Nourison anticipates area rug sales at the higher end, such as its successful Prismatic range, to drive at Vegas market and High Point.
SPECIAL REPORT — As many area rug players head to Las Vegas Market, running from Aug. 22-26, they expect the high demand experienced during the first six months of 2021 to continue.
Furthermore, despite a year marked by some major hurdles — show delays and cancellations, shipping issues, staffing shortages, cost increases and renewed COVID-19 surges in many parts of the country — area rug executives expect 2021 to end with banner sales. Yet they are tempering their optimistic outlook for the remainder of the year as the steep rise in the Delta variant could throw a wrench in the best laid plans.
“We continue to have high expectations going into the second half of 2021,” Monty Rathi, COO, Kaleen, said. “The fall and winter months tend to be the busiest time for us. But due to the recent Delta variant, we remain unsure of which direction the market will take — we remain hopeful and continue to push ahead.”
Rathi is not alone in his concerns, and in this exclusive report, RugNews.com discusses the state of the industry with top leaders as they head to a rescheduled summer Las Vegas Market and share their strategies and expectations for the remainder of the year.
“We have consistently exceeded pre-pandemic numbers for all of our markets so far this year,” said Justin Yeck, VP — omnichannel sales, marketing, product development, Feizy, “We expect summer market to continue this trend and anticipate an even stronger fall High Point Market.”
“We have consistently exceeded pre-pandemic numbers for all of our markets so far this year,” — Justin Yeck, VP, omnichannel sales, marketing, product development, Feizy
In fact, area rug sales at Feizy are up triple digits compared to both 2020 and pre-pandemic levels. “Our strong selection of new introductions as well as available stock have driven these strong sales. Our easy-care collections like Wendover and Naples have garnered strong sales and our introduction of Thom Filicia’s new collection has been a hit with retailers and designers.”
As Feizy heads into the last summer 2021 show — with 43 new designs — and looks ahead to High Point Market in October, Yeck adds, “We expect this upward momentum to continue. Clients are still investing in their homes and with delays in product availability those who have product will continue to be sought after.
“We continue to hone our introduction schedule to ensure that we aren’t introducing product until it is on the water to ensure our client's market purchase doesn't turn into a nine month delivery time.”
Feizy expects its new collaboration with designer Thom Filicia to be a hit at Las Vegas Market. Shown, Fenner
Greg Jordt, executive VP, sales and marketing, Harounian Rugs International (HRI), says the rug maker is also poised for another successful market heading to Vegas. However, the company remains cautious as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc domestically and abroad.
“We have no doubt that the second half of 2021 will see a continued increase in demand for not only our performance collections and introductions, but also our new on trend hand-knotted and hand-loomed rugs all in fresh colorations that our customers have indicated they want,” Jordt explains. “The continued challenge for the remainder of this year will be providing a consistent flow of inventory from our overseas suppliers in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Turkey.”
“Based on the very surprising amount of traffic and market orders written at the last April market, we are very optimistic going into this August Vegas market," Jordt says. "We did not expect to have the attendance or the very high ratio of orders written to showroom visits, last April, but as the pandemic continues to morph, the expectations for all future markets remains guarded.”
“We have no doubt that the second half of 2021 will see a continued increase in demand for not only our performance collections and introductions, but also our new on trend hand-knotted and hand-loomed rugs.” — Greg Jordt, executive VP, sales and marketing, HRI
Still, Jordt says 2021 will be among company’s best. “Our business for the first half of 2021 has continued on the growth trajectory that we experienced in 2020, which was one of our best years ever. HRI's continued expansion of collections of various constructions in the performance category has really driven our business growth.”
At machine-made rug specialist Dynamic Rugs, the company keeps the focus on its high-quality fashion offering and expects the closing months of 2021 to continue the success found in the first half or the year.
“The first half of 2021 was great for Dynamic Rugs,” reports Matthew Rouhanian, Dynamic Rugs founder. “Despite the circumstances and obstacles, we saw an increase in business. Our wide diversity of products has led to this increase; our innovative designs have really led the way for a successful 2021.”
Rouhanian says that sales growth has been across retail channels, from mom-and-pop shops, to big box retailers and e-commerce, and also its business to business sales. “Our clients have always wanted the newest designs and constructions and expect the highest quality — they are always looking for diverse and innovative rugs.”
