European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Everything for the Couch potato and his cocoon  photo Salesman shewing a to lain a moving Dovica Al International House wet Export Luton. By Glenn Collins new Yore times he Couch potatoes arc going lobe cocooning in their families1 pc Sonal oases this year. Exactly whal dons this mean to or. And mrs America Well  could be a motorized spice rack in Iho average consumer s lure. For the of St Lime in history snoopers will to Able to turn off an alarm clock simply by waving 91 in it s so hard o hit is off Button when you re Hall awake and the fragrance Industry has produced a Jasmine scented air freshener to make vacuum cleaner exhaust smell belter. These were the bulletins irom the recent b7th International housewares exposition the four Day Iradel show at the Mccormick rate convention censer in Chicago and while it is easy enough to poke Lun Al some of the Ramie outlandish new products the show was viewed by More than a lev participants As a barometer Eliho american condition indeed As 55,000 merchants manufacturers sales  and other visitors to Iho Nalum s premiere housewares Shew Irod 12 Miles of Melon and Raspberry carpeting past Iho offerings of 2,000 exhibitors displaying 2 million items they were not just browsing. Their product orders will largely determine what americans wiil be Able to buy this year in department stores discount houses and Catalon showrooms. Although con Umer and manufacturers alike have been acc cd by Wall Street s october Black monday and concerns about the falling Dollar and the budget deficit. Many of those attending Iho Trade show had not experienced the dire consequences that had been predicted Lor the s31.3 billion housewares Industry. Retailers reported a delayed but Strong buying surge Kama during the Holiday season. And some believe that housewares manufacturers Are benefiting from Iho climate of economic anxiety in limes of uncertainly Puoplo tend psychologically to gravitate toward Home to their own personal Oasis said Williams. Ripley Iii chairman of the National housewares manufacturers association the show s sponsor. You can say Wricy a cocooning or you can Call them Couch potatoes a use whatever the latest Buzz term is he said. But people Are making the Servos Loel better by making their homa environment As pleasant As while Ripley admitted to hating the term Couch  the Hou Sawarowa Industry has wasted no Lime in capitalizing on it. Prominently displayed at the show was the Ore and Onty Couch potato Mug an official licensed Couch Polato product advised the logo showing a smiling potato sitting on a Couch. The White plastic Mug is fitted with a Blue spill proof cover for potatoes who favor sipping in a reclining position. With its $1.75 retail piece. The Mug like Many offerings Al the show was clearly not a luxury hem but some a the exhibition said the show had a More upmarket feeling than in previous years. There s been a Tot of up sealing this year said Jack Park a sates representative trom Richardson Texas. Ripley linked this to the aging of baby Boomers who Are in two career marriages and have More disposable  they re More demanding and More persnickety he said. And Teller Quality adds to the feel Good nature of these products in makes anxious people feel  beyond this trend them has been a blurring of dear Cut buying habits due to americans new lifestyles and the Trade Straw demonstrated a metamorphosis in retailing said Jay Spaulding president of the housewares Assoc lion. Traditionally Man bought certain things and women bought certain things and now they re crossing the  Spaulding said. We re not seeing the grading of America but rather the straying of America from conventional customs and  retailers Aro straying too. You re seeing discount stores and drugstores soling food products food stores Selling drugs and hardware. And the Cala logs Selling  he said. Part of Iho reason Spaulding said is thai Lime is Al a Premium Lor two career couples and they usually prefer one Stop shopping. But Ripley said the metamorphosis in retailing is also the result of changing roles and changing  men and women Are sharing housework and purchasing responsibilities he said. Working women Are buying things like hardware products. And men Are loading the dishwasher and diapering the baby and they re buying products that women used to  for retailers the exposition was a dizzying festival of household products including close organizers and sweater Shaver s. Crimping Irons and Home illness spas. There were Walls of party Ware. Bake Ware enamelware and Wicko Waro there were aisles of scrubbers scrapers sweepers and polishers there were Towel holders drink holders Napkin holders and even Colice and change holders Lor pickup trucks. There were fragrances scents and sachets. There was u plethora of Potpourri. Perhaps the most Humble indicator of America s growing interest in Home and Hearth is the Boom in refrigerator magnets. The demand in s something you would not  said Perry Upchurch. Founder of a Dallas company Brynnen Barrett. Tho company Sells 300 styles of Clr Iterator magnets including the Urban professional assortment with magnets in the form of a Gold credit card a Button Down shirt Wing tip shoes a Perrier bottle and a rolex watch. When i was a Little girl. I lusted for a Wristwatch of my own my Mother said. When you learn How to Tell time i la buy you a  for weeks. I would sit Al the Kitchen table Wilh two cardboard hands in front of me one Long and Ona Short i d try to figure out when the big hand was pointing toward the sink and the Small was aimed at the refrigerator whether it was 10 minutes Posl 9 or 15 minutes Cloro 2 or another two months away irom a Walch of my own. When i finally got the watch for Christmas it took me so Long to Tell Trie time that in was easier to find a crowd and ask. What time is it and wait for someone to answer. I Haven t worn a watch since. There has been Little in the past 20 years to make me regret that decision. My husband wears a runner s watch. It glows in the dark and tells him about split Limos so he can Pace himself. Ask him what time in is and prepare to grow old. First a has to find his glasses because the numbers Are Small and the face locks like a Kaleidoscope. Then a will study the Laca and say it s 2a.m. Tomorrow in  ii you insist on local time this necessitates looking for a Pencil so he can record and Check his calculations. If you complain about having to go through this ritual every Lime you want to know the time he will Point out thai when he runs into 9 japanese person on the Street one Day who can read the instructions on to to set the Walch he will do so. And if you had something important to do. You should have asked earlier. 11 seems to me that today s watches Are nothing More than status symbols. They Don t loll time. They have calendars Stopwatch unctions alarms games and pagers All built in. There is one Walch that is actually a dictionary and will translate 1.700 words trom English to Spanish. For people who stand around Liming the tour de France or the America s cup race there s a watch for that too. It not Only measures to 1 /20 of a second but there s a device that measures the Speed of the vehicle you re watching. The other Day when i asked my husband the time and got out my Calendar to wait his Arm revealed two watches. One was his japanese runner s watch and the other was a calculator to compute local limes. When aia you going to brer Down and gel your own watch to asked. I m wailing Tor the ultimate timepiece i said. The one that measures blood pressure hashes and stores your credit card numbers dispenses perfume has a curb feeler a burglar alarm and can double As a Flea  can you wait until your birthday next month he s kidding in t to Page 16 the stars and stripes monday february 1,1988