Buyer's view

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/28/2002 12:00:00 AM

Maria Conrad, area rug buyer, Bloomingdale's

"I'm looking for a lot of bordered looks and solids in the medium to upper-price-point range. I saw some nice rugs at Trans-Ocean, and I also saw some very nice bright coral and peach colorways and Tibetan weave constructions that I liked."

Luis Sandoval, area rug buyer, Burdines

"I liked a lot of the new contemporary looks and Indo-tufted rugs I saw. In general, market had a lot of introductions in contemporary designs with geometric patterns, which fit well with our Florida market. Also, I saw a lot of blends of wool and silk and high-end contemporary looks that I liked."

Ken Petke, global product merchant, soft flooring, Expo Design Center

"I've seen a number of things at Nourison that are great — the Tahoe collection is absolutely excellent and I am looking forward to seeing the Calvin Klein rugs. I also like the new Ganges River collection at Safavieh. I came looking for items for our Bazaar area of foldable and roll-able pick-up merchandise, special buys for our floor platforms and exceptional values between $300 and $900 for 5' x 8' sizes."

Kellie Bliss, buyer, Garnet Hill

"I want texture, colors, reds, blues, nice traditional, contemporary and transitional looks that are high end and come in a wide range of all-natural constructions."

Gary Nickolie, buyer, Kohl's

"I'm here looking for two things: a couple of openings for our all-store assortment; and also some test items of better quality goods of more than $300 for our test stores to see if these items will sell in all of our stores."

Deborah Flannery, senior buyer, Linen Source

"I'm looking for rugs that work in an eclectic environment but have a breadth of feeling and can work well in a catalog. I'm open to all price points and both machine- and hand-made rugs."

Kelly Watson, floor coverings buyer, Macy's West

"I've seen a lot of fresh colors, pale pastels. A lot more seems to be happening in machine-mades in that they seem to be more versatile."

Keith Arlinghaus, floor coverings buyer, Rich's/Lazarus/Goldsmith's

"It seems like the total market was highly focused on transitional and contemporary rugs. For Rich's, that type of rug is a small business, but still a growing segment for us. It's all a matter of shopping the market smartly and knowing what is well worth the while for your customers. I came looking for value price points in the range of $299 to $399, but not much more than $399."

Charlie Furukawa, buyer, The Bon Marché

"We as a department are under-developed in casuals and contemporaries. We want to expand those areas. Modern looks are appealing to a more youthful clientele, our future customer. To get their attention, I'm here to look for room-size rugs between $500 and $1,000."

David Ryan, senior buyer, The Company Store

"I'm looking to expand our assortment with more contemporary and transitional designs. We typically sell a lot of natural fiber and handmade rugs and here I'm investing beyond that with machine-mades and other fabrications."