Mahdavis adds domestic rug production

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Norcross, GA — After moving recently into a new 500,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, area rug supplier Mahdavis for the first time will begin producing its own line of area rugs domestically.

Based here since January when it moved from its former site of about one-fourth the size in Doraville, GA, Mahdavis recently finished setting up two new weaving looms and has two more under construction expected to be up and running sometime this fall. Soon after that, more looms will be added to the facility. The new site is home to Mahdavis' corporate offices, manufacturing plant and warehouse for its imported and domestically produced goods, Shields Smith, evp of marketing, told HTT.

These new looms are producing several collections of polypropylene area rugs in up to 36 designs. The launch of the first line is slated for next week during the Atlanta International Area Rug Show from July 13 to 16 at the AmericasMart.

Because of their woven polypropylene construction, this new line represents a new affordable price bracket for Mahdavis, with a 5' x 8' set to retail for between $89 to $199. Smith said that this new venture represents "bigger business with fewer customers" — a complement to Mahdavis' current approach of somewhat smaller business with many retail partners.