07192012 Atlanta Market Report #1 Design Trends

Atlanta Market Report #1:
NOT A LOT OF NEW PRODUCTS THIS SUMMER BUT RACE TO THE BOTTOM
IS OVER (P.S.: NOBODY WON)

By Lissa Wyman

ATLANTA -- Probably the strongest sign in the recent Atlanta market was that the race to the bottom of the price barrel seems to be over. (And in case you were wondering, nobody won that event). Several executives told Rugnews.com that retailers are again asking for quality rather than pounding away at price. There is even some renewed interest in hand knotted goods.

Design Trends

With some exceptions, vendors did not introduce a lot of new collections in Atlanta, but the design trends were fairly clear:

• Flat-weaves, flat-weaves and more flat-weaves

• Viscose fiber as a base fiber and also as an accent.

• Colors becoming more subdued

• Continued diversification in pillows, ottomans and small occasional furniture.

• High fashion designs coming into value-oriented prints.

• Loomed Sari silk rugs offer a colorful, contemporary one-of-a-kind story at a moderate price point. 

• Contemporary styles dominate, but traditional looks begin to creep back in.

What the Vendors are Saying

"The Atlanta market was lightly attended, which was typical," noted Hari Tummala, vice president of Kas. But unlike many other rug companies, Kas introduced an unusually large group of rugs for a Summer market.

"Our idea is to bring out a lot of new rugs to stimulate our customers and help them get ready for the Fall selling season.We are focusing on a total package of concept, design and price point," said Tummala.

Michael Riley, president of Oriental Weavers of America, noted  that in today's competitive atmosphere, successful rug producers "have to offer twice the fashion and twice the value in order to come out ahead."

Riley said new product design is a team effort, with input from the company's business, marketing and fashion department.  "Our fashion team analyzes color, design and lifestyle trends and provides valuable feedback for new product development. It's important to have a separate group which approaches this segment of the business from a different point of view."

At Capel, the HGTV star Genevieve Gorder continues to be a driving force in the company's flatweave segment. "Genevieve Gorder is an important part of the new look at Capel Rugs," said John Magee, president. "Capel's marketing is now geared to a younger audience with designs that are suited to modern lifestyles," he said.

"With out new looks in braids, indoor outdoor products and even traditional hand knotted rugs, we are more aggressive than we've ever been," said Magee.

Rafi Amirian, vice president of marketing for Shalom Bros., said the company has introduced a lot of new designs from the medium to high end of the market.

"We are also testing some flat-weave kilims at the low end of the spectrum," he said.

Shalom has long been known as an importer of fine hand knotted rugs. But now the company is loosening up its formal image. "We re-modeled the Atlanta showroom to emphasize more contemporary designs, and we have made the space lighter, brighter, and more inviting," said Amirian. "The trend to contemporary requires a different, updated look for the showroom."

Amirian added that hand-knotted rugs are still a viable product, despite the growth of inexpensive constructions over the past decade.

"If a consumer can afford it, she wants a hand knot. It's a construction that will always represent the highest form of this business," Amirian said.

Momeni offers products at all price points and all constructions, and now the company is turning its attention to customized rugs. Doug Tashjian recently joined Momeni to the newly created post of  manager of the custom program.

The first project was unveiled in Atlanta, and entails a good-better-best program of Indian flat-weaves retailing for $500 to $600 in 5x8; Mexican hand tufted rugs which will retail for approximately $2,00 in 5x8, and Nepalese hand knots retailing at approximately $2,500 to $3,500 in 5x8.

"The program includes a merchandising system with 2x3 samples and it is designed to be user friendly for the retailer, designer and consumer," said Tashjian. "We specialize in reliability and quick production for faster delivery."

This is just the beginning, Tashjian noted.

"We had a very positive response to this program, and we hope to develop more over the coming year," he said.

Amer has been well known for classic handknotted designs, but is also expanding in the hand tufted field.

"Our hand tufted products have the same aesthetic as our handknotted collections, but often they are in wool and viscose rather than wool and silk.  They offer value pricing and quicker delivery," said Monika Gupta, chief operating officer.

Gupta said customers are looking for classic patterns such as Oushak designs in faded tone-on-tone colors such as blue, white and gray. "It's a very subdued and sophisticated look," she said.

Due Process  continues to grow its  Wesley Mancini line of hand knotted and hand tufted products, according to Manny Rivera, customer service manager. Coming up next is a new collection of viscose broadloom designed by Mancini.

"Our flat-weave collection from Windsor Smith is distributed through Kravet and it has received a lot of positive response," said Rivera.

Discussing design trends in general, Rivera noted that contemporary and transitional looks are a growing part of the Due Process assortment. "Traditional still accounts for the greatest number of our products, but contemporary is becoming more important," he said.

At Dynamic, president Matthew Rouhanian said that fashion is shifting direction. In the past two years, we saw a lot of bright colors, now the market is shifting to softer colors such as tangerine, yellows and softer greens. Patterns are also being streamlined in the contemporary category. We are seeing a lot of simple, straight lines," he said.

 Nearly every major rug producer has taken part in the growth of indoor-outdoor rugs, Rouhanian said that rapid turnover is an important part of that business. "The rugs are quite inexpensive and the consumer expects to change out the tugs every two or three years. That keeps sales moving," he said.

Ebisons Harounian has made a commitment to the value-oriented flat weaves with the introduction of Kismet, a new cotton line that is geared to the container business and will retail for approximately $99 in 6x9 size.

"In the current economy, this line is very affordable and it has been very well received. We are targeting it to Big Box stores and to Flash Sale sites, as well as to independent dealers," said Michael Harounian, an Ebisons Harounian principal.

Here's a look at some of the on-trend rugs being introduced this Summer:

Kas  Versailles collection is a drop-stitch wilton-woven construction. Made in Belgium of viscose, it retails at $340 in 5x8.

Genevieve Gorder flat weave collection for Capel is hand loomed in India of wool, $559.

Nourison's Vista consists of a heavy loop pile with floral, paisley and ikat designs.  Made of polyester.  Machine printed and hand carved in China.  $199 in 6x9.
 

Jaipur's flat-weave Maroc collection is indicative of the diversity of the flat weave category. The collection includes modern, ethnic and traditional designs. Made of wool. Hand loomed in India, $330.
 

Soft faded colors with classic design elements are featuredin this pattern from Kaleen's Habitat,  an indoor-outdoor collection made of multiple-ply polypropylene. Hand hooked in China, it retails at $299.


Rizzy's Highland collection is part of the trend to higher quality hand tufted rugs. It is hand tufted in India of premium wool  and retails at $699 in 5x8.

Amer's Ottoman collection is handknotted in India of raw, hand-spun wool for a subtle tone-on-tone effect  $2,599 in 6x9.

The popular soft colors of washed hand knotted rugs are also seen in machine made rugs, such as this Chobi design from Millennium Weavers' Classic Traditions collections. It is over-dyed using the proprietary TexelWeave process combining weaving and printing technology. Wilton woven in Saudi Arabia of 80% nylon/20% polypropylene. $399 for the 5?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?≤?╟??≤3?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?Θ?Ñx7?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?≤?╟??≤7?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?Θ?Ñ. 


Safavieh Spice Market collection consists of patchwork rugs.  Made of over-dyed wool.  Hand sewn in Turkey and Afghanistan.  $1,750 in 5?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?≤?╟??≤7?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?Θ?Ñx7?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?Θ?Ñ10?Γ?≤?≤?╟▄?╝?Θ?Ñ.

7.19.12

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