Nourison expands accent rug division's lineup

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 4/8/2002 12:00:00 AM

SADDLE BROOK, NJ —

Nourison's domestic accent rugs division, the company's youngest and most rapidly growing unit, has become known for its extensive line of handmade washable offerings, and it recently added a fourth construction — the new hooked and carved collection — to its line for launch at April market.

"It really gives the customer an added value for the same price range," Gary Shafran, sales and marketing manager, told Home Textiles Today. "We've now managed to add this value of taking a hooked rug and carving it so that what you get is a very dimensional effect to it."

The new line, made in China, is composed of handmade yarn-dyed washable hook carved rugs.

Bita Peykar, the division's design manager, worked closely with the rug manufacturers overseas to create the new line, which is poised to retail for about $24.99 — the same price as the division's mid-priced offerings.

Nourison's existing domestics rugs already come in three handmade and washable varieties — 2' x 3' hand-hooked washables that retail for $19.99; 2' x 3' Hi-lo washables for $24.99; and 2' x 3' hand-carved washables for $29.99.

The new collection will also target the same customer base — department and specialty stores, Shafran said.

Convinced it will be "a big success," Shafran said, for the initial launch of the hooked and carved collection, Nourison is going full force and making the line available in all of the division's 80 current patterns — 30 existing and 50 new ones being introduced across the line at April market.

"Some of the patterns that look very good with the new hooked and carved construction include our florals and our new apple motif looks, which have been very successful for a while now," he added.

Enhanced packaging efforts for the rugs are being used, Shafran said, so that when folded on a retailer's shelf the label of each rug citing its construction and features can be read clearly by the consumer.