Kincaid Furniture Company Signs Licensing Agreement With Laura Ashley Incorporated

Furniture World Magazine

Kincaid Furniture Company, a leading manufacturer of solid wood furniture, and Laura Ashley Incorporated, an apparel and home furnishings retailer, announced they have entered into a licensing agreement to manufacture and market Laura Ashley furniture. Under the license, Kincaid will produce bedroom, dining room, upholstered, entertainment, occasional and youth furniture. The furniture lines, to be known as Laura Ashley Home Furnishings by Kincaid, will debut at the International Home Furnishings market in High Point, NC, in April 2001. The collection will be available at upscale retailers, Kincaid Home Furnishings Stores, in-store Kincaid Galleries and Laura Ashley shops throughout the United States and Canada. "We are very pleased that our company has been chosen to craft this line of furniture which will reflect the style and enduring quality of home furnishings synonymous with the Laura Ashley heritage," said Steve Kincaid, president of Kincaid. "The result of this partnership, we believe, will be beautiful furniture that marries the best of what each of us has to offer." The brand is strongly identified by its use of floral prints, influenced by company namesake Laura Ashley's fondness for nature and gardening. Currently, the companies are conducting joint research to determine the best way of interpreting the English country styles of Laura Ashley's life and products in a manner pleasing to the American consumer. Design inspiration for Laura Ashley Home Furnishings by Kincaid will come from the many British and European environments which shaped Laura Ashley's life. "We consider Kincaid Furniture Company a strategic partner in the development of this new line of home furnishings," said Paul Ng, president of Laura Ashley, Inc. "The equity of the Laura Ashley brand name and the strength of the Kincaid reputation and distribution network create a potent and very viable entry into the market." Established in England in 1953, the Laura Ashley product collection is available at more than 80 retail stores throughout the United States and Canada. In July 1999, the British company's North American operation was bought out by a management and investor team. The company is now privately held and has approximately 1,200 corporate.