Covington Business Makes Turnaround Under Kahan Family Ownership
November 19, 2009
HIGH POINT, North Carolina - The Kahan family ownership of Covington Fabrics has reported a turnaround scenario in business after 18 months.
Starting with a major line introduction last December, Covington followed the collection with another important launch in June here in New York, at Showtime. The contract line was also revamped, the company said.
Under the terms of the acquisition by the Kahan family, Covington was not saddled with any long-term debt, Chairman Mark Kahan explained. ''We purchased only tangible assets,'' he said. ''We looked at every aspect of this business and made a major investment in the product itself. Covington was able to substantially reduce costs by eliminating an oversized, leased warehouse space in Spartanburg, SC in favor of our own newly acquired warehouse in Calhoun Falls, SC.''
''In addition, Covington's information system was completely revamped to improve inventory management as well as enable our customers to track their orders,'' said Mayer Kahan, executive vice president.
Marion Murray, the design director who joined the company about year ago, focused on fresh colors, especially prints for pillows, drapes and bedding manufacturers. ''People are looking for color, especially well-colored classics and great prints,'' said Murray. ''Covington has always been a leader in printing and prints are gaining strength.''
Tom Bruno, vice president of sales, joined Covington about the same time as Murray and brought with him a new, up-market division in Heirloom which Covington acquired a year ago when Bruno joined. ''Bruno and Murray helped us engineer a perception in the market that Covington would be here to stay,'' Mark Kahan said.
Covington exhibited its lines at MoOD in Brussels this past September.
Starting with a major line introduction last December, Covington followed the collection with another important launch in June here in New York, at Showtime. The contract line was also revamped, the company said.
Under the terms of the acquisition by the Kahan family, Covington was not saddled with any long-term debt, Chairman Mark Kahan explained. ''We purchased only tangible assets,'' he said. ''We looked at every aspect of this business and made a major investment in the product itself. Covington was able to substantially reduce costs by eliminating an oversized, leased warehouse space in Spartanburg, SC in favor of our own newly acquired warehouse in Calhoun Falls, SC.''
''In addition, Covington's information system was completely revamped to improve inventory management as well as enable our customers to track their orders,'' said Mayer Kahan, executive vice president.
Marion Murray, the design director who joined the company about year ago, focused on fresh colors, especially prints for pillows, drapes and bedding manufacturers. ''People are looking for color, especially well-colored classics and great prints,'' said Murray. ''Covington has always been a leader in printing and prints are gaining strength.''
Tom Bruno, vice president of sales, joined Covington about the same time as Murray and brought with him a new, up-market division in Heirloom which Covington acquired a year ago when Bruno joined. ''Bruno and Murray helped us engineer a perception in the market that Covington would be here to stay,'' Mark Kahan said.
Covington exhibited its lines at MoOD in Brussels this past September.
