Vendors come to grips with changing marketplace
Lissa Wyman, Rug editor -- Furniture Today, July 13, 2009
Since the beginning of the year, I have been talking to a lot of rug people about the future of the industry.
In the early part of the 2009 — when the economy was really grim — rug executives predicted the demise of trade shows entirely. There were too many markets. It was too expensive to rent showrooms. Taking salespeople off the road was counterproductive. Retailers weren't coming to market anyway. So this spring there was a flurry of showroom closings in High Point and Atlanta.
In the past month or so, however, I have noticed a new attitude at every level of the business — from road reps to the presidents of major rug suppliers.
It's not that they have suddenly become optimistic. It's more like they have come to terms with the new realities of the marketplace. They can't be bothered with petty complaining about markets. They are on the much more important mission of completely changing the way they do business.
Rug retailing has changed dramatically in a relatively short time. Only a decade ago, the backbone of the rug industry — and rug markets — was the independent rug or floor covering store. No more.
A few (very few) of the old-line Oriental rug retailers still exist, but their numbers are dwindling. The younger generation is no longer staying with the family business.
The floor covering store channel, meanwhile, is going after the lucrative hard-surfaces wood, stone and marble business.
Department stores also have gone through a very public upheaval. With Macy's (nee Federated) gobbling up much of the competition, department store rug buyers are becoming an extinct species.
Today, it is estimated that well over half of rugs sold go through mass market channels such as big boxes, home improvement chains and discount stores. And the fastest gains in market share are now in the Internet channel.
Today's rug vendors face major challenges. Not only do they have to be realistic about the changing retail scene, they have to create new ways to get their products into the homes of consumers. In short, they are going after a total industry makeover.
I am already seeing progress. I am seeing new approaches to the high-end, designer-oriented business. I am seeing creative uses of the Internet that don't violate existing relationships. I am seeing rug vendors reach out to new channels such as the gift and outdoor furniture businesses.
It takes guts to change the way you do business. The fact that companies are doing it in the middle of a horrible recession makes it even more impressive.
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Diversification the key to rug success in High Point
May 11, 2009 -
Rug industry reborn in High Point this spring
May 10, 2010 -
Real optimism in bloom during New York market
Nov 25, 2010
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