Surya returns to in-person NY Home Fashions Market with a space at 41 Madison. Shown, from top left,
Bursa 2301, Ariana 2305, Azalea 2305; on the ground, Revere 2300; and Lewis pillow 002
NEW YORK -- Two seismic events -- the sale of 295 Fifth Ave., the historic home of many home textiles and rug showrooms, and the coronavirus pandemic -- are resulting in a dramatically altered landscape for the upcoming New York Home Fashions Market, running from Oct. 4-7, 2021.
New York Market Week, typically a semi-annual gathering of major big box, mass merchant and e-commerce home textiles and rug buyers, returns to its first live show since 2019. But area rug participants say that major retailers still have restrictions on buyer travel as the Delta variant continues to sweep through the nation. What's more, many area rug showrooms which were housed at 295, were forced to seek new accommodations. That coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in several area rug manufacturers putting a temporary hold their leasing plans, if not outright cancelling those plans altogether.
Among the area rug manufacturers bowing out of the upcoming show are former 295 lease-holders Dynamic Rugs, Kalaty, Mohawk Home, Oriental Weavers and more. Others with locations outside of the former Textiles Building that are not participating in the fall 2021 event include Couristan, Feizy, Orian Rugs and Trans-Ocean by Liora Manne.
And most of rug players that will present their latest designs to market-goers have been forced to find new spaces. Several exhibitors have moved to 230 Fifth Ave., another showroom building that had housed Couristan and Feizy, and which continues to be the location for United Weavers of America. Among the fall newcomers to 230 Fifth Ave. are Nourison and YMF Carpets/Creative Home Ideas.
On the flip side, several rug vendors will be showcasing their latest area rug introductions in other spaces, including Loloi and Surya. Loloi took a floor at 260 Fifth Ave., and Surya heads down to 41 Madison Ave., the former hub of tabletop showrooms, in a temporary space. Natco Home relocates from 295 to 411 Fifth Ave. in a new showroom, located on the corner of 5th and 37th. Harounian Rugs International (HRI) also will be open for business at its long-time NY flagship showroom at 104 W. 29th St.
"We have a new showroom in NYC at 260 Fifth Ave., where we take up the entire second floor," said Austin Craley, vice president sales, Loloi. "It will be good to have a NY show back in the mix.
"Since NY is a home furnishings textile market, people aren't just coming in looking solely for rugs. Loloi is fortunate that we offer other categories that fit the needs of those retailers. We will be introducing some exciting new rugs and pillows. It is going to be an amazing show, and the best part is we have stock that can ship now in time for your busy selling season."
Loloi will feature vintage styles, such Margot 02, at NY market in a new spacious showroom at 260 Fifth Ave.
Nourison moved its showroom from 295 to a 5,000 square foot location at 230 prior to the start of the pandemic. New York has historically been a very important event for the company, which showcases area rugs, scatter rugs, welcome mats and pillows during Market Week, so the question of not participating was mute. "There are still a lot of retailers that aren't traveling yet but the buyers who are local and can drive in, will be in New York," Giovanni Marra, Nourison’s director of marketing and digital strategy, said.
"We have tons of new product in New York, which is focused more on the lower-end price points for big box and e-commerce," he continued. Among the scores of NY fall introductions are new washable rugs from the Nicole Curtis Series 1 and Waverly collaborations, and new Calvin Klein designs.
Nourison debuts new washable rugs from the 57 Grand collection by Nicole Curtis. Shown, NCR01-SR102
Like Nourison, New York Home Fashions Market is too important for Surya not to attend. The company had returned to New York in early 2019 with a temporary space in the Prince George Ballroom and then a temporary space at 295, in an effort to capture a larger share of big box, mass merchant and e-commerce business. And despite the market's cancellation of in-person shows in 2020 and the first half of this year, the Georgia company saw sales jump in the mass merchant and online channels, which has continued in 2021.
"We will have quite a bit more sales volume with mass merchant accounts in 2021 than we did in 2020," said Satya Tiwari, president, Surya. "For e-commerce, in 2020 we had ambitious growth targets that were significantly surpassed with a banner year in home. And 2021 will be strong in absolute dollars."
Unlike Nourison and Surya, Dynamic Rugs chose not to participate in the fall 2021 market but does expect to return to the city soon. "We were actively looking for a New York showroom right when COVID hit," said Matthew Rouhanian, founder of Dynamic Rugs. "Obviously we stopped looking but we are definitely going to try and get a showroom in NYC again once things settle down. Our New York showroom was our most used space -- we could take the train up for meetings. When COVID is finally over, NYC showrooms will be back in business."
Feizy, which had participated in the New York Market for years, made the strategic decision to permanently leave that market. "We aren’t planning to show in NY any longer," said Justin Yeck, vice president omnichannel sales, marketing, product development & design, Feizy. "Because we have such strong relationships with our key account buyers, it’s easier for us to bring these people directly to Dallas where they can not only see our operations but view new product in a much more intimate setting.
"There will still be demand to show in New York for those accounts that have a large KA [key accounts] presence." Yeck added that costs continued to climb in New York, so it made more sense for the company to bring KA accounts buyers to Dallas."