RIEDEL´S BRAND PLANS FOR US

Since acquiring its largest competitor, Germany´s Nachtmann, Riedel has lost no time in making strategic decisions on three of its newest brands: Nachtmann, Spiegelau and Marc Aurel. The main change will be in the Nachtmann brand, which Riedel sees as returning the firm to the tabletop category. Riedel went away from tabletop and focused on wine in the 1980s, but now they are going back into tabletop with the acquisition of Nachtmann. Riedel would like to change the situation in the US whereby it is known for producing glass and crystal for other well-known tabletop brands, such as Lenox and Mikasa, among others, which is about 60% of Nachtmann´s business. To accomplish this, Riedel introduced a "small launch of its first collection" with around 60 items at the Ambiente fair in Germany in Feb/05. The collection ranges in price from US$9-1,000.