"We'll be busy in July as retailers look forward to a very strong fall selling season, " said Mike Thompson, vice president and general manager of the Dalton, Georgia company. In fact, Thompson said the the first half of 2018 will be comparable to the company's stellar 2017 results for the same period. 

"We look forward to strong a Atlanta market because of our new assortment of area rugs." -- Mike Thompson, LR Resources

"The strength that we have seen over the past couple of markets should continue," Thompson told RugNews.com. "Our spring 2017 was the strongest High Point Market we ever had -- we did three times the business of the previous market primarily because of our new introductions. And 2018 looks the same, so we look forward to strong a July Atlanta market, because of our new assortment of area rugs."

For the upcoming summer markets, officially kicking off in Atlanta from July 11-15, LR Resources brings about a dozen new releases for market-goers to browse. That includes seven new designs added to the company's hugely popular Naturals collection of jute rugs. 

"For summer, we put more focus on new designs and colors in our Naturals collection, which has been our flagship product. We have seven designs we are adding to our new Bleached Naturals collection, a range made of  bleached jute with chenille interwoven that are a little more coastal looking."

The Bleached Naturals rugs, in color combinations pairing ivory with colors like blue, cream or taupe are  hand-loomed in India of sustainably-harvested jute with chenille interwoven with a secondary backing. 

Thompson noted that LR Resources has, in the past several years, broadened its assortment to include a wider range of constructions, including its first Wilton weaves. "We are doing really well with a collection called Gala -- it is a Wilton-loomed polypropylene design with cotton weft backing and shorter pile length. Gala has a really nice dense, soft machine-made construction of 16 colors."  This July, LR Resources adds three new updated classic designs to Gala in on-point shades such as a beige multi, wheat multi and navy multi.

 

Many of the styles being introduced by LR Resources continue to focus on the rug maker's take on foundational shades, which includes a return to beige. Thompson noted that consumers are using foundational colors -- or neutral hues -- on walls, furniture and floor, adding in a fashion color via home accents such as pillows.

"When it comes down to it what consumers are looking for, for the most part, they are still doing a lot with grays and moving back toward beiges and taupes. While the accent colors involved with those neutrals can vary -- we are seeing good activity with teals -- the accent colors aren't usually the dominant color. They are used along with the foundation colors," Thompson said.

He noted that that might be one reason for the success of the company's Naturals area rugs, which feature a neutral palette sometimes judiciously injected with colors. "All the color in the Bleached Naturals is in the chenille and we have introduced a lot of different colors to go along with the jute."

What's more, "The pricing is great," Thompson said. "We are right in the middle price range, a 5x8 retails for $349 -- it's not an expensive collection but the way they are made is special. They are not cut and bound like some of the more expensive natural fiber rugs, but are loomed as rugs, so they don't have binding tape around the edges. Plus we have a secondary back which gives stability of design and has other benefits as well."