Feizy’s new Dafney collection features floral patterns in a mosaic of blues, pinks, greens and sandy browns.
LAS VEGAS — Several rug vendors at the recent Las Vegas Market agreed that supply chain issues are improving, and they expect things to slowly get better over the course of the year.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” said Wendy Reiss, Kas Rugs vice president of sales and national accounts. “We have really focused on improving our tracking during the pandemic and have added several people to our customer service team. Right now we are in a good stock position, and our High Point Market introductions from October are in stock now.”
The sample rugs are now coming in on time for both Oriental Weavers, which sources from Egypt, and Karastan Rugs, which sources from both Egypt and China. “This is a step in the right direction,” said Robert Parr, Karastan sales representative, “We are all in the same boat, no pun intended, but most of the industry is facing the same types of delays. We expect it to continue to improve.”
Most of the product for Unique Loom, which sources from Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey, comes into the East Coast ports including Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C. “We aren’t experiencing nearly as many issues as companies that ship into the West Coast ports,” said Carissa Near, Unique Loom account manager.
Mike Kalaty, vice president of sales for Kalaty Rugs, said the company received a great response to the large number of new rug collections shown at this market.
“After experiencing the many challenges and disruptions the rug industry has faced over the past two years, we are thrilled to have introduced such a large number of high-end collections,” said Kalaty. “We have an impressive inventory of these new rugs in all sizes and shapes in stock, ready to ship.”
Justin Yeck, vice president of sales and marketing for Feizy Rugs, said sales for the company have been up triple digits over the past six months. One reason that the company only offers rugs that are either in stock or on the water with a guaranteed delivery date.
“Our business is geared towards designers who make up 80% of our clientele,”Yeck said. “They’ve found that over the past year many customers have revamped a room or purchased a second home and are looking for new rug options so we need to have in-stock items to meet their needs.”
Traffic at the Las Vegas Market was almost back to pre-pandemic levels according to many vendors. “We had some lookers, but we also wrote many orders for items from our new collections,” said Yeck.
Diana Samuels, director of operations at Harounian Rugs International, agreed. “We had several bursts of traffic throughout the week, and people were here to write orders.”
Color and texture
Although Peri is Pantone’s color of the year, Blake Dennard, senior vice president at Kaleen Rugs, said he is finding that “green is speaking to consumers and resonating with them.”
“Many of our most popular rugs are in pastel colors including light blue and green,” agreed Kami Navid, Jaunty Rugs vice president of sales. “I think neutrals will also remain in high demand.”
Gold accents also seemed to be in abundance. “People are looking for touches of gold to add a subtle pop of color,” said Near from Unique Loom. “Texture is also increasingly important.”
Since people are spending more time at home, they want their rugs to have more texture and a cozy feel, according to Cameron Capel, president of sales and marketing, for Capel Rugs.
“They want that soft and welcoming feel under their feet,” she said. “In response to that, we have added several rugs to our Cococozy collections, including two hand-tufted, 100% wool collections made in India. Both collections feature a high low textured pile that uses a mix of loop and cut yarns in various thicknesses.”
Nourison’s senior vice president of sales and broadloom production, Gerard O’Keefe, said sales continue to be very strong for its Prismatic collection, known for its luxurious softness and bright colors. The company added several new additions to the collection that is made with a combination of 100% New Zealand wool and Luxcelle, a silk-like thread found in the cellulose of purified cotton fiber.
PET rugs
With the continued focus on sustainability, several rug companies offered new lines of PET rugs made from recycled plastic bottles.
At market, Capel Rugs received a good response to the new Happy Day, a tufted-loop construction sourced from India featuring 100% recycled PET yarns with an upbeat design in meadow, marble and onyx colorways as part of its Cococozy collection.
“Many of our customers have requested that we add more recycled options to our current lines,” Capel said. “We’ve made a conscious effort to do just that.”
Kas Rugs’ Chloe collection is hand woven in India of PET yarn with no backing. “Many of our retailers ask about our sustainable offerings, and the Chloe collection is easily cleaned with mild soap and water, which makes it a versatile option,” said Reiss.
The new Helsinki line from Jaunty Rugs, with its model of protecting brick-and-mortar retailers by not offering any of its rugs online, offers rich colors and textures made from recycled PET fibers.
HRI International’s Malibu collection is also hand loomed in India from PET yarn, and Oriental Weavers added 10 new rugs to its Bauer collection made with recycled PET yarn.
