Don Karlin of Nourison (right) with Alex Markarian of Carpeteria Carpet One in San Diego review the latest Nouritex samples.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Even as hard surface has increasingly dominated the flooring landscape, the flooring industry’s major buying groups understand that presenting a diversified product portfolio best suits their retailer members.

And that, of course, includes rugs — not just those fabricated from broadloom — but traditional area rugs as well.

At CCA Global Partners’ 2022 summer convention in Nashville, Nourison, Dalyn Rug Co. and Canada-based Sun Shine Rug, for example, drew more than cursory interest from the nearly 1,600 retailers who converged on the trade show floor at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. These dealers, representing Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America/Flooring Canada, and The Floor Trader (a cash and carry model) acknowledge that rugs remain a critical piece to home decor.

At the same time, they are careful not to devote massive amounts of real estate to rugs. Which is why Dalyn and Sun Shine, along with Nourison, provided retailers with both rug displays that can easily fit in a showroom space, and best sellers that can complement the hard surface purchase.

Nourison touted its Craftworks by Nourison hand-crafted rugs as well as its Rug Boutique display, a big attraction for CCA retailers. Don Karlin, director of broadloom sales for Nourison, said Rug Boutique is the solution for flooring retailers who don’t want to carry extensive inventory as it allows customers to choose from 100 designs, styles and colors ranging from traditional to contemporary.


Nourison's hand-crafted Craftworks rugs and broadloom assortment remains a top seller.

Karlin explained that flooring retailers are still coming up to speed when it comes to pairing rugs with hard surfaces. “Pairing rugs with hard surfaces is still challenging for some salespeople,” he said. “But most customers that install hard surface flooring wind up buying rugs to soften the space. Many retailers take advantage of that behavior and sell both hard and soft flooring.”

Another busy booth was Dalyn, where swarms of retailers could be seen descending on the space. On the display end, the company was showing Corner Cube, a 4-sided, 18-inch corner spinner that includes 100 top selling SKUs. All SKUs were available in at least 4 standard sizes. The display has a footprint of approximately 8 sq. ft., suitable for even small retail showrooms.


Retailers take a close look at the rugs at the Dalyn booth at the CCA summer 2022 convention.

On the product side, Dalyn’s Kikiamo collection — billed as modern abstract for the floor — was a big hit. Kikiamo is a 1-inch faux fur shag made of 100 percent polyester pile from its Prismatic Color Processing Technology. The technology allows for up to 500,000 shades of color in each rug — all crafted in the U.S.

Sandi Allison, owner of Allison Flooring America, Corpus Christi, Texas, has been a long-time seller of Dalyn rugs. “They are always priced competitively for my market,” she said. “The 5x7s ($167) are always a good standard for us as well as the 8x10s ($335).”
Allison said she was interested in one particular Kikiamo rug, which resembled a kaleidoscope. “Very interesting look,” she said.


Kibbe Waters, regional vice president of Dalyn Rug Co., points out some key features to Jim Fink, CEO, Corter’s
Flooring America.

Retailers seeking distinctive looks also found the Decorative Concepts booth. The mill’s woven vinyl rug for indoor/outdoor applications such as home gyms and play areas, drew interest, according to Steve Roan, vice president of sales. “We sold a lot of displays here,” he said. “Nobody has this product. It’s a good entry for our wool program.”

Called DecoVinyl, the woven vinyl features UV stabilization, is phthalate-free, and provides antimicrobial properties. Roan said the backing system consists of a high density felt cushion called DecoBac, which contributes to its durability. DecoVinyl is offered in 8-feet, 6-inch widths, as well as standard rug sizes.

Another line, DecoWool area rug, is hand-tufted using premium wool. Roan said DecoWool’s luxurious feel will enhance any setting or accent high style projects.


Steve Roan, VP of sales for Decorative Concepts, showcased its offering a decorative woven rug slated for indoor/outdoor
applications.

Sun Shine Rug, which has been a CCA member for six years, showed 17 different collections across 170 designs. The Canadian-based company is looking to make larger inroads into the lower 48, and the Nashville show certainly enhanced that effort. “The U.S. market hasn’t been aware of us, so this is advantageous for us to be here as some suppliers wanted to see a rug supplier,” said Waise Sahel, partner at Sun Shine Rug.

Sahel added that Sun Shine secured several orders on the first day of the show. “We’ve been busy connecting with retailers. We manufacture these rugs ourselves, so we control the costs.” He said their 5x8s range from $40 to $150 (wholesale). “As a retailer you can easily triple your margins on these rugs.”

Sun Shine also showcased its new display systems including a sliding rack system that takes up less showroom space.


Waise Sahel, partner with Sun Shine Rug, said the company sold many orders during the CCA convention.

As for the more traditional companies, Mohawk showed its synthetic rugs made with SmartStrand fiber, with size ranges from 2x3 to 18x18. Karastan, meanwhile, was offering retailers 10 percent off if they purchased 10 Karastan rugs from any of its five collections: Euphoria, Montreal, Epiphany, Axiom and Soiree.