By Jennifer Quail
NEW YORK–Welspun is crossing categories and banking on a bigger future with the addition of floor coverings to its product roster and a brand-new manufacturing facility to feed the growth.
The first products to come from the new development are bath and accent rugs.
The company arrives at the category’s door with a few advantages: First, there is its history in the bath and overall textiles category. Add to that the new manufacturing plant’s location adjacent to Welspun’s towel factory and there is the benefit of what the company called “constant development commonality.”
“We have major programs with 14 of the top 20 retailers in the world,” said Bob Hamilton, marketing director for Welspun. “So, we had an established contact in the bath arena and many of them had started to ask if we were thinking about rugs.”
Hamilton said the discussions to build a bath rug program began about two years ago and blossomed quickly. To aid the development process, the company brought in Dennis Fein, a veteran in the bath rug business, whose background in the category includes time at both Mohawk and Shaw.
“When I came on about 10 months ago, it was ‘We want to be in the bath rug business,’ ” Fein told HFN. “But that developed into ‘We want to be in the floor coverings business.’ ”
Product-wise, the company has already built on that initial bath rug idea with decorative and accent rugs for use throughout the entire home. For the product overall, the focus has been on the mid to upper end of the market because of the innovation being utilized at the new factory, Fein said, noting the company is using techniques such as laser cutting for the new products. The company’s emphasis was on building a factory that not only stood out as progressive today, but would be viewed as innovative in the year 2020, Fein said. The advantages of such a facility, of course, are the product development achievements that can be played out today.
“Our partners can come to us with ideas and ask how to carry them out technically, and that’s where we’ll really shine,” Fein said.
Rugs in the line are being constructed of both natural fibers and also the synthetic Invista nylon, a strong material for the bath market, but one which the company is also using for some of the decorative rugs as well. Fein said a major advantage comes with the use of Welspun’s own in-house cotton.
While Welspun is presenting product that coordinates directly with its line of towels, the company decided it would not limit itself there.
“We’re aligning ourselves with what the industry is doing,” Fein said. “If a retailer has their own private-label colors, we can dye to match them. But, because we also manufacture the towels, we can bring those new colors to market immediately because we get them when they’re first developed. We don’t have the wait time of seeing what someone else comes out with there. It cuts product-development lead time dramatically.”
The executives said one of the main questions Welspun asked itself when stepping into the floor coverings category was: Does this business need a new player?
“What we’re telling people is: Unless we come in and are innovators, there’s no point. Our mission is creativity and innovation,” Fein said. “With the economy being the way it is, if you’re going to get Mrs. Consumer to part with that dollar, you have to have a value-added perspective.”
Already the company has in excess of 100 bath rugs from which to choose and its accent rug roster is set to grow as well. The products will receive their major launch during the September textiles market, but the company has started to show them to retail clients with the promise of fall delivery.