AMERICASMART HONORS  INDUSTRY'S
TOP RETAILERS WITH ROY AWARDS

AmericasMart's Chas Sydney, left, with winners Dan Holloway, Bill Farr and Donna Farr of The Carpet Shop, Augusta, GA; Jamie Metrick and Abe Jahromi of Elte Carpets & Home, Toronto, and Ray Albed of Albed Rugs, Wayne, PA.

By Lissa Wyman

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Aquarium was the festive setting for the annual Retailer of the Year (ROY) awards and all-industry gala sponsored by AmericasMart and the Oriental Rug Retailers of America.

AmericasMart exhibitors nominated retailers in five retail categories. The finalists were chosen based on the store presentations submitted to the election committee.

This year's winners were:

Area Rug Specialist
Albed Rugs
Wayne, PA.

Creative Selling
Aja Rugs
La Jolla, CA

Furniture Store
Hom Furniture
Minneapolis, MN

Floor Covering Store
The Carpet Shop
Augusta, GA

Outstanding Merchandising
Elte Carpets
Toronto, Canada

...AND A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!

Chas Sydney, senior vice president of AmericasMart Atlanta, left, congratulates Ray Albed, president of Albed Rugs,
Wayne, PA.

Jamie Metrick and Abe Jahromi of Elte Carpets & Home, Toronto. Jamie has been in the family business for less than a year, so the ROY Award was a great introduction to the rug industry!

Karastan folks congratulate The Carpet Shop of Augusta, GA. From left, Lisa Chasteen of Karastan; Donna Farr of The Carpet Shop; Anne Carley of Karastan, and Dan Holloway and Bill Farr of The Carpet Shop. Karastan nominated The Carpet Shop for the ROY Award.

Jeff Portman, president of AmericasMart, welcomes the rug industry to Atlanta and promises great things to come for home furnishings when Mart expansion opens in January 2009.


Lissa Wyman, center, editor and publisher of Rugnews.com, gets together with  Wesley Anderson, left, and Abu-Bakr Khan of Abu Rug & Home in Jamestown, NC.

Kevin Malkiewicz, AmericasMart exec director of leasing for area rugs, with Gary Cissell, merchandise manager for floor covering for Nebraska Furniture Mart, Omaha.

John Murse of Rugs As Art, Sarasota, FL, with
sales agent  Glen Syvertsen.

Lynne Manning, left and Mark Ferullo of Rizzy Rug & Home with Randy Kremer, president of Rugs Direct, Winchester, VA.

Deborah Thornton, left, of Curren Carpet in Vero Beach, FL enjoys the Wolfgang Puck-catered dinner with Momeni sales rep Bert Hall.

07.14.08