The Rug Market Co. expands product, sales team

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/19/2002 2:04:00 PM

Atlanta — The Rug Market Co. unveiled the latest addition to its Cheri Blum license, a jute area rug, and will be adding printed cotton bath rugs this fall.

That introduction will be part of a larger effort to expand into bath rugs and kitchen rugs and is related to the company's strategy to pursue more specialty and big-box business, said president Michael Shabtai. To that end, the Los Angeles-based company has been building its sales team and recently added three new people: Leslie Birk, vp, director of sales; Dale Collins, national sales manager, corporate accounts; and Clarisa Owens, regional sales manager, all formerly of Croscill.

"You don't see a lot of fashion in bath, so we want to introduce that element," said Shabtai. "We have been fine-tuning, and we're ready to go."