New York home fashion market gives the best pictures of trading trends in main retailers
A carpet salesman in the New York Home Fashion Market area, logging customer visits back to pre-pandemic levels, digs deep into the trends driving mass sales to retailers.
Carpet sellers in the New York Home Fashion Market area, where footsteps have approached pre-pandemic levels, expect many carpet destinations that mass retailers are seeking to translate well to the upcoming High Point Market.
In addition, regional executives who attended the New York Home Fashions Market this spring said demand for area rugs has persisted -- a trend they expect will continue at High Point Market, scheduled for April 2-6, 2022.
Bulk shoppers from retailers and e-commerce alike are constantly on the lookout for available rugs and home accessories, and the most popular choices in this category include rugs and print designs - many of which are now available in softer or luxurious designs, natural styles, and eco-conscious designs. . . .
RugNews.com stopped at a New York carpet showroom most were forced to move to a new space in the NoMad neighborhood near the Textile Building at 295 5th Ave. to move after the property discontinued showroom rental renewals in 2019 to study participants in the Main Machine of Carpet Bulk Sales.
Among the carpet showrooms in the relocated area, Oriental Weavers, which now occupies the spacious 11th and 12th floors at 260 Fifth Ave. Occupied, and completed most of the renovations in its new showroom in New York, which opens temporarily in October 2021.
Jonathan Whitt, President of Oriental Weavers USA, is encouraged by the company's appointment in the New York fashion house textile market, which was made easy just a few weeks ago following the post-holiday growth of the Omicron variant.
"Participation is slowly returning to pre-COVID-19 levels," White told RugNews.com. "In October 2021, it was 25 percent of average for the show, and now we are at 40 to 50 percent of normal. So encouraging... High Point looked pretty good, and Vegas turned out great for us, much better than expected. However, people are waiting longer to call because they are unsure about the new jump.
For Oriental Weavers and most of the other vendors surveyed at the New York show, the productivity rug drives mass sales to retailers. "Today, the big story for mass retailers continues to be productivity. Of course, the colors and designs have to be just right, and the softness of the fibers has become important over the last three to four years.