Rug displays at mass offer a variety of style and price - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, Nov 6, 2000 by Mike Duff

Still, not everybody is anxious to boost price point nor can every retailer dedicate space to merchandise enormous hanging rugs.

At Bradlees, rather than hanging room-size rugs, stores mount hanging displays of smaller accent rugs. The coordination fact, however, makes this a more acceptable alternative than it would otherwise be. Fyffe said that Bradlees doesn't believe having the bigger rugs rolled hurts its sales.

As rug merchandising has become more sophisticated, various retailers have taken steps to bring the category more closely in line with its larger goals.

Ames hangs both room-size and other rugs in a presentation that is a department unto itself with multiple aisles of goods and, often, floor displays as well. The company remerchandised the department about three years ago, said Laurie Berger, dmm of domestics and housewares, and continually updates the selection, but Ames isn't looking to get into higher price points.

"Our top price is $99.99 everyday and under $60 on sale. We change the planogram about twice a year because we want to get the fashion in there, but price is important to us, more so than to our competitors. We're always looking for lower price points, and the technology is out there to get that. Our customer has a family income of between $25,000 and $35,000. I want a rug at $29.99," she said.

Kmart hasn't increased its highest price point, said Dowswell, but has expanded its selection in other contexts. "We have added additional mid-tier prices to our assortment, expanding the types and qualities of the product offered. There are some promotional categories within the floor covering department, but the determining factors in customer purchase is style and price range," she said.

While discounters have expanded their rug businesses successfully, it doesn't necessarily mean they can't be left behind later. If you visit Big Three stores, many don't have rugs hanging at all. Target seems to have the most consistent assortment and has room-size rugs on hanging racks, but hasn't updated its fixture package recently.

Of course, those factors can change, especially as Target and Kmart continue to improve their home goods operations. However, as Moyer points out, discounters can't afford to forget about the rug category if they want to enjoy success. He notes that Kohl's has been doing an excellent job in rugs.

Additionally, rugs are an area where off-pricers--apparel sellers who increasingly are becoming more interested in home product lines--may make inroads.

A Kohl's in Oceanside, N.Y., for example, had an impressive array of floor coverings available. Fixtures totaling 72 ft. in length over three aisles included easily accessible folded and hanging rugs. Eight feet was devoted to a fixture that hung rugs on arms that could be slid out for better product inspection, a relatively unique feature. Each rug had a label that gave the price point for the product, several coordinating items and the location of the rolled or folded product.

On the same pad, a Marshalls also offered rugs, although on a lesser scale, with 16 feet of a half aisle dedicated to the category.