CUT AND SEW RUGS, OUTDOOR BROADLOOM GAIN TRACTION AT SURFACES 2017
Surfacing at Surfaces 2017 were trends influenced by the rug industry, from outdoor floor coverings to fashion colors, textures and patterns. The influence was apparent at both broadloom and rug company booths.
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LAS VEGAS -- The International Surface Event (Surfaces) is no longer viewed as dominantly a soft surface show, with hard surfaces taking over a much larger area than broadloom did at the 2017 event held at Mandalay Bay from Jan. 17-20.
However, the continued growth of wood and luxury vinyl tile has created a stage for custom cut- and-sew broadloom rug programs and has given suppliers a forum that may not have existed five years ago. Brands like Couristan, Kaleen, Momeni and Nourison, all heavily committed to both rugs and broadloom, had a leg up at Surfaces 2017, benefiting from e-commerce feedback from consumer design and color buying preferences in rugs that carry over into the broadloom sector.
At this year's show, for example, the technology and fashion that drive the booming indoor-outdoor segment of the rug business were evident broadloom offerings, with several companies showcasing all-weather broadloom in a range of constructions from machine woven to handmade. Following are exclusive RugNews.com interviews with eight soft-surface innovators at Surfaces 2017.
KALEEN
Kaleen injected fashion and color into its broadloom introductions, resulting in record booked business at the 2017 Surfaces show.
"Surfaces was incredible for us. We had a huge rollout, and the introduction of so many new products caused a lot of buzz for Kaleen," said to Blake Dennard, senior vice president. Indeed, the company doubled its booked business on day-one of the 2017 show over its total sales for the entire Surfaces event in 2016. "I was really happy with the response. All the right dealers were there."
Two years ago Kaleen took out a 10-foot x 20-foot booth at Surfaces to gauge interest. Since then the company has taken out a larger space each year based on the positive feedback it has received for its handmade broadlooms and cut and sew program.
Kaleen handmade broadloom displays offer a selection that may include indoor-outdoor, new textures, fashion-forward colors and patterns.
Indeed, Kaleen's 2017 Surfaces launch nearly doubled the company's broadloom line. "We came out with 17 new broadloom collections and one line extension. We went from 23 styles to 40, so it was quite a large introduction. We're doing everything from new flat weaves to sweater cable looks and some space dyed yarns to take advantage of that technology in rug programs that have been very well received," Dennard explained.
"We've also introduced some colors you don't typically see in the high-end wool business. Instead of just seeing beige, grey and ivory, you will see navy blue, charcoal, yellow, and a nice soft blue - a lot of fashion in broadloom," Dennard said.
Lauderdale outdoor rugs have been so successful that Kaleen expanded the UV-protected random-shear quality to broadloom. Made from PET fiber, Lauderdale has sustainable and color stories for the consumer. Equally received were outdoor broadlooms Florida and La Perla, which take the sisal look to the next level with all-weather performance.
Striations and random shearing lend a textural quality to Kaleen's indoor-outdoor Lauderdale design introduced in PET rugs in 11 fashion colors in late 2016, and as outdoor broadloom at Surfaces 2017.
Dennard explained that as the allotment of rug space in dealer showrooms has declined in recent years, flooring retailers are taking broadloom products and fabricating them into rugs. To take advantage of this marketing opportunity Kaleen does a full fabricating program for its dealers. "It's a very significant business for us," Dennard said.
Kaleen's Blake Dennard, senior VP, and Kevin Blaine, northern territory manager, flank Richard Schaeffer at Surfaces, where the company named Schaeffer sales rep of the year.
NOURISON
Nourison introduces several fashion broadlooms at Surfaces
Broadloom is a major part of Nourison's business and it showed in the number of collections introduced at Surfaces, including four hand-loomed collections, a first for the company. In total, 100 new styles were launched, and according to Gerard O'Keefe VP Sales, it was a successful show.
"Many of our key customers visited our booth and we also met new prospective customers. There was much excitement around our new introductions and our newly available hand-loomed broadloom styles," O'Keefe told RugNews.com.
A meeting with customers at Nourison's Surfaces exhibit
"Our Nourtex line had a huge refresh and all the new collections were positively received. We also got great interest in our Fifty to Infinity program, in which we craft custom sized area rugs from our high-end broadloom collections," he said.
A best seller at Surfaces and the best-selling broadloom for Nourison at Las Vegas Market, the hand loomed Texture Weave collection features rich colors including teal, bluebell and paprika. Other new hand-loomed broadlooms were Nature Weave, Malibu and Catalina, which is made with heavy cable yarns with subtle luster and striation for an innovative texture.
Nourison's best-selling new broadloom at both Las Vegas Market and Surfaces, Texture Weave is a blend of 60 percent wool and 40 percent viscose.
Another intro, the nature-inspired Terrain Collection is loom woven and made of 100% wool in subtle tones.Other new broadloom introductions included the sophisticated Sands Point Collection in designs called Coastal Plaid, Nature Key and Seacliff.
