Better than a board game - rugs for the juvenile market

Discount Store News, May 15, 1995

The growth of the juvenile home fashions market has spurred growth in almost every product category except rugs. But that's about to change.

Rug manufacturers are poised to cash in on the Baby Boom generation, which has a penchant for spending their hardearned income decorating their children's rooms.

And retailers, which have devoted more and more space to juvenile bed linens, curtains, wallpaper and accessories, are now making room for rugs--traditionally a difficult product to merchandise and stock.

"It's true that space is a problem," said Kim Phillips Groneck, a Venture spokeswoman, "but juvenile has great potential."

Currently, Venture only sells Mickey Mouse rugs for children--a popular license for the regional discounter because it coordinates with other Disney-licensed products.

"Licensed rugs are great impulse items," explained Gary Lester, co-owner of Pearl Rug Co., a 30,000-sq.-ft. rug outlet in Cleveland. "Our best selling licensed rugs are Thomas the Tank and Barbie's Dream House."

These rugs are part of the new interactive designs for children's rooms. "Children can roll out on the floor and interact with these rugs," said Lester. "For example, Barbie's Dream House is a floor plan of a house. Kids can use their imaginations and set up their own playhouse.

"The other best sellers in the juvenile category are nonlicensed interactive rugs," Lester continued. These are rugs with colorful pictures of roads and racetracks. They are designed like large board games-children can roll their toy trucks on them or play with their dolls.

Besides offering children a safe place to play, these rugs are stain-resistant and affordable. A 3-ft. by 5-ft. synthetic rug retails for under $30.

A HIT AT MARKET

At this April's Home Textiles Market, American Rug Craftsmen rolled out its first set of interactive juvenile rugs. "This is the start of a whole new series for us," said John Azzolino, vice president of merchandising and product development at American Rug Craftsmen. The designs are of town centers with firehouses, gas stations, schools, playgrounds and other buildings.

Racetracks and train tracks, as well as dinosaurs in bright primary colors, are part of the new introductions from Emerem Trading. "Our Teeny Weeny collection is a good core line for us that is experiencing tremendous growth," said Jim Rutt, director of marketing. These 5-ft. by 7-ft. rugs retail anywhere between $89 and $119.

"Generic patterns are popular as long as they are interactive," said Paul Dhuyvetter, vice president of sales and marketing at Beaulieu, which introduced several nonlicensed sports interactive rugs highlighting baseball, football, tennis and hockey activities.

Beaulieu also introduced its first juvenile license, which coordinates with Fieldcrest Cannon's Olympic bedding. Izzy, the 1996 Olympic Games mascot, is featured in nine different sports designs. "These rugs can be cross-merchandised with other Olympic Games merchandise," said Dhuyvetter.

LIFESTYLES

In the adult market, colors were rich and designs broadranging from traditional Orientals to country and contemporary. Popular promotional items that include one 6-ft. by 9-ft. rug and two 2-ft. by 4-ft. rugs focused on value.

"These sets are strictly promotional and are popular at mass merchants and catalogs," said Ted Harvey, vice president of merchandising at Orian Rugs. "Another popular category for us was in our Halloween, holiday and harvest designs. Consumers redecorate for the holidays and that means they also change their rugs. It's a lifestyle design--starting from the floor up to change the look of a room. It's easy to do and the cost is not prohibitive."

A STEP IUP

Keeping price in mind, discounters are taking a chance on handmade, wool and cotton rugs. "This step-up collection offers our customers more options," said Venture's Phillips Groneck.

"We are showing and selling more handmade and hand-carved Oriental-style rugs," she added.

Vivian Russo, director of advertising at Nourison, explained: "Baby Boomers have more discretionary income. They are staying home more and upgrading their surroundings. Price point is a consideration, but they are willing to pay more for quality. We sell a lot of 6-ft. by 9-ft. rugs at $150. The value is incredible. Retailers are trading up because their customers are trading up."

To attract more customers, manufacturers of wool rugs are emphasizing the easy care of their products. "We put this information on the labels that are on the back of our rugs," said Russo. "Also on the label is a bit of history about the rug's design. We want people to know that they are buying something special."

GOING NATURAL

In addition to wool, small size cotton accent rugs are experiencing popularity at discounters. "The growth of cotton rugs among mass merchants is new," said Wade Maples, president of Maples Industries. "Cotton rugs have always done well at department stores, and now they are selling well at discounters."