Safavieh names Vlahopoulos senior sales exec

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/13/2011 12:31:07 PM

Port Washington, N.Y. - John Vlahopoulos, a longtime player on the custom and high-end side of the soft floor covering business, is joining the sales force at upscale area rug house Safavieh.

Vlahopoulos is being named senior sales executive, a move Safavieh said comes as part of the company's restructuring and planned expansion of its sales force to more aggressively target independent rug retailers and trade showrooms in major markets across the country.

Most recently, Vlahopoulos served as a sales manager for The Abadjian Collection for 12 years.

"John's experience with Berdj Abadjian, a legend in the field of antique and decorative oriental rugs, is an asset to our company," said Safavieh principal Arash Yaraghi. "John has demonstrated success at establishing the vision and strategies necessary to grow both wholesale and trade accounts, and he is also quite knowledgeable in developing new rug design concepts for clients."

Yaraghi added that Vlahopoulos' strong relationships with American and international customers of high-end rugs will be an asset in selling Safavieh Couture and the new Ralph Lauren collections.

"I am excited about the opportunity to develop and expand Safavieh's brick and mortar account base, and also look forward to serving the trade community," said Vlahopoulos.