Rug vendors: A tough sell here
By Lissa Wyman -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2002
High Point — Exhibiting at the furniture market here is a humbling experience for rug vendors.
"Retailers come here to buy furniture, not rugs. Rugs are only accessories and buyers have only a limited amount of time for us," said Alex Peykar, president of Nourison.
High Point rug showrooms get a fair amount of traffic from department stores, catalog merchants, interior designers and even some rug specialists. But vendors are trying to woo more hard-core furniture merchants.
The furniture business remains one of the most tantalizing — and frustrating — distribution channels for the rug industry, accounting for less than 10% of total rug sales, according to industry estimates.
"The opportunities in the furniture business are virtually infinite," said Jeff Meadows, vice president of the Shaw Rugs division of Shaw Inds. "Our challenge is to educate furniture retailers to the fact that rugs provide high turns and profitability. You can get rich with rugs."
For some vendors, licensing tie-ins with big-name designers is one way to get a foot into furniture store doors. Shaw has Martha Stewart, Kathy Ireland and Tommy Bahama. Nourison has Calvin Klein. Oriental Weavers USA has Raymond Waites and Bob Mackie. Karastan has Ralph Lauren.
"We saw our major customers here, but we also saw some new high-end home accents stores. They were attracted by the Ralph Lauren collection," said Bill Storey, executive vice president of Karastan Rug & Home.
Rug vendors are trying to make it easier for furniture dealers to get into rugs, stressing immediate deliveries and up-to-date styling.
"Rugs don't lag behind the furniture and fabric business any more. In fact, sometimes we are ahead of the curve," said Liora Manne, director of Trans Ocean design and product development. "We study both apparel and home furnishings fashion directions. We have to work with today and tomorrow at the same time."
Only five or six years ago, rugs were content to lag three years behind furniture styling. Rugs shown at market frequently weren't available for six to nine months.
"We've changed our presentation strategy," said Ron Couri, chief executive officer of Couristan. "We no longer test-market items that are scheduled for full introduction a market or two later."
"Rugs are a true accessory and that means instant gratification," said Steve Stultz, vice president of sales and marketing for Oriental Weavers USA. "Retailers don't want to know about anything that's on the water or in a foreign country. They want it right away."
"A rug is the ultimate portable sale," said Mark Ferullo, president of Central Oriental. "It's a natural adjunct to the furniture sale, but with no downside. Damages are virtually unheard of and the consumer can take it home with her."
Because many furniture stores aren't familiar with rugs, vendors can help with merchandising ideas, said J.D. Lineberger, Masland's area rug business manager.
"When I walk through a furniture store, I mentally match up our rugs to the furniture collections on the floor," he said. "Often a store can sell furniture extremely well, but doesn't know how to coordinate the rugs. Understanding how to accessorize furniture is really what the rug category is about."
Reza Momeni, president of Momeni, said coordination is more important than ever. "We do much more research of trend projections now," he said.
Linda Harlow, managing director of Sphinx by Oriental Weavers' hand-made rug division, said she relies on High Point buyers for design directions. "The retailers here are very fashion oriented. We solicit their advise, and then we act on it," she said.