Brand new Nourtex collections included Euro in Athens and Paris designs, Maxell in Diamond Striae, Max Texture and Vintage Key designs, and Pointview in Jewelpoint and Wavepoint designs.
In the outdoor category, the newest Nourtex Outer Banks collection designs on display showcased neutral colors in classic patterns and textures. Made from fade-resistant polypropylene the in-out broadloom is also available for custom-sized are rugs finished with coordinating bindings.
At Surfaces, Nourison also showed a full complement of merchandising vehicles for Nourison, Nourtex and Hagaman Carpet.
Nourison's indoor-outdoor Outer Banks broadloom collection is offered in custom sized area rugs with coordinating bindings.
COURISTAN
Bayhead, a structured flatweave made from Courtron polypropylene, comes in designs and colors that work equally well in indoor and outdoor living spaces.
According to Ron Couri of Couristan, the company sells "tons of outdoor broadloom" for both glue down or lay over installations or custom sized fabricated rugs. "We do a tremendous quality; people like the easy care and the performance," Couri explained, noting that Couristan offers over 25 different outdoor patterns.
In its highly successful indoor/outdoor Creations by Couristan program, the company's new offerings included Sea Bright, Bay Head and Cape May. All are made from Courtron polypropylene and come in 13.2 dimensions, with multiple color striations for added dimension.
In indoor broadloom at Surfaces, Couristan introduced Lancaster, a tufted loop pile of 100 percent pure New Zealand wool, in 13.2" width in five colors: Shortbread, Heavy Cream, Sand Dollar, Twill and Sahara. Another range debuting at Surfaces was Colebrook, a 100-percent pure wool woven Wilton loop pile carpet in 13'2" width, shown in colors Gunmetal, Frosted Mint, Moondust, Silver Fox, Cornflower, Shortbread.
A detail shows the texture of Couristan's new for 2017 wool Wilton loop pile Colebrook introduced at the Las Vegas Surface show.
A textured neutral broadloom, Couristan's tufted loop pile Lancaster range is crafted of pure New Zealand wool.
MOMENI
The Momeni booth at Surfaces 2017 illustrates the diversity of the company's broadloom offerings.
Patrick and Stephanie Shaw of Momeni's broadloom division were pleased with the show. "Attendance was excellent overall, and the new location for all the carpet people was great," said Pat Shaw, noting that Momeni shows only broadloom at Surfaces, because "it's really not a rug show. We have the World Market Center show for rugs going on at the same time," he said.
One hit of the show was a handmade polyester broadloom called Camelot. Another was a new group of broadloom flatweaves. "Both were received very well," Shaw said.
A Surfaces show best seller at Momeni, the handmade Camelot collection is shown in perspective (above) and detail below.
STEVENS OMNI
Darrell Stevens, president of Stevens Omni, said the company is looking to expand its presence at next year's Surfaces.
"We had phenomenal feedback at the show and have already committed to a much larger presence next year," said Darrell Stevens, president of Stevens Omni, a Mississauga, Ontario-based rug company. "We are looking to expand our presence in the U.S., and this show is a real benefit for us."
Retailers who toured the booth said they were most impressed with Tiffany Silk, which featured a blue/gray pattern that loosely resembled a satellite image of the earth. Stevens said the company was also exhibiting to impress flooring retailers with a display unit that uses pocket slides to display the rugs, thus helping retailers save precious showroom space.
"The display units have been a game changer for us," Stevens said, noting the displays can hold 40 rugs while taking up a much smaller footprint compared with traditional display systems. "These display units are very retail and consumer friendly, and we even sold a few units at Surfaces."
DIXIE HOME
Jared Coffin, vice president-rugs and wool products for Dixie Home: "Rugs gives us an insight into trends."
Jared Coffin, vice president-rugs and wool products for Dixie Home (Dixie, Masland and Fabrica brands) recently launched a custom program to make any size or shape rug from its broadloom offerings. The program has been well received. "Rugs gives us an insight into trends, therefore, it's an important part of our business. We are excited about the new program - it lets a designer flex her muscles."
NANCE INDUSTRIES
Mike Nance of Nance Industries poses with his new rug offerings for Surfaces 2017.
For Nance Industries rugs have always been its bread and butter. "That is really our niche, and you are seeing a lot better growth in rugs," said Mike Nance, principal. "Consumers are taking up soft surface, putting down hard surface and then adding rugs. It works for us."
At Surfaces Nance sought to expand its rug business with new custom made rugs. The company employs two custom rug artists who can create most any design pattern or theme a customer can imagine and make it any size they want. The company does rugs for other suppliers and also sells 3 x 5 rugs to Kroger's and other supermarket chains in addition to flooring stores and Carpet One dealers.
STANTON
Stanton is yet another broadloom company that has made a bigger commitment to rugs because of rugs' natural pairing with hard surfaces. Stanton introduced 125 new products at the show including several woven nylons. Jonathan Cohen, CEO, said the company is continually pushing the design element as a market separator. "Many of our inspirations come from high-end area rugs," he said.