| COURISTAN LAUNCHES FIRST TUFTED COLLECTIONS; TURNS FOCUS TO HIGHER-END RUGS FOR NY AND HIGH POINT
 Couristan focuses its latest releases on higher-end products, debuting its inaugural hand-tufted designs from the new Super Indo Natural collection and introducing the hand-knotted Zen, shown. |
NEW YORK -- Couristan, which has been positioning itself as a fashion leader across a broader assortment of rug categories, will debut its first hand-tufted range, and returns its focus to hand-knotteds at upcoming fall markets.
For the New York Home Fashions Market, the New Jersey-based company anticipates a strong turnout at its recently opened showroom at 230 Fifth Ave., suite 1010, as it continues to strengthen its position in the market.
"Our expectations are high for the NYC show, due to the number of appointments scheduled and key accounts who have inquired about our trends and latest introductions," said Larry Mahurter, vice president of marketing and advertising. "We are excited about the growth potential that lies ahead for us."
In early 2018, Couristan embarked on its mission to promote its image in the industry as a fashion leader. The company launched several trendy lifestyle collections at January markets and began introducing a series of trend books, and later, trend videos (read more).
The addition of hand-tufted and the revisiting of hand-knotted designs is the next step in that process. "Starting at the September market, we're going to begin introducing some high-end hand tufted and some hand-knotteds," Marlys Giordano, creative director, explained. "We want to go back to being not just known as a machine-made house, but to also go back to our roots and what we started with, which was handmade product."
Couristan introduced the high-end hand-loomed Batam collection in Vegas, with a suggested retail of $649, as part of its effort to diversify its offering.
Couristan, which evolved into being a leader in the Belgian machine-made indoor and outdoor rug market, embarked on a rebranding campaign in 2017 in an effort to diversify its product offering to include a wider range of fashion-driven machine-made collections, introducing such hits as Calinda earlier this year. At the recent Las Vegas Market, where the New Jersey company opened the doors to a new spacious showroom, the rug maker had a positive response to the new Europa, Evolution, Zurich and Nomad collections.
The next step in Couristan's strategy is to introduce its first tufted products and reinvigorate its handmade selection. Currently, about 70 percent of Couristan's sales are in the machine-made category and 30 percent in the handmade, and the company would like to see the proportion of handmade rugs grow, Giordano said.
"We are starting our foray into higher-end product and will be introducing Zen, a new hand-knotted collection in soft contemporary designs," Giordano told RugNews.com.
Couristan will introduce its inaugural hand-tufted assortment called Super Indo-Natural in New York. Crafted of undyed and natural wools, the assortment features an extra heavy and dense, cut and loop pile. The range will likely be priced between $499 and $599. "We already have some collections that are at the $1,699 price point, so hand-knotteds will be anything above that," Giordano said. "Our machine-made pricing runs the gamut. We have a collection that we introduced at Las Vegas for $99 for a 5x8 and they run all the way up to $299 [$359 according to price list]."
Couristan's machine-made textural Halo collection, after a positive reception in Vegas, heads to New York.
"But right now the $99 price is a very important price point to introduce. The internet is huge, so you have to have product that's really driven for online retail." One such internet focused line is Evolution, a collection of updated traditional designs crafted of multi-tufted polyester with an accessible price of $99 at retail.
Couristan also introduced a high-end hand-loomed collection called Batam at the summer edition of Vegas market that was priced at $649 at retail.
"We really want to be known for more than machine-mades," Giordano noted.