PARAMOUNT RUGS EXPANDING
TO COVER NATIONAL RETAIL SCENE

Paramount's Roshan Bhattarai and Celeste Casale  at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Paramount's new Atlanta showroom.

By Janet Herlihy

NEW YORK -- Paramount Rugs is a 20-year-old rug maker that is rapidly expanding its U.S. designer business to reach a wider retail audience.

With manufacturing  facilities in Nepal and India, the company offers a unique combination of practical production capabilities and innovative design sensibilities that is getting attention in the rug business. 

During the January Atlanta market, Paramount opened its first permanent showroom at the Mart (space 3-C-1) and capped off the market with a win at the Magnificent Carpets Award ceremony.

Paramount's Sabre is a 100-knot Nepalese rug using Tibetan Wool with 40% Chinese silk. In a 6X9, it will retail at about $3,479. The rug won the America's Magnificent Carpet Award in the $46 to $56 per sq. ft. category.

The rug was described by the judges as a “…gutsy design…makes a statement…looks like a Japanese stencil…nice combination of wool and silk textures…matte and shine are good examples of the direction of upcoming trends…”

Buying activity was strong in Atlanta, according to Celeste Casale, who joined Paramount in January as director of sales and marketing. “We sold all the goods from the showroom and a lot of the product we had in New York. “

The Atlanta Market has already provided the opportunity for building new customer relations, according to Casale.

 Nepalese-Based Manufacturer
With New York Headquarters

Paramount was founded 20 years ago in Nepal by Dev Bhattarai and continues today under the leadership of his sons Roshan and Deepak. Roshan  Bhattarai leads the U.S. business from New York City offices, while Deepak oversees operations in Nepal.

The company began its US activities in 2000, selling to the New York design trade. With the appointment of Casal, Paramount is now expanding operations to national retail accounts with the appointment of industry veteran Casale, whose experience includes the role of rug buyer for Heilig-Meyers Furniture and Rug Décor as well as a co-founder of Delos and an executive position with Amer Rugs.

 Expansion in the Future

Since joining the company, Casale has been busy setting up operations in Atlanta for the emerging wholesale business, which will feature programmed collections.

 Paramount’s permanent showroom in AmericasMart  is open on a daily basis under the supervision of Maria King, showroom manager. The company also participates in the High Point market in a showroom in the Suites at Market Square (Space 1-802) A  permanent showroom in Las Vegas will open in January 2009.

 â€œWe are  in the process of putting together the programmed line and designing a catalog,” Casale reported. “And, we’ll be launching a new website and an advertising program in the trades soon.”

The programmed line will be warehoused in a facility in the Cartersville/Calhoun area north of Atlanta, according to Casale. “We are already supplying one of a kind rugs to some national accounts and the programmed goods will be ready in June,” she said. Focusing on the high-end hand-knotted category, Paramount’s rugs will retail from $1,349 to $9,000 in 6x9.

 â€œWe are targeting the high-end consumer, who shops in well-known, established upscale retail stores. That higher-end consumer is not faltering even in today’s economy. They’re still purchasing,” Casale emphasized.

Grata is a 100-knot Nepalese rug using Tibetan Wool
with 80% Chinese silk. Suggested retail is $4,999 in 6x9.

Casale stressed that Paramount offers good values on high end products because the company has its own weaving facilities in Nepal. The company employs approximately 5,000 weavers.  “Every part of the process is done in-house,” she said. " The company uses all- Tibetan wool with a high lanolin content, which produces a very soft hand and all spinning and dyeing is handled in-house," she explained.

Stylized Elephant design is a 200-knot Nepalese rug
using Tibetan Wool with silk and hemp. Retail is approximately $3,599 in 5X8.
 

Because Paramount is vertically integrated, the company can experiment with new techniques and materials such a banana shag quality that was recently introduced, according to Casale. Fibers are taken from the trunk and are then processed producing a rug with a silky hand. The banana shag rugs will retail at $3,700 in a 6x9.

All the Nepalese production is devoted to contemporary and transitional styling in Tibetan weave constructions, while the Indian facility will also produce some traditional styles in Persian hand knotted qualities, said Casale.

Also on tap for July is a custom hand-knotted program that will allow a customer to choose designs and colors through a sophisticated software system.

While Paramount has the ability to produce hand tufted rugs,  the company is not pursuing that business. “We have no desire to get into a price war,”Casale explained. Paramount only provides hand tufted rugs to a customer that wants to buy a proprietary program by the container.

The new Atlanta Market showroom has already proved to be valuable in building a new customer base, according to Casale. Rugnews.com spoke to two retailers who discovered the company in January.

Paramount has the three characteristics that are essential for a rug supplier, according to Ray Maloumian, chief executive of Philadelphia-based Heir-Loomed Oriental Rug Galleries, which operates lease concessions in 15 Robb & Stucky furniture stores.

“The first reason you consider a supplier is that you look at the patterns, colors and qualities  and determine that you can market those rugs successfully,” Maloumian said. “Second is price point. Is it fair and reasonable? The third is the character of the company. Is it one that you think you can work with over the long term?”  Paramount passes on all three criteria, according to  Maloumian.

 â€œWe’ve started receiving the rugs we ordered and have put them into about six retail locations. I have all the confidence in the world that we’ll do well with Paramount,” he stated.

Amy Mir of Mir’s Oriental Rugs, a three-store chain based in Ann Arbor, MI,  also discovered Paramount two months ago at the Atlanta Rug Market. “I’d never heard of them before,” Mir said, “But they had really innovative designs and that’s what drew us into the showroom. It’s so rare to see something truly unique. We are a specialty store that caters to high-end Oriental rug consumers, but our customers are also looking for something different.” 

03.14.08