NEW YORK — Covington Fabric & Design LLC is entering the second half of 2017 with “the best start ever and an expected overall sales increase for the year at ten percent or better,” according to Greg Tarver, CEO. “Our retail and chain business is up significantly in spite of the loss of Hancock last year. Our jobber business is quite healthy in spite of the consolidation. We think we have found a niche with the jobber in terms of design and service,” he says. Covington is ramping up its design studio in its New York offices under Design Director Chari Voehl as it moves all back office operations to South Carolina and consolidates sales, marketing and design in New York. Covington’s new line was enthusiastically sampled by jobbers and now it will be unveiled at Showtime. The new lines include a crossover contract line by Jennifer Adams that was introduced first at BD West; Jennifer Adams has also introduced a new line of decorative prints, embroideries and jacquards, 50 sku’s total; 23 new decorative prints in a good, better, best scenario starting at $3.95 for a 16 screen Jacobean design up to $11.95 printed on different base cloths in linen, linen/viscose, cotton and cotton blends; a novelty sheers line and Gam Slam, a glitzy drapery line with metallic; full range of jacquards and textured solids. Covington says it is doing more custom work for its clients, especially in China to China where a price point has to be met. Covington has a China based office in Hangzhou for this purpose. About 85 percent of the product line is sourced offshore; 15 percent domestically. Most open line product can be delivered within 24 hours, Tarver says. “Our key to our growth in the past five years has been developing a Covington dedicated sales force with no multi line reps,“ Tarver says. “We’re also data driven so we know our exact return on our sampling cost by customer.” “Our reps can have a conversation even before they visit the customer that can cover sales trends, including the best-selling designs by geography with more and more information available through our sales portal,” says Tom Bruno, Vice President, Sales. “Having Covington dedicated sales people has improved our business.” “Covington is now expanding social media, utilizing Instagram,” says Stephanie Wotton, Vice President, Marketing.