Sheffield, England – A team headed by Len Bichard has bought the piece goods division of Curtina and formed a new company, called Style Furnishings Ltd. Bichard's team made the purchase amidst competition from several other bidders. The formation of the company was announced on the same day as the announcement that Roger Lamborn (who was Managing Director of Curtina at the time the company went into administration) had purchased the remaining components of Curtina Ltd.

Bichard's acquisition brings the Curtina story full circle as Bichard founded Curtina in 1967 and eventually sold it to a management buyout team in 1997.

The new company is predicting a turnover of $8 million in the first year of trading. This will be achieved by supplying fabrics to 600 U.K. customers (covering retail, upholstery and contract), along with 57 markets overseas. The list of U.K. retailers includes department stores such as, John Lewis, as well as independent retailers such as Atkinson's. Southern Ireland, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Middle East, Japan, New Zealand and America head the list of overseas markets.

In 1996 Curtina bought out Style Trading which had been selling piece goods for Curtina under license. Then Ron King joined Curtina and began working with David Hardman, among others. Today, under Bichard's chairmanship, King and Hardman are heading up the Style Furnishings management team as Managing Director and Sales Director respectively. Many of the original core team at Curtina piece goods are now with Style Furnishings and this team expects to grow as the company expands.

Style Furnishings was able to supply its customers within four days of the takeover. ''Our customers have been very patient during the change over,'' said King. ''They appreciated that we did all we could to ensure continued supply, working day and night to enable us to maintain continuity of service.''

This determination to continue supply uninterruptedly is borne out by Atkinson's Director Clive Mester. Atkinson's which is one of Style Furnishings important retail accounts, is an independent department store in Sheffield with a large soft furnishings department. ''Everyone has worked together and we feel we have had strong support from the new team,'' said Mester. ''Once matters were settled, they worked very hard to get stock moving.''

Style Furnishings is working out of familiar surroundings: the Deepcar, Sheffield premises, previously occupied by Curtina's piece goods offices. The current range features traditional and contemporary designs, and includes a sizable range of designs in both 100 percent cotton satin prints and jacquards. Retail prices vary from $13 to $20. ''Our typical customer is in the middle income bracket who wants good design and value for money,'' said Sales Director David Hardman.

Although volumes are generally down in the industry at the moment, the Style Furnishings team is confident of growth. Bichard believes the industry's future growth will come from the piece goods sector. ''There are so many variations in trimmings for the window that retailers cannot justify stocking the whole range of readymade accessories,'' he said. ''But you cannot turn the clock back. We now have a society that will pay for what it wants and won't compromise - they are looking for a totally individual look and you can't get that out of a packet.

''Every retailer has a resource for making curtains, so by purchasing meterage and harnessing the retailer's production facilities, end users can create their own unique look,'' Bichard said.

Style Furnishings plan to exhibit at Decosit in 2000 and Heimtextil in 2001.