The Momeni brothers Aria, Reza and Ali have led the company through its expansion into new categories.

CARLSTADT, N.J. - Momeni, founded in NYC in 1975 by Haji Momeni and his eldest son Ed, celebrates its 50th year in business in 2025.

At the time of its founding Momeni was an importer and wholesaler of fine hand-knotted Persian rugs for luxury showrooms across the country.

However, Momeni broadened its approach when Haji’s son, Reza Momeni, alongside his brothers Aria and Ali, introduced the brand's first programmed collections 1990. The addition of programmed rugs accelerated the company's growth and saw Momeni purchase its first warehouse in 1997, which it outgrew in several years. It also resulted in Momeni relocating its Manhattan Rug District headquarters to its current 50,000 sq. ft. executive office and distribution center in Carlstadt, New Jersey. 

The inaugural collections were sourced from around the world with the goal of hitting all price levels without sacrificing quality and style -- a strategy that still defines Momeni's business today across its machine-made, hand-tufted and hand-knotted rugs and its broadloom carpet division.

RugNews.com sits down with Reza Momeni, president, who reflects on the company's past and what's to come.

What have been the most important changes in the industry since Momeni was founded and how did Momeni address those changes?

RM: As other production centers in other parts of the word started to open such as Romania, India and Pakistan the bulk of buying was shifted to such countries and we began broadening our sourcing from hand-knotted Persian rugs to other parts of the world.

And in early 1980 there was a surge of Chinese factories with huge productions centers that were suited to creating program lines from China at a faster speed and with a quality consistency within collections.


The hand-tufted New Wave collection, originally crafted in China and still in the running line, was a major achievement
for Momeni. Shown, NW037

What have been some of Momeni’s top milestones since inception?

RM: New Wave [introduced in 1999 and still in the running line] was a major achievement for Momeni as it was first of its kind by having multiple colors in contemporary and modern styles in variety of designs, sizes and shapes. Department stores, such as Macy’s and May Company, and catalog companies were the biggest buyers of the line and it was considered a breakthrough in the tufted-quality category. As was our Lil Mo, another great collection from China that left our footprint in the kids rugs space.

In mid- to late-90s another turning point was when we entered the machine-made business with collections from Spain, Belgium and later Turkey. Our first machine-made collection, Florence, out of Spain, allowed us to service the growing number of department stores, home centers and mass merchants with hundreds of stores that were requiring consistency of the same collections to be shown in all of their nationwide locations.

Finally, in 2010, Momeni entered the growing category of broadloom carpets to service the high-end design center showrooms and carpet stores that were strictly in the carpeting business and not area rugs.


Momeni entered the broadloom sector in 2010 and continues to invest in the booming category. Pictured is the hand-loomed
Brooks.

How has Momeni been preparing for the next five years and beyond? What are your longer-term expectations?

RM: We have been consistently evolving and adapting to market and consumer needs in both our area rugs and broadloom. And the result has been our consistent growth with top accounts and the ongoing expansion of more lines. We continue to innovate with materials and constructions to stay ahead and continue to surprise our customers with our wow factors. For this reason, we needed a larger warehouse and a state of the art facility to serve growing numbers of categories. In 2020 we opened a new 350,000 square foot distributions center, built from the ground up in Georgia.

Today, one of the most challenging elements of our industry is geopolitics, and as an importer we need to be aware of currency rates, government changes, conflicts, shipping routes, tariff, and more. We have handled such challenges head on and are adjusting proactively to minimize impacts.


Momeni's collaboration with designer Erin Gates has become a customer favorite since its 2017 introduction and its
Orchard collection remains a perennial bestseller. Shown, Orchard 01

What are you expecting in the future?

RM: Our expectations for 2025 and beyond are bright. Our major plans for the year are to lean into expanding our best-selling collections and move with the price points we see working for us. We have also been preparing our next generation of Momeni leaders. Alex [Momeni], Kian [Momeni] and Katy Repetto. Katy has been with Momeni for 20 years, designing and creating beautiful rugs and we are so happy to have Alex and Kian here to move us into the next 50 years.

We have also organized ourselves with a bright young staff, state of the art marketing tools, tapping into social media and making sure we exhibit at the right trade shows, which for 2025 includes COVER Connect Las Vegas and New York, New York Home Fashions Market and High Point Market.

In 2025, we are looking forward to celebrating 50 years of Momeni, stay tuned to celebrate with us at High Point in the spring!


The hand-tufted Lil Mo launched Momeni into the juvenile area rug category and Lil Mo's Whimsy design, above, put
Momeni on the e-commerce map.


Momeni's first licensed line with the Novogratz remains a top-selling line. Pictured is the program's bestseller (DEL-8).


Momeni Basics launched in 2020 and its James collection was a tremendous hit during the pandemic.


Momeni's one-of-a-kind-area rugs remain a favorite with clients looking for fine pieces.


Momeni's color-drenched kilims showcase its fashion-forward approach to area rugs.