HIGH POINT MARKET: Vaughan Furniture to launch more Kathy Ireland pieces

Nearly 300 new SKUs planned

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, October 7, 2009

HIGH POINT — Kathy Ireland by Vaughan Furniture will unveil nearly 300 new SKUs this market, marking its second major launch for the licensed line of case goods and occasional furniture.

The new pieces will include bedroom, dining room and occasional tables as well as casual dining.

There will be nine bedrooms and three of those will have companion formal dining sets. The bedrooms will cover Kathy Ireland's Architectural, Americana, and Aloha Style Guides.

One bedroom group has an island theme, while another has more Shaker design elements. Others have more contemporary styling that ties in with the Architectural Style Guide.

"In doing our research, it was what people were asking for," said Taylor Vaughan, president and CEO of Vaughan Furniture. "We're just trying to expand our product offerings for different price points and ideas within the contemporary vein."

Four-piece bedrooms are targeted to retail from $899 to $1,399. The mix also includes 12 casual dining sets that are targeted to retail from $350 to $700.

The initial product launch for the Kathy Ireland by Vaughan Furniture in April included about 180 bedroom, dining room, occasional and youth furniture pieces. A group called Southern Heritage sold out its first cuttings, while several others, including Georgetown and Pilgrimage, are becoming bestsellers, the company said.

Vaughan said the company is pleased with the expanded line and with the response it received from customers who saw it at premarket.

"We are excited about it," he said. "We have been building up to this all year."

In a statement, Ireland said she too is excited about the new products.

"The launch of Kathy Ireland Home from Vaughan Furniture is one of the happiest days in the history of our company," she said. "These extraordinary partners work daily with our team to implement fashion, quality, value and safety into each and every one of our case good products. The legacy of Vaughan is a great inspiration for our team and these products are wonderful, affordable solutions that retailers are excited about."

Vaughan Furniture shows in space 210 of Plaza Suites.