Lissa Wyman
ATLANTA — The summer rug market here held few surprises for exhibitors: light attendance, generally moderate amounts of


new product and plenty of time to meet with major customers.

It’s no secret that retail sales have been hurting in recent months, which didn’t help the July event. However, most vendors weren’t downbeat. “Things will pick up in the fall” was the often-heard refrain.

“This time of year, there’s always a downturn at retail,which makes summer markets less upbeat compared to the January events,” said David Moyer, product manager for Mohawk Home’s Mohawk Select line.

Still, the outlook is good for this relatively new segment of Mohawk’s rug business, he said. Mohawk Select bridges the Karastan division’s medium to high price points and Mohawk Home’s value-oriented mass-market line. “We had a big growth spurt last year, and business continues on the upswing this year,” said Moyer.

Couristan CEO Ron Couri said the company set a sales record last year. “This year, we are running 30% ahead of 2012 figures,” he said, adding much of that has come from the booming hospitality broadloom business.

Despite the current softness, Couri is optimistic. “We introduced new collections and new items in existing collection,” he said. “We had a lot of appointments and we saw our major customers.”

At Nourison, Advertising Director Matthew Blitz is ”pretty optimistic” about the season ahead. “We showed a lot of new products, and that helps keep things fresh and interesting,” he said. “Our customers … (were) looking for new things to help get them out of the doldrums.”

Arash Yaraghi, a principal of Safavieh, voiced a similar sentiment: “The feeling is that business is slow at retail. But (that’s} an even better reason to come to market. You’ve got to get new products and shop new sources to get business moving again.”

Satya Tiwari, president of Surya Rugs, said, “Summer market never attracts the same attendance as January, but Atlanta is still the Mecca of the U.S. rug business, so rug professionals were here. We introduced a lot of products, opened a lot of new accounts and we’re advertising a lot, so I definitely see substantial growth ahead.”

Tiwari said the softness at retail can be traced to high gasoline prices and lower consumer confidence, “but we see some signs that confidence is returning. We see a good fall selling season.”

Lee Harounian, a principal of Harounian Rugs International, noted that “traffic is never heavy at summer markets, but we rely on high-ticket, serious rug buyers to attend and to buy.”

At Hellenic Rug Imports, President Steve Mazarakis said the market “was decent because we had a decent number of appointments set up before hand.”

Kami Navid, president of Jaunty Rug, which also set up appointments ahead of time, said, “Retail is slower than last year, but it’s not awful. We’re looking forward to a strong fall.”

According to Jim Thompson, vice president of sales and marketing for the Central Oriental division of Natco Home, keeping new products flowing helps combat seasonal dips. “We had a bunch of new stuff, and the retailers who have fresh products on the shelves this fall will be the ones who come out ahead,” he said.

Bob Kirby, president of newly formed Vinings Imports, said, “We didn’t expect to see a lot of customers at market, but we did see the good ones.”

Some rug exhibitors, meanwhile, have been strengthening ties with key customers through private-label programs of exclusive merchandise.

“Markets in general have become less important to us because we are now working year-round with key customers to give them the products they want when they want them,” said Eric Birnbach, president of Capel Inc. “Our efforts will be directed to developing exclusive designs for every major customer.”

United Weavers also is expanding its private-label programs, said Diane Carleo, director of marketing for the machine-made rug importer.

Private-label lines are being  developed largely because of the growth of catalog and Internet business, she said, adding, “We can’t sell the same things to Internet retailers that we sell to brick-and-mortar stores. By developing individual lines, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Harounian is developing private-label programs for both retailers and furniture manufacturers, said Christy Arnault, vice president of marketing. “The packages include not only designs, but point-of-purchase materials and sales training,” she said. “We want to give retailers salable products and we also want to help them sell it.”