NEW YORK—Folia, the freestanding division of P/Kaufmann Inc. which holds the license to distribute Ralph Lauren decorative fabrics has been merged into P/K Lifestyles.
P/K Lifestyles also sells Waverly branded products to the retail trade. P/K Lifestyles specializes in sales of fabrics under $10 a yard.
The move is expected to produce greater efficiencies for P/K and also reflects the reduced demand for the Ralph Lauren brand in general.
Pam Maffei Toolan is Vice President of Design for P/K Lifestyles. She will take over the responsibilities of Christine Kiebert-Boss, Vice President of Design for Folia who has left the company.
Howard Tooter was President of Folia. He is also the brother-in-law of Ron Kaufmann, the Chairman of P/Kaufmann. Tooter is secretary of the corporation and has been with the company since 1979. He is 71 years old.
The change in Folia’s independent status as a separate division also coincides with the departure of Stefan Larsson, the Creative Director from Ralph Lauren Inc., the parent company of Ralph Lauren Home. Ralph Lauren Inc. had an 11 percent sales decline in its third quarter, 2016 according to financial reports.
“There is a diminished demand for fabrics in the market,” one source said. “It’s just not selling through to produce meaningful re-orders,” one source noted.
Typically, P/Kaufmann does not comment on reports or developments like this and the New York corporate offices were closed during the first day of a snowstorm.
NEW YORK—Folia, the freestanding division of P/Kaufmann Inc. which holds the license to distribute Ralph Lauren decorative fabrics has been merged into P/K Lifestyles.
P/K Lifestyles also sells Waverly branded products to the retail trade. P/K Lifestyles specializes in sales of fabrics under $10 a yard.
The move is expected to produce greater efficiencies for P/K and also reflects the reduced demand for the Ralph Lauren brand in general.
Pam Maffei Toolan is Vice President of Design for P/K Lifestyles. She will take over the responsibilities of Christine Kiebert-Boss, Vice President of Design for Folia who has left the company.
Howard Tooter was President of Folia. He is also the brother-in-law of Ron Kaufmann, the Chairman of P/Kaufmann. Tooter is secretary of the corporation and has been with the company since 1979. He is 71 years old.
The change in Folia’s independent status as a separate division also coincides with the departure of Stefan Larsson, the Creative Director from Ralph Lauren Inc., the parent company of Ralph Lauren Home. Ralph Lauren Inc. had an 11 percent sales decline in its third quarter, 2016 according to financial reports.
“There is a diminished demand for fabrics in the market,” one source said. “It’s just not selling through to produce meaningful re-orders,” one source noted.
Typically, P/Kaufmann does not comment on reports or developments like this and the New York corporate offices were closed during the first day of a snowstorm.
