Fixture producer Elk Lighting has added Dimond, a new division dedicated to targeting the furniture store and home accent specialty store customer with portable lamps.

Company President Brad Smith described the new line as fashion-forward, with an emphasis on clean transitional to soft contemporary styling. The first introduction includes about 150 lamps and 50 mini-chandeliers. Price points range from $39 to $200 wholesale.

"People are looking to make an investments that are long-term. They want something that's going to look good for a long time," Smith told Home Accents Today. "The race to the bottom in terms of price is a strategy that has backfired in a lot of cases. This line offers good quality, a good look, but at an affordable price."

John Haste, formerly vice president of sales with Imax, has been brought on-board as vice president of Dimond.

"We have a long tradition in the hard-wire fixture business," Smith said. "But the portables business is very different. What John Haste brought to the table was the real-life experience in the trenches with that side of the business. From sourcing to sales, we want to know we've got people with experience."

Dimond debuts this month in the Elk showroom in Building A of the World Market Center in Las Vegas. The showroom has been completely overhauled, Smith said, to accommodate the new additions.

"It became pretty clear that it was more of the furniture store buyer that Vegas was attracting — not the lighting showrooms — so we wanted our product line to reflect that. The new line is targeted toward taking advantage of Vegas," he said, adding that the company is also showing in the IHFC's Interhall during the October High Point Market.

The line includes extensions of Elk's two licensed lighting lines with Trump Home and Mary Kate & Ashley.

Some of the designs incorporate finishes or materials from existing fixture collections, but for the most part, Smith said, the portables stand on their own and are not part of a larger collection.

The company owns a 300,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in China where the line will be produced. All of the new line will be in-stock in time for the High Point Market, and the products will ship within 24 to 48 hours out of a warehouse in Pennsylvania, Smith said.

"Less and less, retailers are holding backup inventory," he said. "It's a responsibility of ours to make sure we have the product in stock to help the retailers."

The Dimond division has its own sales force, and future plans include expansion into accessories, including mirrors and tabletop pieces such as vases and candleholders.

"The initial feedback has been great," Smith said. "People need to look for something new and different. (Vendors) have been reeling it in — not bringing new products. We see this as a story of, 'hey, here's something new — something fresh.'"