In this exclusive market snapshot, RugNews.com surveyed traditional floor covering dealers who are building add-on business with rugs to complement their hard surface installations. In the process, we found that Great Lakes Carpet & Tile in Florida unveiled its first store dedicated exclusively to rugs -- just this week. And that the highly respected rug retailer, Fine Rugs of Charleston, has added luxury vinyl tile and broadloom to its portfolio.
Florida chain Great Lakes Flooring has big plans for rugs.
For years, Great Lakes Flooring, with four locations in central Florida, "dabbled" in the rug business, according to Darren Hearns, president and owner. At the same time, he saw opportunity knocking on the doors of fellow retailers who had made more of a commitment to the category.
"You are either in the rug business or you are not in the business, and we decided we want to be in the business," Hearns said.
On September 26, Great Lakes opened The Rug Gallery, a specialty rug store in the heart of The Villages, the gargantuan retirement development. Hearns' 2,700 square foot store, located in the downtown square area, will stock 500-plus rugs.
"We saw a demand for rugs with the growth in hard surfaces," Hearns said. "We get asked a lot about rugs. We think this location is right; there is a huge amount of traffic there. Instead of consumers going to sites like Wayfair, we want them coming to our store. We feel we can compete. Most people still want to see and feel the rugs, and our customers can take the products home with them. We also have a 24-hour return policy, so we think it will go well."
SAM KINNAIRD'S FLOORING
Sam Kinnaird's Flooring is back in the rug business -- the custom rug business.
Jim Mudd, president/owner of Sam Kinnaird's Flooring, a multi-store dealer in the Louisville, Ky., market, is another mainstream flooring dealer who had downsized his rug presence only to make a comeback. He said he had gotten out of the business of hanging hundred of rugs in his store because "too much was going to the Internet and they were cheap rugs."
However, Mudd recently began a custom rug fabrication business. "It is going through the roof," he said of sales activity. "It is a great business because most people don't do it. We really have done a great job with it."
WORLDWIDE WHOLESALE FLOORING
During September, Worldwide Wholesale Flooring's new website, TheRugCorner.com, is offering 20 percent off all online rug sales.
Worldwide Wholesale Flooring, with three New Jersey locations, is another full-service flooring dealer making a bigger commitment to the rug category. In May, Worldwide Wholesale launched TheRugCorner.com, a site that offers his customers a large array of rugs.
That move has been a boon for business, according to Darren Braunstein, vice president. "We are seeing an increase in units sold of area rugs. In addition, we are selling more and more broadloom as area rugs. In fact, we merchandise all of our stocking carpet in area rug price points that we cut and bind into 6 x 9, 8 x 10, and 9 x 12. Every hard surface floor we install needs a rug on top. Especially after the first scratch."
BAKER BROS
One of Baker Bros' seven locations in the Phoenix area.
Baker Bros is a leader in the Phoenix market on the strength of its quality reputation, which president Phil Koufidakis said allows them to command higher prices for its curated selection. In each of Baker Bros' seven locations, all of which average about 10,000 square feet, a bulk of the space is dedicated to the rug category. "We can carry in excess of 4,000 area rugs in our stores," said Koufidakis, who reports strong sales.
FINE RUGS OF CHARLESTON
Fine Rugs of Charleston on Meeting Street, Charleston, S.C.
The growth in hard surfaces continues to fuel the rug category for many flooring dealers. Even dealers primarily known as rug specialists are expanding into hard surface to seize the opportunity. Rob Leahy, owner of Fine Rugs of Charleston, added luxury vinyl tile from four suppliers to his mix a couple of months ago and says he has already done two jobs with LVT, with rugs complementing the sale.
"We expanded into high-end broadloom in 2008 and that has done very well: most of our work with broadloom is for luxury bedrooms, stairways, and we do a lot of business fabricating broadloom into custom rugs.
"But rugs are driving our business right now, and that's fine with me because the margins are better. What flooring dealers should know is that the same installers they use for broadloom also install LVT -- so it's a really good synergy from that point of view as well.
O'KRENT'S ABBEY FLOORING
The dramatic O'Krent's Abbey Flooring exterior in San Antonio
"Everybody needs a rug," said Sam O'Krent, president/owner of O'Krent's Abbey Flooring in San Antonio. His company is collaborating with Masland Carpets on a custom rug program in which consumers can go to Maslandscarpets.com, design their rug and have it shipped either to the Abbey store or the customer's home. "It's a great business for us."