NEW YORK–Nicholas Graham will soon be back in the home textiles business.
Graham, owner of brand developer 100 Minute Co. and founder of the renowned Joe Boxer label, has signed an exclusive licensing and consulting agreement with CHF Industries to create new CHF brands in bed, bath and window products. The first branded product program, which will include a back-to-school program slated for a spring 2009 launch at retail, will be unveiled at the September Home Textiles Market Week here. Specifics on the line have not been determined.
Graham founded Joe Boxer in 1985, and pushed it to grow into one of the world’s most recognizable apparel brands. In the 1990s, Graham extended the brand into the home with a line of Joe Boxer decorative bedding produced by WestPoint Stevens (now WestPoint Home). Still later, Joe Boxer appeared on a line of bed pillows and mattress covers manufactured by Perfect Fit, and subtitled Underwear for Your Bed. Joe Boxer is now owned by Iconix Brands.
According to Graham, he was looking for a way to get back into the home textiles business when he met Frank Foley, president and chief executive officer of CHF, at a party this past January. As the two talked, the idea for a relationship between CHF and 100 Minute germinated.
“I thought that the home textiles area had gotten sleepy,” Graham said in an interview with HFN. “In general, the home furnishings market is looking for something new. When times get tough like they are now, people need new things in their home, sometimes a whole new attitude.
“People want to feel better,” he added, “and shopping is still a psychological sport. This is the perfect time to come out with something fresh.”
In terms of creating brands and merchandising strategies, “something fresh” has been Graham’s stock in trade since the beginning of his career. Joan Karron, executive vice president of CHF, said, “With this business climate, consumers need to feel that they ‘have to have it,’ and Nick’s sense of humor and ironic and compelling design is a bit of what we all crave right now.”
In a CHF statement, Foley said, “Nick’s unique ability to tap into the consumer’s psyche through hip and witty style provides CHF an opportunity to provide the unexpected, yet missing, in the home fashions marketplace.”
Foley also said CHF and 100 Minute would develop brands based on consumer research that is ongoing. “We would expect to be developing new brands out of that research and in collaboration with Nick, and bringing them to market every six months—at least,” he said.
Among the specifics that have yet to be developed are the design ideas, merchandising strategies and targeted channels of distribution, according to Graham. “We’re not sure yet because there are multiple ideas, but you can be sure that the design will be very sophisticated,” he said.
“I think there are a lot of stories to tell,” Graham said. “The stories have to be told through the products, the packaging and the merchandising. Joe Boxer wasn’t just about products. It was about the attitude, the packaging and the merchandising. You will see an attitude here.”
Graham also said it was too soon to provide a comparison and contrast between the first new CHF brand and the Joe Boxer home program from WestPoint. “We will look at in-store concepts to set this apart from other collections,” Graham said in regard to the merchandising. “Again, it’s too soon to be sure about the specifics, but we know we need to make a statement that says this is important.” — David Gill