I’d say at least 40% of the showrooms were dark today. I passed others in which displays were already being torn apart to be boxed and shipped out for style reviews.

This being the first February major market there was a lot of griping about the cold all week. The arrival of snow & sleet on Wednesday only made matters worse.  One retailer who hails from a more temperate area of the country is said to have vowed no member of the company’s buying team will ever touch down at a February market again.

Conversely, a couple of suppliers endorsed the timing as an improvement — although neither was thrilled to find himself in the northeast in the dead of winter.

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Not that that’s a bad thing. More retailers could do a better job of freshening their image with the public — before their financials go soft. JCP is doing it with 15 consecutive quarters of sales increases to brag about, and bully for them.

You can read the The Dallas Morning News’ report on its new campaign here.

Topics include:

I heard from several suppliers that buyers with late afternoon appointments crowded into showrooms earlier than expected so as make an early exit.

Not much in the way of accumulation where I live at the foot of Manhattan. But the local weather forecast calls for freezing rain, sleet and snow tomorrow morning, followed by heavy snow for the late afternoon/early evening. Looks like it’s going to be a sloppy day.

The mood of the market so far — it’s okay. People say the business is challenging; but they don’t say it as though that’s a new thing. They say it as a fact of life. Most companies I’ve visited seem to have figured out their strategies.  As I mentioned in last night’s post, suppliers appear to be much more flexible than they were two or three years ago.

More confirmation this week that suppliers are finding niches outside traditional volume channels. People are talking about business they’re quietly doing with mattress stores, furniture stores, independent retailers, Internet retailers, drug stores, automotive stores, grocery stores and hotels.

Here’s the great thing about suppliers spreading their wings: I firmly believe that those who are now playing in other arenas are going to wind up developing unique, niche products that work their way back into the mainstream. I feel we are on the brink of a creative revival.

Design notes:

Champagne is the new pink

Champagne is the new fawn

Flocking

Silk

Linen

Tailored looks

Edited assortments

Lined curtains for value add

Design question of the day: Is black & white giving way to black & ivory? As a pure statement, it seems to be heading that way. Alternatively, the black & white story is moving ahead with a bang of red.

I’m laying bets that the next step for black & white is a splash of teal…or aqua marine…or citrus.

As of this evening, the forecast has shifted from a full-on snowstorm to early morning snow followed by a day of heavy rain. Not pretty, to be sure. But as I noted in my post yesterday evening, as a harbor city Manhattan often escapes dire weather predicted to beset it. May hold true again this week. May not.

The mood of the market thus far: when you strip away all the palaver, it’s pretty much business as usual. Challenging? Yes. Is there some good, creative product out there? Yes again. Is there a lot of careful, same-old in new skin product? Yes. Gotta hedge your bets, after all.

What stuck me today was how much more fleet and flexible suppliers have become. Maybe they thrust into a new category 10 months ago and it hit. They’re blowing it out on the showroom floor. Maybe it didn’t hit. It’s wiped off the map as though it never happened, and they’re on to the next thing.

I’ve got the sense that much of the dead wood has been cleared away. At the same time, relative newcomers (read: off-shore) are salting their ranks with domestic vets who know the market. I think we’re passing over a threshold here.

Today’s cool stuff:

Glass/stainless steel bath accessories at WestPoint.

“Kimono” window ties at TexStyle.

“The Perfect Sheet” at Dan River. Here’s the beauty part: The “perfect sheet” is whatever you say it is. It’s Marketing 101. And hallelujah for that.  

P.S. The Democrat is a newspaper based in Conway, Ark., not a political organization. Just in case you were wondering.