Safavieh, Louis De Poortere Partner on Wool Rugs

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/5/2006 12:00:00 AM

New York —

Safavieh and Louis De Poortere (LDP) of Belgium have partnered to become the exclusive distributors of a distinctive assortment of wool rugs for the U.S. and Canadian markets.

These new collections, produced by Louis De Poortere especially for the U.S. market in conjunction with Safavieh, are set to launch next January during the Atlanta and Las Vegas markets.

LDP “has been a major presence in better stores in North America, and their customers will be pleased to know Safavieh will have stock inventory for immediate delivery with no minimums, as we do with all of our other rug collections,” said Arash Yaraghi, a principal of Safavieh.

Christof Vermeersch, commercial director of LDP, said that Safavieh was selected because its facilities are capable of providing the loyal base of LDP customers with “the highest level of service, and for its ability to permanently stock all skus of wool area rugs in the U.S. Safavieh is definitely the best partner for LDP, especially because we both share the same customer base.”

Vermeersch said that LDP is gearing up for custom collections to be developed specifically for targeted major accounts in addition to running lines — a feat made possible because the company has established production in Romania in a new, joint-venture facility.

“After testing with European customers, we are confident that we can now offer the U.S. market the same quality we produced in Belgium but at lower price points,” he added.

LDP's complete collection will be produced abroad in a fully integrated dyeing, spinning and weaving operation. Yaraghi noted the exclusive distribution “enables us to tap into [LDP's] vast experience in the area of New Zealand wool machine-made rugs...we will gain a presence in machine-made rugs that we did not previously have, and LDP will benefit from our marketing and distribution efficiencies.”