More Special Report

Special Report

January: • 'Best of What's New' Goes to Hunter Douglas The Duette® PowerRise® from Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, Broomfield, CO, is named one of the 100 winners of the "Best of What's New" award by Popular Science. • R.H. Rowley Now Rowley Co. R.H. Rowley Co., Gastonia, NC, changed its name to Rowley Co. effective January 1, 1998. February: • WCSC Urges Safety Compliance U.S. importers, manufacturers, fabricators and retailers of window coverings products were urged by the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC), New York, NY, to comply with the new ANSI/WCMA safety standard. March: • Busy in Baltimore The International Window Coverings Expo held March 18 to 22, 1998, brought 260 exhibitors and almost 9,000 attendees to the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD. • Rowley Honored for Industry Achievement The Rowley Co., Gastonia, NC, is presented the 1998 Industry Achievement Award from the Window Coverings Association of America (WCAA) for its outstanding service and support of the industry and the WCAA. April: • Safety Contest Underway 3 Day Blinds, an Anaheim, CA-based window coverings retailer and manufacturer, looks for a name for its Ambassador of Child Safety, a life-sized character that will travel across the country to promote child safety in the home. May: • Imperial Home Decor Group Formed The combination of Borden Decorative Products and Imperial Wallcoverings into the Imperial Home Decor Group (IHDG) is completed. Based on 1996 net sales, IHDG becomes the largest producer and marketer of residential wall coverings at a combined $540 million. • Hometextil Boosts Latin American Participation Hometextil Americas, held May 15 to 17, 1998, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, FL, attracted 3,000 attendees, according to show producer Messe Frankfurt, Inc., Atlanta, GA. Attendees included buyers from 40 countries. June: • Conso Acquires Simplicity Patterns Conso Products Co., Union, SC, closed a "definitive agreement" to acquire Simplicity Patterns Co., United Kingdom, in late June. The cash purchase price was stated as $33 million. The combined net sales for Conso and Simplicity is reported as $126 million for the 12-month period that ended March 31, 1998. • In Memoriam: Hunter Douglas' Feinseth Miriam B. Feinseth, director of advertising and communication for Hunter Douglas, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, died June 12, 1998, following a brief illness. Feinseth spent 16 years at Hunter Douglas where she directed the advertising, public relations and communications efforts for its entire window fashions line. July: • GlobalShop Examines Trends in Retail Design More than 14,000 retail design executives and brand marketers attended GlobalShop '98. A popular exhibit was the Vendor Shop Store III, which featured cutting-edge retail designs highlighting the store-within-a-store trend in merchandise display. August: • Desert Draw The Pacific Home Fashion Fair returned to Las Vegas, NV, to a new venue and a more condensed agenda. During two days of exhibits 1,700 attendees from 12 countries visited the show, according to the show producers. • New Look for D&WC The August issue of Draperies & Window Coverings premiers the magazine's new updated look. September: • Springs Drops Interior Wood Shutters Citing poor profitability and significant capital investment requirements in the interior wood shutter market, Springs Window Fashions Division, Inc., Middleton, WI, announced plans to exit this segment of the window treatments business by fall 1998. October • BTX, Elero Form Alliance BTX Window Automation, Inc., Dallas, TX, and Elero GmbH, Beuren, Germany, announced an alliance that will result in BTX/Elero Motorization Supply, a new entity intended for what it estimates as a $5 billion interior window coverings market. • In Memoriam: Hunter Douglas, Inc. Chairman Fuchs Jerry Fuchs, chairman of Hunter Douglas, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, died October 23, 1998, in New York City following a brief illness. He was 57. In his 17 years with Hunter Douglas, Fuchs is said to have invigorated the company's sales and marketing approaches and to have been the driving force behind its broad range of window fashion products. • Web Site Update D&WC's site on the World Wide Web (DWCdesigNet.com) launches a new look, new features and added interactivity. (Give us your opinon about the redecorated DWCdesigNet.com in What's New.) November: • Astro Textile Acquires Bomar Astro Textile Holdings, Inc., Calhoun, GA, acquired Bomar Industries, Inc., Lake Worth, FL. December: • Newell, Rubermaid Merge Newell Co., Freeport, IL, the parent company of Newell Window Furnishings Co., reached "a definitive agreement" to merge with Rubbermaid Inc., Wooster, OH. The merger agreement was approved by the boards of directors of both companies.