QUILTED NORTHERN ULTRA DEBUTS

RICHMOND, Va. -- James River here is introducing Quilted Northern Ultra, a plush version of its Quilted Northern bathroom tissue.

segment of the premium bathroom tissue category. National distribution is slated for 1996.

"If we look at the bathroom tissue category, the premium segment is the segment that's been growing most in the category," said Tony Morakis, marketing director for Quilted Northern Ultra. "Premium is connoted by the softness."

The new line will be priced at parity to the company's existing bathroom tissue, though there are fewer sheets per roll than on regular Northern.

"This is 170 sheets vs. our regular 280 sheets. But it's the same roll size. So the performance per sheet is a lot higher," Morakis said.

Quilted Northern Ultra will be available in four-roll, nine-roll and 12-roll packages. Suggested retail prices for Quilted Northern Ultra are $1.19 to $1.29 per four-roll pack, $4.79 to $4.89 for the nine-roll, "big roll", pack, and $3.59 to $3.79 per 12-roll package.

The line will be rolled out with $14 million in introductory advertising plus $10 million in additional promotional support.

Included in those efforts will be a national door-to-door sampling program. Bags containing literature and a full-size roll of Quilted Northern Ultra will be delivered to eight million homes in selected neighborhoods nationwide.