Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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WoodTrac, Kitchen Tune-Up Team Up ARCHBOLD, OH — WoodTrac closet systems and kitchen renovation fran- chise Kitchen Tune-Up have partnered up. With this new partnership, Wood- Trac will be helping Kitchen Tune-Up owners expand beyond kitchens and bathrooms and into closets or other rooms requiring storage solutions. "Our products can be functional in virtually any room of the home," says Jonathan Zublena, WoodTrac director of sales and marketing. "We look for- ward to educating the franchise owners about our products' versatility at the Kitchen Tune-Up national reunion in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this February." Adds Jessica Ruenz, vendor relations and training coordinator for Kitchen Tune-Up, "WoodTrac aligns to our be- lief that updating a home can be a fast, affordable and enjoyable experience without hassle or disruption to one's daily routine." Tile of Spain Reveals Design Trends at CEVISAMA 2016 MIAMI, FL — CEVISAMA 2016, the International Ceramic Tile Fair, recently took place at the Feria Valencia center in Spain. Spain has grown its tile exports, and as a result, Spain is currently Europe's leading ceramic tile producer, and the second largest exporter worldwide. In 2015, Spain's ceramic tile sector sales grew by 6 percent, totaling €3.07 billion. Exports to the U.S. increased by 40 percent over 2014, accounting for 6 percent of total exports. The CEVISAMA 2016 show featured nearly 200 Spanish tile companies. Some of the new product highlights from Tile of Spain are: Alttoglass made from 100 percent recy- cled glass; Alea wall tiles in copper, gold, and silver; the Carpet, Polar and Terre series from Aparici; the Evoque series from Azulev; the Dolmen floor tile series from Ceracasa; the mini collection from Cevica; Equipe's Kite collection; the Inspire series from Ibero; Keraben's Wall Brick collection; the Primary series from Peronda; Realon- da's Andalusi series; the Norfolk series from Roca; Saloni's Carousel collection; the Woodstock collection from Tau, and Vives' Aston collection. Amazon Taps Grohe as Most Improved Vendor at Summit NEW YORK, NY — At its annual vendor summit, Amazon awarded Grohe with the frst ever "Most Improved Vendor of the Year" award, one of three awards given to suppliers. The "Most Improved Vendor of the Year" award is given to the vendor with the most growth in year-over-year sales, an honor received by Grohe out of 65 other vendors nomi- nated in the home improvement category. The awards also spotlighted vendors in two other categories: Furniture, and Lawn and Garden. "Given the size of Amazon's home improvement business and the number of suppliers with whom the company does business, it is an amazing honor to be nominated and se- lected," said Lorenzo Linarducci, v.p. of e-commerce for Lixil Water Technology, the parent company of Grohe. "Amazon is a great partner – the company is nimble, fexible and open to new ideas from their suppliers." Through strategic sales planning, focus on item se- lection, curated content, digital campaigns and working collaboratively with the Amazon team, Grohe's annual sales performance on Amazon grew 500 percent from 2014 to 2015, an unprecedented achievement for the kitchen and bath manufacturer, the frm noted. 14 Kitchen & Bath Design News • April 2016 INDUSTRY UPDATE NOTEWORTHY DEVELOPMENTS IMPACTING THE KITCHEN AND BATH MARKET Circle No. 7 on Product Card