|
45 YEARS AND COUNTING:
SAM PRESNELL SHARES THE RUG GALLERY'S STRATEGIES
On the occasion of the Rug Gallery's 45th anniversary, RugNews.com gets exclusive insights into the Cincinnati retailer's award-winning strategies.
|
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Sam Presnell, owner of the Rug Gallery in Cincinnati, says he got into the business by happenstance. "As I tell everyone, I had nothing better to do at the time," he says. Now celebrating his store's 45th anniversary, the retailer still has nothing better to do. Indeed, one might say few, if any specialty rug retailers do it better. And nothing is done by chance.
RugNews.com sat down with Presnell to discuss his award-winning combination of product, price and one-of-a-kind shopping experience. "We're always looking to improve the customer experience; we are never satisfied. We're always trying to move in new directions, always busy developing," Presnell explained. The goal, he says, is for the consumer to come in and say wow; to create a store unlike any other in the area.
Asked to reflect on changing consumer tastes and shopping patterns over the past four-plus decades, Presnell said, "The ebb and flow of trends is pretty simple: when I came into the business it was very traditional; now it's mostly all modern. Shopping for rugs in department stores and high-end Persian rug stores was popular. Most department stores had beautiful rug departments, but that's declined over the years as has the number of rug specialty stores. Today, big box and internet players are at least as important, if not more so than specialty stores."
When it comes to best sellers from The Rug Gallery's early years through to the present, Presnell said the 717 Panel Kerman introduced by Karastan in 1928 instantly comes to mind. "Last year they updated the Panel Kerman with a grey colorway. Heriz rugs have stood the test of time since we started the business, and Oushaks are still selling well because the colors have been updated."
 |
"We guarantee you will not find the same rug online anywhere in America cheaper than us." -- Sam Presnell, The Rug Gallery |
ENTREPRENEURIAL BEGINNINGS
Starting a 750-foot rug store on the campus of the University of Cincinnati was his best friend's idea for the two to make some money. "My partner had a connection in the garment business. He ripped out the Yellow Pages section of rug importers in New York City and we proceeded to call them," recalls Presnell.
"Ninety-nine percent of them didn't even want to know our names." Instead of selling Persian hand-knotteds, they started at the low-end of the business: cotton rugs selling for $59 and machine-made rayon rugs for $99, as well as wall hangings, pillows, and bedspreads.
This was 1972. And his partner, who left the business after a couple of years proclaiming that it was "never going to make it," would likely not recognize the store he helped start. The privately held company does not disclose annual sales, but the enormous, stand-alone showroom and the feature-rich website are all testament to a thriving business.
On either side of the entry vestibule are local and national awards The Rug Gallery has received over its 45 years.
While Presnell says they never completely left the entry-level, machine-made rug category, The Rug Gallery gradually evolved to include a far wider range of area rugs. Rugs might start at around $5 per square foot, and the selection tops out at $100 per square foot. "It's a real mix," says Presnell.
The showroom is more than 21,000 square feet. Custom built for the company in 1993, it has been redone four times since then to best fit the product assortment -- in fact, the flooring department was just renovated last year.
The Rug Gallery recently renovated its showroom, which includes full-size rugs on swing-arm and ladder racks.
BROAD AND DEEP ASSORTMENT
Presnell estimates there are around 4,000 SKUs available, many of which are represented in 2x2 samples on racks, while other, full-sized, rugs are on swinging arms or ladder racks. The store carries top rug brands, and as a member of the International Design Guild (IDG) offers the buying collective's upscale Louis Dabbieri products for exclusivity in its demographic area. Over the years, Presnell has educated himself about the hand-knotted rug business, and carries a large assortment of handmade rugs. But machine-made rugs account for the most sales in units.
The Rug Gallery offers a selection of 4,000 area rugs and about 6,000 styles of broadloom.
The gallery relies on custom-built or modified displays for all of its merchandise, rather than using the manufacturer-issued fixtures from vendors. "All that does is promote the other guy's brand," says Presnell. "We're all about promoting the Rug Gallery brand."
Thoughtfully curated vignettes throughout the store -- typically around six at any given time -- showcase the area rugs in room settings. When Presnell decided to make the store more visually appealing, he wisely turned to the interior designers who were his clients and asked them to construct the vignettes. "It's treasured property, every six months we ask them to do something new," says Presnell. "And it helps the designers promote their business."
The Rug Gallery displays rugs in carefully curated vignettes designed by local interior designers.
FLOORING SOLUTIONS
In the 1980s, when wall-to-wall carpeting dominated the floorcovering industry, The Rug Gallery also followed suit, developing a department of higher-end carpet that still comprises about one-quarter of the business today. Custom rugs are also part of the retailer's personalized offerings. With its in-house fabrication department, an area rug can be modified to a different size or shape, or a length of carpet can be transformed into an area rug.
The store also dabbled in hardwood flooring in the early 1990s but exited the business after five years. "It was only about 10 percent of our business, but 90 percent of our headaches," reflects Presnell. Recently, however, he's getting back into hard surfaces in the form of luxury vinyl tile (LVT). "It's so good-looking, and it's reasonable [in price]."
What Presnell thinks sets his store apart from the other rug and carpet dealers in his city is service. He offers in-home trials, delivery, cleaning, repair, design services and more.
The Rug Gallery team is known for expertise and service. Sam Presnell (back row center) is flanked by his son, Beau, and wife Arlene above.
And in an effort to dispel the notion that an independent rug dealer will automatically be more expensive than big box or online stores, The Rug Gallery offers a price guarantee: "We guarantee you will not find that same rug online in America cheaper than us," says Presnell. "If you do, we'll give back the difference plus 10 percent, up to $100. We're not the highest price guy out there; we're not here to gouge you." To date, he says, no one has ever taken him up on the guarantee.
Another point of differentiation is the level of knowledge that Presnell and his staff possess, evident on the store's website, which includes a video "virtual tour," an educational blog, and a podcast, voiced by Presnell himself, about the world of rugs.
"You're not relevant if you don't have a website," says Presnell. "But I didn't want my site to just be an online catalog. For me, it's a way I can pass along my knowledge to the next generation. I can't emphasize any other part of your business that is more relevant."
The Rug Gallery displays both full-size rugs and samples in its Cincinnati showroom.
Area rugs receive ample room to show off in the The Rug Gallery showroom, recently updated with LVT flooring.
The Rug Gallery keeps customers coming back by continually updating its assortment to reflect changes in fashion.