“The first half of 2021 was great for Dynamic Rugs. Our wide diversity of products, our innovative designs have really led the way for a successful 2021.” —Matthew Rouhanian, Dynamic Rugs founder
The company’s summer offering includes 12 new collections, which will focus on trending colorations and styles, in innovative constructions. “We are very happy with our successes so far and are excited for what is to come. Our biggest expectation for the summer market is a higher turnout and we are also looking forward to the holiday season in the second half of 2021. We always see success during that time of year, and we do not expect any differences this time around,” Rouhanian said.
Nourison, too, predicts a strong finish for the second half of 2021. The company will showcase its mid- to higher-end area rugs, including hand-knots, for not only Las Vegas Market, but also for the fall High Point Market. Explains Giovanni Marra, director of marketing & digital strategy, “We expect regional customers to attend summer market on par with attendance we experienced at Las Vegas Market in April. We had a positive first half of 2021, with lower-priced area rugs in the e-commerce channel driving our business. But for the second half of 2021, we expect mid- to higher-priced area rugs to perform better with brick-and-mortar stores.”
“We had a positive first half of 2021, with lower-priced area rugs in the e-commerce channel driving our business. But for the second half of 2021, we expect mid- to higher-priced area rugs to perform better.” —Giovanni Marra, director of marketing & digital strategy, Nourison
And among the showcased designs at the summer edition of Las Vegas Market will be Nourison's latest additions to its uber-popular hand-tufted Prismatic collection.
Likewise, Kaleen Rugs & Broadloom, which celebrates the 25-year anniversary for its U.S. division, is optimistic that the company’s momentum will continue at Las Vegas Market. The company has seen increases across rug product categories, including machine-mades, with outdoor rugs driving that growth.
“For Kaleen, the first half of 2021 has performed exceptionally well. It appears that our machine-made and outdoor rugs have been the driving force behind that success. Everyone was gearing up for spring and summer seasons and we continue to see growth in our major retailers, brick-and-mortar stores, as well as e-commerce.
“Our focus during the Las Vegas Summer Market will lean more toward our high-end rug collections, which include both hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs. We are showcasing our new additions to popular Chancellor and Marble collections, as well as our new LUXE brand, which includes hand-knotted collections of Sikri and Ali. Finally, we will also be featuring our new machine-made broadloom line — Hook & Beam.”
Kaleen is focusing on its higher-end rug collections, including its successful Chancellor assortment. Shown, CHA10-75
Rathi remains cautious, however he anticipates that 2021 sales will outpace 2020, 2019 and even 2018 numbers. He added that while 2020 was rife with challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company experienced a strong rebound for the third and fourth quarters of 2020 and business has been barreling ahead ever since.
“COVID did impact our inventory and our supply chain, which was more unpredictable," Rathi said. "Our product flow was not as consistent as it was before the pandemic. That affected our growth a bit, but we already had committed to inventory in late 2019, and the growth we saw at the end of second quarter 2020 onward was remarkable. We have learned how we could keep up with the supply chain, and we are carrying more inventory now to make sure our 2021 and 2022 won’t be impacted by more disruptions.
“2021 is going to be strong, we already have surpassed our numbers, and will outpace 2019 numbers — no doubt about —and even 2018. Machine-made is going to be the key,” — Monti Rathi, COO, Kaleen
“For 2021, area rug revenues are going to be strong, but we have seen strong neck-and-neck growth in both rugs and broadloom,” Rathi explains. “Machine-made is going to be the key, no doubt about it. Our outdoor rugs are at the top in terms of units, while in terms of dollars, it’s our hand-tufteds.”
Natco Home, a domestic manufacturer of area rugs, which also imports rugs from overseas, will focus Las Vegas Market on its “domestic collections, and in-stock value collections,” says Mark Ferullo, EVP, Natco Home. The company has been an enviable position during the past year and a half, with its ability to manufacture rugs in its Maine facility helping to avoid the supply chain disruptions of imported rugs. “Our buyers want to see newness as well as current success stories that they may not be buying. They also want to see domestic production that can ship quickly.”
“Our buyers want to see newness as well as current success stories that they may not be buying. They also want to see domestic production that can ship quickly.” — Mark Ferullo, executive VP, Natco Home
As a result, Natco, which will showcase 10 domestic collections with hundreds of new designs, as well as 10 imported collections, with a focus on Montville, Clearwater, Adore and Structure. “All of them are machine-made at our domestic manufacturing facility in Maine. These collections were developed around our four best qualities. We added new designs and created a whole new color bank for this season’s introductions.”