Mohawk Home brings newness to all categories for market

Home Textiles Today Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/19/2011 1:21:10 PM

At the New York Market - Mohawk Home has brought to market several new offerings in all of its key categories - from tufted and woven area rugs to printed varieties and accent memory foam styles through domestic synthetic and imported natural fiber bath rugs as well as broad breadth of door mats.

The tufted area rug segment has been expanded with six to eight new collections that range from opening price point utility through higher-end fashion constructions.
A highlight in this category is the new Embers grouping, which represents an advanced color story for Mohawk in the construction. Instead of the typical tonal looks, the company has achieved a new seven-color program achieved via a newly developed manufacturing concept on a long-used process, explained general manager of bath and area rugs, Bart Hill.

"There are six background colors in the base, and the over-tufted design in the foreground makes the seventh color," he said.

Available in seven patterns and eight colorways, a 5-by-8 Embers rug is set ot retail for $99.

On the woven area rug side, Mohawk is bringing six new collections, including a new woven shag construction dubbed Retreat. A high shaggy loop, this collection builds on the earlier-introduced Intrigue collection but with brighter colors stemming from two new creels.

Hill said both Intrigue and Retreat are noteworthy in that they employ a construction that "we have exclusive rights to." A 5-by-8 is priced to sell for $199.

Also new to the woven category is Highland, which uses a basic woven construction enhanced with a predominately gray creel as well as a variety of yarn textures. It is set to retail for $129 for a 5-by-8.

There are six new collections as well as a variety of new print bases being added to the printed rug category.

"It's is a hot category for us, and this market it's all about color and design," Hill noted.

Complementing the six new collections here are two new color palettes for a total of more than 100 new printed rugs and two to three new textured bases.

In accent rugs, Mohawk is presenting several new memory foam styles to this growing segment.

Speaking of memory foam, the bath department is progressing to "Generation 2" of its memory foam program with several new construction offerings, including prints and shags and other imports.

Natural fiber-made offerings in bath come in almost 50 new styles made of different organic materials, mainly cotton and cotton blends but also other fibers.

Mohawk's own domestically-made bath assortment increases by 20 new nylon collections for market.

Finally, in the doormat category, "we have a lot of new constructions," noted Kelley Moore, general manager of floor mats.

Among these: new abaca-made rugs in a variety of constructions that include new combination of fashion and utility characteristics; new screen-printed looks developed through use of new equipment that allows for more visual interest in color blending and higher color count; a new coir-alternative synthetic product backed with recycled rubber; new landscape-arena outdoor mats; and expanded kitchen looks that center on color and design but also emphasize utility functions and durability.