ATLANTA–Price remains key for new product at the Atlanta International Area Rug Market, which opened yesterday at AmericasMart, and manufacturers have tailored their assortments accordingly.
Cut and loop looks and other details are also prevalent as even product with lower price points have to have added value.
Dalyn added 16 designs to its year-old Studio line of hand-tufted acrylic, with items carrying a $199 price point for 5-by-8’s. The company has moved to a showroom double its previous size and used the extra space to emphasize its custom rug program, where consumers can pick their design and color for a rug that is delivered in two weeks.
Shaw Living expanded its Angela Adams license into printed nylon to offer the bright and bold patterns the designer is known for at a better price point—$289 for a 5-by-8. It targets a different customer than the machine woven designs—which retail for about $739—said Kim Barta, brand manager. The company also premiered its Reflections line of novelty accent rugs with such motifs as a rooster, a peacock, olives and a coffee cup. Shaw previously did many novelty rugs but got away from it, Barta said. Now they’re coming back, but in a more focused approach.
Shaw also showed a new display unit with the company’s first computer kiosk for retailers that don’t have the floor space for full-size rugs. Customers can search a catalog of 5,500 SKUs by style, color or other criteria. Display boards show samples of 68 rugs. The display unit can also be used to train sales associates in the features of the rugs.
828 Trading didn’t come out with “gobs” of new product this market, said Tom Morris, national sales manager. Instead the focus was on “line extensions with proven winners.” The Laguna line features five new transitional designs, which will retail for $299 for a 5-by-8. “People are looking for plain and simple,” Morris said.
Harounian began in machine mades about five years ago to offer a lower price point. At this market, the company debuted shag and plush groups made of poly in Israel. A dramatic group in black and purple designs, Novo shags retail at about $99 for a 5-by-8, while plush Urban designs will sale for about $249.
“You have to cover it all with both high and low price points,” said Rich Siminou, vice president at Harounian, and the new group is “catering to big box retail.”
