New York – In a mixed bag of a year, some bath suppliers struggled more than others. A lot of that had to do with what they were selling and where they were selling it.

When the books closed on 2021, total bath category sales eked up 1% to $2.910 billion, from $2.880 billion in 2020, according to HTT’s Strategic Insights Study. That came on top of explosive 2020 business for bath products, when towel sales at retail jumped 10% while retail sales of bath rug and accessories climbed 9%.

HTT’s May issue, which features the annual report on bath towels, rugs and accessories, is now in the mail to subscribers.

The full report on 2021 bath category results appears in the May 2022 edition of Home Textiles Today.

As bath companies make their way through 2022, they are again steering through troubled waters.

“Inflation, gas prices, war – everyone knows what the macro issues are,” said Avanti Linens’ COO Jeff Kaufman. “We’re seeing it in the direct-to-consumer business and also seeing more pushback from physical retailer [who are] less accommodating on late shipments, more cancellations, fewer future commitments. With supply chain issues continuing and pricing pressures, we don’t expect any change in the overall retail climate. We’re prepared for a difficult year.”

For towel manufacturers, soaring cotton prices are a particular pain point. A possible export ban in India along with drought impacting U.S. yields drove prices up to their highest level yesterday since May 2011. USDA’s weekly Cotton Market Review pegged the average price at 145.01 cents per pound. The average pre-pandemic price as 65 cents per pound.

“Those increases began in Q1 2021 and rapidly increased through today, putting a lot more challenges in front of suppliers, in addition to all of the other cost increases,” said Loftex USA CEO Charles Gaenslen. “That is why innovation is so important, and something we have always been focused on to drive sustainability.”

At 1888 Mills, “everything is on the table” from an innovation perspective, said Lexi Schladenhauffen, CXO/chief experience officer at 1888 Mills. The company’s recently unveiled DuraHemp program of cotton-and-hemp blended towel program is an example.

“We’re trying to work with different fibers to help neutralize the cotton increases,” she explained.

“Our global innovation team is exploring every option – from developing new constructions to creating different GSMs that would make towels meet customers’ expectations and deliver value.”

Discount department stores drove Loftex Home USA’s highest sales last year.

“The $8 to $10 towel business is the workhorse for Walmart and Target, and Costco also does a significant business in the mid-market towel category – all of which boded well for us,” explained Gaenslen. “The mass merchants in particular continued to be strong last year, and the ones like these with full omni-capabilities continued to be the biggest winners.”

Trident managed to maintain its business by picking up a couple of programs. “But last year was very challenging from a supply chain perspective and retail was also very challenging,” noted Jeffrey Kambak, CEO for U.S. operations, The Trident Group.

He continued: “The supply chain caused all sorts of headaches for everyone. If you couldn’t get inventory in, you couldn’t replenish programs and you couldn’t sell.”

1888 Mills also posted gains with discounters, but mostly in promotional business.

“A lot of our towel business last year was at opening price points,” said Lexi Schladenhauffen, CXO/chief experience officer. “We ended strong despite starting to see the struggles of cost increases in raw materials and logistics. These issues are becoming a huge factor, which only means this year will be different for everyone.”

A welcome surprise in the year was a burst of demand for shower curtains.

In particular, holiday themed shower curtains in the case of Town & Country Living, cited Judi Alvarez, VP of licensing and marketing.

“We’ve now had two seasons for holiday shower curtains, and it’s been a big success,” she explained. “We don’t offer overtly holiday types of looks or novelty. Ours are more holiday seasonal, like Buffalo checks and yarn-dyed stripes – looks designed with the intent of decorating.”

Avanti Linens had similar success in shower curtains last year – representing “our best performing category, all types – prints, jacquards, wovens,” said Kaufman. “Modern looks were especially strong.”

The company’s second top selling category last year was bath rugs, especially designs that moved away from the more traditional looks to modern looks, he added.

Another new development for bath suppliers in 2021 was the popularity of multi-packs/sets.

Loftex Home USA had established such programs pre-pandemic, “and we accelerated it” last year, Gaenslen said, with more collections of bath towel two-packs and wash-hand-bath combo ensemble sets.

Town & Country Living’s pre-packaged assortments most popular among shoppers last year included 14-piece shower curtain sets with rings and liners, and others that included bath mats/rugs.

“We had a strong response at the opening price-point level for our sets,” Alvarez said. “People were looking for ways to affordably put together a new look for their bathrooms in a pre-selected way.”

Trident spotlights health and hygiene

1888 Mills is high on “Hemply”

Avanti Linens smashes down on the newness button

Town & Country Living shakes up design calendar

Loftex takes sustainability to the luxury standard

Cecile B. Corral has spent over two decades reporting on home furnishings brands, manufacturers and retailers. She is also the founder and president of Cecile Public Relations in Miami, Fla.

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