Macy’s bedding supplier claims draw scrutiny
A supplier of bedding to Macy’s is under scrutiny in Texas for allegedly misleading consumers about the quality of one of its products.
Sunham Home Fashions markets its four-piece Barrett Collection queen sheet set as having a 1,400-thread count.
Yet a third-party test commissioned by the state’s Agriculture Department found it has a thread count of 505, “which constitutes a materially false, misleading or deceptive act or practice,” the agency said in a July 25 letter.
“TDA has determined the distributor, manufacturer and retailer may have engaged in deceptive acts and practices within the State of Texas,” according to the letter sent to Sunham’s New York office, Sunham Bedding Ltd., and Macy’s, and obtained by Bloomberg.
Thread count is the term for how many threads are in each square inch of material. Broadly speaking, the higher the count, the softer and more pricey the sheets.
Sunham President Jane Bognacki initially said she would speak with a reporter, but then didn’t respond to subsequent voicemails or emails. Macy’s declined to comment.
Vartest Laboratories conducted the test on the sheet set. The state agency, in its letter, called for the companies involved to either stop selling the sheet set or to accurately repackage it to reflect the correct thread count.
As of Sept. 17, Macy’s was still offering the Barrett Collection sheet set, which is made of a cotton and polyester mix. The queensize set has a list price of $200 on
are down, and prices are up.”
Trump said in a separate tweet that tariffs have put the U.S. in “a very strong bargaining position,” with jobs and billions of dollars flowing to the U.S.
Still, a mixed bag of results last quarter left investors wondering if they would see any real benefit from Trump’s trade policies. While Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp. raised its 2018 earnings forecast on Aug. 1 after a better-than-expected second quarter, it gave a third-quarter projection that trailed the average analyst estimate, and kept dividends unchanged.
Morgan Stanley downgraded U.S. Steel late last month, saying the steel market’s cycle peak is “now behind us.”
U.S. Steel shares are down 36 percent since March 1, the worst performance in the S&P steelmakers index. AK Steel Holding Corp., Nucor Corp. and TimkenSteel Corp. are also down in that span.
Other companies have fared better. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the top U.S. iron-ore producer, has surged about 50 percent since the tariffs were announced, while Allegheny Technologies Inc. is up more 7 than percent.
“The group as whole is generally up but are down from their recent peak, and I would argued that’s because hot-rolled steel pricing is now down from the peak,” Clarksons Platou’s Sussman said.