How furniture stores can learn to love (and sell) rugs
Lissa Wyman, Rug Editor -- Furniture Today, April 30, 2007
Why don't furniture stores like the rug business? According to Furniture/Today's Furniture Store Performance Report, rugs account for only a tiny fraction of sales and selling space — both less than 1%. The median number of rug SKUs in furniture stores is 25. On average, the stores carry two rug lines and special orders account for 50% of sales.
That's so pitiful, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Here are 10 ways furniture stores can learn to love rugs:
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Selling props. Most furniture stores feature fully accessorized room settings. If rugs are part of the presentation, you can sell them. They aren't nailed to the floor.
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Add-on sales. One huge advantage for a furniture store is that rugs can be considered plus business. After the furniture sale is made, it takes only one sentence to add more profitability: "How about a rug to go with that?"
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De-mystify rugs. A lot of furniture store salespeople are afraid of rugs. But there's nothing mysterious about rugs as long as you remember to keep the fuzzy side up. Today's rugs are affordable and designed to coordinate with furniture. If salespeople can sell color and design, they can sell rugs.
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Sales training. Ask a rug vendor to conduct in-store sales training. Trust me, they'll fall all over themselves to accommodate your request.
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Give spiffs on rug sales. That'll suddenly make rugs a lot more interesting to your salespeople.
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Don't hide rugs. I've visited a depressing number of furniture stores which show rugs on a forlorn little rack in the back of the store. No one has looked at them in years.
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Make rugs congruent with furniture. If your sofas sell from $500 to $750, don't try to sell $2,000 rugs. And a $600 rug should never accompany a $6,000 dining room.
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Keep the merchandise fresh. If a rug hasn't moved in two months, it's markdown time. Unsold in six months? Kiss it goodbye.
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Try a real rug department. Do you carry 25 rugs and wonder why the "department" is so disappointing? You need at least 100 rugs to be in the business. Rugs should turn at least four or even six times a year. Once you bite the bullet and boost your assortment, profits will billow.
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Partner with a rug store. Maybe you don't want to invest in a full-fledged rug department. Find a local rug buddy. You accessorize his store and he accessorizes yours. I know of several cases where this has been extremely profitable for both partners.
