FLINT, Mich. -- Don't be fooled by the name: Carpetland Colortile in Flint, Mich., is big -- and getting bigger -- on rugs.
Historically, the 26-year-old store, featuring an 8,000-square-foot-showroom, has focused on carpet, tile and hardwood flooring.
Owner Sidney York said 30-40 percent of the store's recent sales has come from hardwood flooring, which led him to conclude that he was missing out on some important sales potential.
"I want to be the area's specialty store for rugs," York said. "Customers aren't going to cover all that hardwood with carpet; they'll use area rugs. Even if wood slows down, you've got those people that have already bought wood looking for rugs."
The Michigan showroom will have 200 8x11 rugs in store by summer 2016 in an effort to become Flint, Michigan's specialty store for rugs.
York's new strategy sent him to the recent High Point Market in search for new, on-trend area rugs.
"Everyone said I had to go to High Point," York said. "[High Point] was fantastic. I've been going to Surfaces; High Point was more low key. It wasn't rush, rush, rush.
"Vendors there will spend a lot more time with you."
York's High Point adventure was fruitful, too. He ordered over 100 rugs from Karastan. He's getting 40 8x11s plus a dozen outdoor rugs from Loloi. Dalyn is supplying 40 8x11s, and 30 5x8s.
York has added 50 5x8s from Oriental Weavers. And he's carrying 300 12"x12" samples from Surya. Plus, he's looking to add 8x11s from Nourison.
Carpetland Colortile plans to have more than 200 8x11s by the end of the spring.
Before travelling to High Point, York had already added a few 5x8s and 6x9 rugs from Karastan and Surya. Early sales success conveyed to him that he needed to be in stock with larger rugs.
"Customers won't buy the 8x11s if they're not in stock," said York. "The customers don't want to wait." Once he gets all of his large rugs, York is projecting an increase in sales of $10,000-$15,000 a month.
York said that information he gathered from vendors in High Point has helped him with his merchandise mix. For instance, Loloi explained to him that today's consumers are looking to change a rug for something new in three to five years.
"Customers aren't really looking for rugs that cost $5,000 these days," York said. "We'll sell one of those every now and then. Most of the rugs that we're selling are between $129 to $1,200."
York added that transitional styles are most popular at his store.
To publicize his store's move to being a rug specialist, York is displaying two area rugs in the front windows of his store. The well-lit window display, plus a large "rug sale" sign draws attention from drivers-by, especially at night.
"Little by little, with my windows and the fresh, new styles, we're getting more and more customers coming in and asking for rugs," York said.
Owner Sidney York uses a front window display to announce to customers that Carpetland Colortile is in the area rug business.