Majestic expands machine-made lines

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 3/31/2003 12:00:00 AM

CLOSTER, NJ —

Majestic Rug Co. has signed a lease for its first permanent New York showroom, located in suite 1914 of 261 Fifth Avenue.

At this new 1,944-square-foot space, the company will debut its new line of machine-made area rugs imported from the Far East.

"We are getting into Oriental designs for the first time and expanding our machine-made offerings," Steve Couri, president, said.

Majestic opened its doors more than three years ago as a supplier of handmade accent, scatter and shaped rugs.

Made of either 100 percent cotton or 100 percent acrylic, the rugs retail for about $39.99 at specialty stores.

"We've developed this segment, and we are still very successful with these rugs," Couri said. "But we are always looking for new product that doesn't compete with other stuff out there. That's why we are getting into these very unique machinemade area rugs."

The company first experimented with machinemade offerings six months ago when it launched its test line, the Roma collection, made in Spain, comprised of eight designs of 100 percent wool loop area rugs woven on a wire Wilton that can produce only one rug at a time.

Majestic is now making machine-made area rugs a permanent fixture of its line. Launching at the New York Home Textiles Market is the company's new Shiraz collection — 1-million-point and 1.5-million-point rugs in scatter and area rug sizes made of heat-set polypropylene with a two-ply yarn and a 10-millimeter pile height.

The retail price points are competitive, Couri said, between $119 and $129 for a 5' x 8'. Available in 14 designs, Shiraz targets specialty and department stores.