Decorative Home Accents

Lacks Enterprises Inc's new product doesn't veer too far from automotive

Lacks Enterprises is finding a new use for the technology that has made it a leader in automotive decorative trim.

Its latest product doesn’t veer too far from automotive. Under the name Coach House Accents it is offering a product that dresses up a garage door to look like a carriage house.

“We are all about curb appeal,” said Tim Grant, the product development manager.

Launched in January, the garage decorative pieces are expected to be the first in a series of architectural design products planned for the home. More products will be released in 2012.

“It’s a natural extension of our core competency,” Grant said. “We are really just diversifying our product offerings in the market.”

The automotive technology makes the products stronger and more durable than the competition, and are virtually maintenance-free because of the finishes and high-quality composite materials used, Grant said.

The product is being marketed to the do-it-yourself consumer and can be installed in less than 20 minutes.

“We designed it so anyone can do it,” Grant said. “We fit about 80 to 95 percent of the doors out there.”

The 8-foot double simulated window overlays have a suggested retail price of $275, while the hinge and handle sets sells for $120 for the Traditional Series in black and $220 for the Signature Series in deep bronze and heritage black. The pieces come with a 15-year warranty — longer than most garage doors.

The decorative parts produced in the company’s Kentwood facility on Airwest Drive SE, with similar technology used to make the grill for Buicks: an automotive-grade resin that is then painted to look like metal with Lacks’ patented Spinelli process.

Lacks operates 17 injection molding, electroplating, painting and assembly facilities in West Michigan and South Carolina, employing more than 2,000 people.

“There is really nothing like it on the market,” said Jay Mosterd, co-owner of the Holland-based Quality Door Inc., which sells the product at its four locations in Holland, Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Grand Haven. “It’s more durable finish than any other decorative hardware on the market.”

Mosterd says he tried the trim on his garage, and it holds up better than previous products, which are often made of metal fabricated in China.

The challenge may be building the market. The product hasn’t been a hot seller at Environmental Door in Grand Rapids.

George Little Management on the block - 2011 ... - Home Accents Today

LONDON, England, and WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — George Little Management is up for sale by its parent company The Daily Mail & General Trust. GLM is the company's U.S. tradeshow arm and produces 15 markets, including the New York International Gift Fair and National Stationery Show.

Estimates of the businesses' valuation in the British press range from $200-$240 million.

"The strategic review of GLM follows the conclusion that there is limited opportunity to leverage the GLM assets across the wider DMGT group," DMG said in a statement. "And that we should focus our events activities onto fewer areas with exceptional opportunities."

GLM President Alan Steel told Home Accents Today sister publication Gifts & Decorative Accessories, "We cannot go beyond the DMG statement, but will confirm that we are in the second round of discussions with companies. In the meantime it is business as usual and this has no impact on ongoing GLM activities."

DMG appointed investment bank Jordan Edmiston to handle the sale, which has reached second-round bids according to the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper. According to the Guardian, the initial information memoranda was sent to companies including Reed Elsevier, UBM and Informa. Potential buyers include private equity firms as well as trade players.

DMG acquired its first 25% stake in GLM in 2000 for about $70 million; raised its stake to 49% at the beginning of 2007 for another $21 million, and bought the remaining 51% for $155 millon, also in 2007.

According to the Financial Times, GLM is expected to generate $71 million in revenue and $26 million in pre-tax profits this year.

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