Summer 2010 Atlanta International Rug Market

Atlanta’s AmericasMart is a permanent wholesale showroom that is open daily here in Atlanta for the trade only and services the home, rug, gift and apparel markets. The International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and the Atlanta International Rug Market typically run concurrently during the winter and summer markets and most recently July 15 through 18, 2010.

I was fortunate not to have to travel too far to visit the summer International Rug Market last week. Unlike the Merchandise Mart in Chicago [see Elephants, Flooring & Green at NeoCon 2010], AmericasMart is composed of several buildings which are connected by walkways above the street level so on those Hotlanta summer days this is a much appreciated feature.

Four floors in Building 1 are dedicated to the area rug industry.

Even though the floors seemed slow on the second day that I walked the hall, there were a number of rug companies that were moving product as seen by the pallets of rugs ready to be shipped to buyers [see photo below].

Companies such as Karastan expanded their presence at the event with expanded show room space and Concepts International returned to Atlanta.

Among the larger companies such as Couristan, Jaipur, Shaw Industries and Capel, there were smaller family owned companies that are producing beautiful rugs such as Amadi Carpets and Mobayen.

Rugs on display varied from modern and contemporary to antiques and artisanal. Let’s take a company like Renaissance Carpet & Tapestries that produces and designs handmade rugs in all the categories I mentioned above. Their showroom displayed their diversity as well as their newest designs of Tibetan-Nepalese rugs.  Many of these rugs are made in difference parts of the world like Asia, Turkey and Tibet.

[Note: Jaipur and Renaisssance have been long-time exhibitors at DOMOTEX.]

Although I did not encounter a company that solely dealt in Persian rugs, the entire industry will be affected in some way by President Obama’s embargo on all Iranian-made carpets. This Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 will become effective September 29th of this year and will ban all imports of Iranian made rugs.
 

All in all, AmericasMart Atlanta continues to provide a forum for rug producers to display their new collections and meet with prospective buyers in the industry. I will certainly look forward to visiting the Atlanta Rug Market again in January.

Note: You can also check out AmericasMart Blog post titled AmericasMart Recognizes Visual Excellence and Grand Opening, Expansion and Relocation of Showrooms This July with additional perspective on the recent show.

~ Katherine

Katherine León
Director of Sales - DOMOTEX and LIGNA Worldwide Events

Hannover Fairs USA
1170 Howell Mill Road, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404.214.0432
Email: kleon@hfusa.com

DOMOTEX Middle East 2010 Highlights

DOMOTEX Middle East took place this past May 10th through 12th, 2010 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Here are highlights. 

This first picture gives you a sense of what makes this show in Dubai so very unique.  It is of the DOMOTEX Middle East 2010 ribbon cutting ceremony just as the UAE Minister of State, Her Excellency Reem Al Hashemi, cuts the opening day ribbon.  Angela Schaschen, Managing Director of Deutsche Messe Dubai stands to her right.

For the first time, DOMOTEX Middle East was held in combination with R+T Middle East, the Middle East spin-off of the world’s leading show for roller shutters, doors, gates and sun-protection systems. The result was a resounding success with 225 exhibitors from 34 countries.

For more perspective on this show and its success, I invited Ms. Angela Schaschen, General Manager of Deutsche Messe’s Dubai branch and organizer of both shows, to answer a few questions.

KL:  How long has DOMOTEX Middle East been taking place?

Angela: The first edition of DOMOTEX Middle East was launched in the year 2006. The 2010 show was the 5th edition of DOMOTEX Middle East.

KL: How did the show get started?

Angela: It was my vision to launch in Dubai the flagship of DOMOTEX Hannover which is a successful trade show for carpet and floor coverings organised by Deutsche Messe Hannover AG - one of the leading World Trade Fair organisers.

KL:  What makes it unique?

Angela: DOMOTEX Middle East is the only international trade fair for carpets and floor coverings in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. This is an important region of the world which has witnessed immense growth in the construction, hospitality and industrial sectors. Despite global downturn there has been a demand in the requirements and needs of the ongoing projects which are in process of completion in Dubai and our focus is to reach the growing wholesale markets not only in UAE but all over Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and MENA region. Consequently this has created opportunities for the carpet and floor coverings sector.

KL:  How did DOMOTEX Middle East 2010 go?

Angela: The fifth edition of DOMOTEX Middle East maintained its status as the only professional trade show dedicated to carpets and floor coverings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Moreover this year’s exhibition became more attractive due to the combination of DOMOTEX Middle East along with R+T Middle East. Approximately 4,860 trade professionals from the MENA region visited the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre (DICEC) from 10 to 12 May. The trade event targeted wholesalers and retailers as well as decision-makers from construction companies, architects, interior designers, project planners, floor layers and fitters.

KL:  Who exhibits at this show? 

Angela: DOMOTEX Middle East 2010 yet again succeeded in assembling a global selection of leading exhibitors who presented a comprehensive selection of carpets and floor coverings. The majority of the exhibitors were keen to find new business contacts, meet existing clients or partners and further raise their company profile in the Middle East market.

KL: From which countries?

Angela: Exhibitor’s countries of origin regionally comprise of Europe, Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), Far East, Indian Subcontinent and America.

KL: What kinds of products are exhibited?

Angela: A comprehensive selection of carpets and flooring products and services, including hand-made and machine-made carpets; textile and resilient floor coverings; parquet and other wood floors; laminates; ceramic tiles, natural stone floors and marble, floors for sports arenas and sports facilities; fibres, yarns and textiles; application and floor laying techniques and equipment; machinery and technology.

KL:  What are some of the other highlights?

Angela:  Visitors were also treated to practical demonstrations of application and installation systems via Creative Flooring which is a live “how-to” demonstration area, where our visitors could discover how to install mixed material combinations on a variety of surfaces including wall-to-wall carpet, wood flooring, carpet tiles and resilient flooring as well as find out the latest techniques on floor leveling (sponsored by Thomsit – Henkel Polybit) and the use of dust-free sanding and grinding tools (sponsored by Janser). The demonstrations were held by professionals of TAOFS ( The Academy of Flooring Skills) from the UK.

The series of events offered a wide range of showcases, seminars and displays of designer flooring that were attended by architects and designers from across the region. Similarly the APID Flooring Seminar invited high profile speakers to conduct seminars at the DOMOTEX Middle East Designers Corner.

KL:  Based on the success of this show, what's your perspective on the global flooring marketplace?

Angela: DOMOTEX Middle East clearly benefited from the momentum generated by its parent tradeshow, DOMOTEX HANNOVER, in January and DOMOTEX Asia/CHINAFLOOR 2010, which was held in March this year, also recorded high visitor numbers, testifying to a resurgence in the Chinese floor covering sector whilst DOMOTEX Middle East 2010 continues to be a highly attractive destination for global suppliers of carpet and flooring solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Thank you, Angela,  and congratulations on a successful DOMOTEX Middle East 2010!

Have you considered attending or participating in DOMOTEX Middle East?  Do you have additional questions? Please don't hesitate to ask me.

For more information about DOMOTEX Middle East, click on this link to the full 2010 recap document.

~ Katherine

Katherine León
Director of Sales - DOMOTEX and LIGNA Worldwide Events

Hannover Fairs USA
1170 Howell Mill Road, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404.214.0432

Email: kleon@hfusa.com