentic international trade fair for upholstery, window- and wall coverings. It is the only online market place in the world to feature producers who fully own their collections. On the this website we cover ‘hot’ news and relevant market information to tease our visitors at all times. MoOD is flanked by two satellite shows: Indigo & Expofil Déco. Brussels Expo Belgiëplein 1 BE - 1020 Brussel http://www.brusselsexpo.be

Classifieds Marcovaldo is looking for a skilled individual with over five years experience in the field and great administrative abilities including attention to details and experience with high-end products. Email marcovaldohire@hotmail.com

To place your classified ad in this section please contact Marc Weinreich. marc@sipco.net

Information

Independent Multi Line Sales Representative Employer: KB Contract the hospitality division for Keyston Bros - Various territories. KB Contract seeks an independent multi line sales representative for its growing and expanding sales force. Markets available including: Greater New York, MA, GA, IL, WA and Northern/Southern California. Our line includes the best in vinyl and woven fabrics. Including an unstoppable custom department. • Work with existing accounts and establish new accounts to increase sales volume. • Visit key customer accounts on a regular basis to develop relationships. • Develop and conduct presentations for all accounts. • Pursue sales leads, sales calls, and quotes.

• 2-3 years of Sales experience required industry experience in contract/commercial market preferred. • Excellent presentation skills. • Knowledge of the Contract Industry. • Must be computer proficient. • Must have a positive attitude, strong people and communication skills, and self-motivated.

KB Contract/Keyston Bros is an equal opportunity employer. For more information visit our web-site: Keystonbros.com The new KB contract website coming soon. Please send resume including line package to: Amy Webster @ awebster@keystonbros.com or fax to 561.948.2132

See the latest job openings in the F&FI Classified section online at www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

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www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

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