Kennesaw, Ga.—When Beaulieu of America exited the hard surface business earlier this year, it meant the popular Laura Ashley brand name became available for this segment of the industry. Following months of planning to establish a co-brand for its products Witex USA announced an agreement with USFloors, the licensee for Laura Ashley. The deal gives the hard surface manufacturer exclusive use of the home furnishings brand for laminate, wood and ceramic flooring products in North America. “By summer, consumers will begin to see the first Laura Ashley displays in retail stores showing products manufactured by Witex,” said Stephen Newman, the mill’s president and CEO. “This is a milestone because it represents a unique opportunity to immediately develop an identifiable flooring brand in the hard surface category.” He said the deal represents “the culmination of months of planning to have a second brand in the market besides Witex.”

Laura Ashley was chosen not just because it became available, but following extensive consumer and market research. “We got input from numerous sources, including consumer focus groups in the 27 to 55 age category. During these meetings,” Newman explained, “we put forth a number of brands and Laura Ashley came up very favorable within our targeted age group. The qualities or terms that kept coming up from consumers about the name was longevity, performance, value, quality and trust.” These attributes, combined with market research, show how the trend for home furnishings is to better quality goods and recognizable names. “Surveys tell us that consumers are willing to invest in their homes and to step up to better quality,” he said. “They are seeking quality attributable to brands they can identify with and trust. “Therefore,” Newman continued, “from a business perspective, quality brands like Laura Ashley immediately translate to higher margins on the showroom floor and to higher profit along the entire distribution chain.”

Because the agreement with Laura Ashley was just signed, he noted Witex is now working on various lines and styles which “will leverage Laura Ashley’s readily identifiable look that has been established over the past 50 years.” The company is planning to introduce a complete Laura Ashley hard surface offering during the next quarter. In addition to product, Witex, with the help of distributors, key dealers and consumer focus groups is developing a comprehensive display system to house the Laura Ashley collection in specialty retail shops. Newman noted the strategy is to give dealers the opportunity to have a Laura Ashley department, or store-in-store concept. “This is a collection that will be merchandised and promoted as its own independent line at retail. It will be separate and distinct from the Witex brand.” To support the Laura Ashley line, Witex is developing a point of purchase kit for dealers, as well as a consumer advertising campaign. “A budget has been set aside for a consumer campaign,” he said. “We also plan to have other forms of publicity through an extensive public relations program.”

Specialty Dealers Only Newman said the Laura Ashley program will be offered to traditional specialty retailers via the company’s national distribution network. “This is a dealer offering and we will use our existing wholesalers because this is another way for Witex to offer our customers another profit opportunity.” Speaking of opportunity, Beaulieu still has the Laura Ashley brand in carpet so the possibility exists of the two companies coordinating hard and soft products. “We have not had any discussions with Beaulieu on the subject,” he said, “but the situation does present itself with an opportunity down the road. Right now, our main focus is to deliver a Laura Ashley hard surface program to our distributors and dealers.” For more information, call Witex at 800/948-3987.