By Allison Zisko
Anchor Hocking, a longtime player in the housewares glassware business, is evolving into a full resource company with its sights set on the department and specialty store business.
Anchor has begun to envision a future as a leader in tabletop and food preparation products, said Barb Wolf, director of trade marketing. “We found that, in glass especially, we can be better distributed in department and specialty stores.”
With that goal in mind, earlier this year the company evaluated its product assortment and created a new brand identity that ultimately became Anchor Home, a separate brand more sophisticated and design-oriented than Anchor Hocking, with its own logo and packaging. It then created a cross-category, mixed-material product assortment unique to department and specialty stores. The company studied the price points relevant in the market and developed product to suit those levels. In some cases, Wolf said, it added features and benefits to elevate the price point, while in others areas it was aware of the value proposition needed and developed product and price points accordingly.
Being a design-oriented brand, Anchor Home can play with more material compositions than in the past and showcase its design capability. It is a trend-influenced brand whose looks can then trickle down to Anchor Hocking product lines, noted Shelly Glasgow, director of tabletop.
The Anchor Home assortment was softly launched at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago in the spring and rolled out fully at the New York Tabletop Show in October. It encompasses beverageware; serveware items like cake plates, cake domes, tiered servers and the like; glass and solid-color, embossed ceramic dinnerware; countertop items and bakeware. Items complement each other.
For instance, the Annapolis collection is a complete offering of glass and ceramic dinnerware, cake stands, fountainware and so forth, its broadest assortment.
The glass-and-ceramic combination makes a lot of sense to the consumer, according to Wolf, who said the company did market research to better understand how the consumer uses dinnerware and serveware. It strives to offer “one complete solution,” she said.