Lissa Wyman — Furniture Today,
AT THE MARKET — Safavieh, Abbyson and Due Process Stable Trading Co. are three rug importers

that recently entered the furniture business, and each has a different approach to marketing the two categories.

Safavieh, which has been in the rug business for many years, began wholesaling furniture in 2012. It also operates a string of home furnishings stores in the Northeast, so the company is no stranger to the furniture side of the business. 

Best known for hand-knotted rugs at the high end of the price spectrum, Safavieh over the past five years has expanded to cover machine-made and hand-tufted rugs in the broad middle price range. The company’s furniture lines, which include case goods and upholstery, also cover the middle to high-end segment of the market.

Safavieh has two showrooms in Market Square, located nearly across the hall from one another. The larger of the two spaces offers most of the furniture. Rugs are used as accents to the furniture vignettes, and there also are large-size rug racks in that showroom. In the smaller space, rugs take center stage, with furniture used to accent the rug offerings.

Commenting on the positioning of Safavieh’s furniture, Sales Manager Richard Miller noted that product has an ultra high-end look, but at more affordable price points.

“For the real high-end furniture specialist, it’s an opportunity to offer private-label pieces with the look of branded high-end furniture,” Miller said.

The rugs and the furniture are two separate parts of the business, according to Cyrus Yaraghi, a Safavieh principal. There is a separate sales staff and sales management for each segment. Designs and colors from one category do not necessarily coordinate with the other.

“The rugs and furniture are harmonious with each other, but they are by no means coordinated in a specific way. We believe in blending things, not matching,” Yaraghi said.

“An interior should be designed using a broad mix of products. It shouldn’t be pre-packaged,” he continued. “Certainly, the designs of both furniture and rugs should inform each other, but no good designer these days wants everything to match.”

Safavieh also markets Thomas O’Brien-licensed rugs, and in January will introduce its first Martha Stewart rug collection.

“As we design rugs for these programs, we are aware of what is being done on the furniture side. But we don’t develop rugs that match specific pieces,” said Yaraghi.

Abbyson, a rug importer based in Chatsworth, Calif., also entered the furniture business last year. The company’s newly expanded showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center’s  Design wing allows it to show furniture in High Point for the first time, said Yavar Ra-fieha, vice president of sales and marketing.

“Our retail customers love the fact that we have both categories. It’s especially unusual on this floor,” he said.

The Abbyson showroom is on the third floor of the Design wing, where many other rug vendors are located.
“The furniture is our jumping-off point for other areas of the home furnishings business,” Rafieha said. “We plan to be a huge presence in the design business.”

Abbyson’s furniture and rug lines both are anchored in the middle to high price ranges. “We believe it is important that the two categories are aligned in terms of price appeal,” he said.

While Abbyson rugs tend to be somewhat formal, the furniture has a highly polished contemporary look.
“Beginning in 2014, we will be introducing coordinated furniture and rugs,” said Rafieha. “We will be introducing several new color palettes, including espresso and cherry, that will blend well with our furniture offerings.”

Due Process is a multi-category importer of rugs, furniture, home décor and lighting. Recently, ultra-high-end Arthur Brett, a company which specializes in fine antique reproductions, joined the Due Process family of companies.

Hand-knotted, traditionally styled rugs are being shown for the first time this market at Arthur Brett. The Due Process rugs are displayed with furniture throughout the showroom, as well as on racks along the walls.

“We think a fine hand-knotted rug from Pakistan is a natural complement to a $28,000 reproduction dining table,” said Michael Hayes, director of sales for Arthur Brett. Buyers coming to the Arthur Brett showroom at 330 N. Hamilton St. are showing a keen interest in the rugs, he said.