Stein Mart launches Nina Campbell line

Collection includes tabletop, accessories, accent furniture

-- Home Accents Today, 11/6/2006 7:31:00 AM

Well-known London designer Nina Campbell’s new “modern classics” collection for Stein Mart has been launched with the designer making store appearances the first week. The  Jacksonville, Fla.-based retailer is offering the Campbell collection as part of a home/bed & linens revamping begun in 2005. Home, which accounts for about 15% of sales, is also being refreshed with more proprietary product and TV advertising.

Campbell’s tableware features an inaugural set of dinner plates, glassware and trays in green and white, with additional pieces to roll out in February. Two linen lines, exclusive to Stein Mart, include “Shiraz,” in shades of burgundy and brown with velvet trim, and white and gold-toned “Aspen,” which incorporates embroidery and macramé elements with silk overlays and organza. Coordinating accessories include wooden nightstands and scroll lamps. Prices range from $10 for accessories to $300 for the linens.

Stein Mart president and CEO Michael Fisher discussed the stores’ redesign and expansion at Johnson Rice & Co.’s 6th Annual Consumer Conference Oct. 24. The company, a $1.5 billion, 260-store chain, opened 12 new stores in 2006, the most in four years. Fisher said Stein Mart will open about 20 next year, including some in new markets in the Northeast. The company expects to operate 500-plus stores in 49 states when fully built out.