Letter to the Editor:
RUG INDUSTRY TOOK A LEFT TURN;
NOW WE'VE GOT TO CHANGE DIRECTION
By Sy Mahfuz and Steve Boodakian
MERA Consulting Group
We couldn't agree more with Bud Wyman and Melanie Hayim. (Check out Bud Wyman's original editorial by clicking here. Check out Melanie Hayim's letter by clicking here).
As third generation rug dealers, it is obvious to us that the rug industry took a left turn somewhere along the way and now we must correct the course. There was a time when an Oriental rug was the foundation of a room. It was purchased as a quality work of art with future generations in mind.
So, fast forward 50 years and what happened? The embargo took place; India, Pakistan, and China got very good at making rugs; and the market cried out for fashion colors and lower prices.
Quality became less important.
After all, with home decorating styles changing much faster than ever before, the real status came with having an area rug of the right style and color, rather than the highest quality.
What was the result? Oriental rugs, once the bailiwick of Oriental rug specialty stores, are now marketed and sold by carpet stores, furniture stores, big boxes and home centers, which, although savvy in marketing, do not understand hand made rugs and are totally unprepared, and in most cases unwilling, to educate the consumer.
Along with this, the "70% sales?Θ╝VbCrLf not only thrive on an uninformed consumer, but have besmirched the reputation of our profession and the fine product our fathers and grandfathers taught us to value.
While development of new colors, designs and qualities --key to the vitality of our industry -- goes on at a frenetic pace, the legacy of knowledge about fine quality products and how to sell them, at all levels, is being allowed to lie fallow and, in fact, shrivel away.
We are not arguing the fact that there is a huge market for middle of the road but it would be difficult to convince us that the customer who spends $30,000 to $50,000 for a car, $5,000 for a sofa and thousand's of dollars for granite countertops is not willing to spend several thousand dollars for a high quality rug.
The industry at all levels must take responsibility for this phenomenon. We simply haven't done a good job at educating the consumer and making rugs as important a home furnishing purchase as these other products.
The answer is not a simple one, but without educating our industry at all levels and creating excitement about Oriental and area rugs, it cannot get better.
As third generation rug dealers and industry consultants, we are committed to the future vitality of this profession. After all, quoting Doris Blau, an industry icon: ?Θ╝VbCrLfThe rug is the soul of any room.?Θ╝VbCrLf
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Sy Mahfuz
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Steve Boodakian
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| ED NOTE: Sy Mahfuz and Steve Boodakian have been in the sales and service of Fine Rugs and Carpets for three generations and are partners in MERA Consulting Group which focuses on product education and motivation for rug and home furnishing professionals. Mahfuz is the owner of Persian Rug Galleries in Nashua, NH. Boodakian is president of Koko Boodakian in Winchester, MA. 10.13.06 |