ROY Awards Highlight 2005 Summer Atlanta Rug Marke
Atlanta, GA, July 20--The July 2005 Atlanta International Area Rug Market, co-sponsored by the Oriental Rug Retailers of America (ORRA), gave retailers an exciting and unmatched selection of merchandise that only the nation’s largest collection of area rug product could deliver.
From July 17-20, area rug and home furnishings retailers shopped the Area Rug Center and discovered thousands of handmade and power-loomed area rugs in every style, at every price point in classic and contemporary styling well suited to any retail environment.
Crowning the summer Market was the 12th annual Rug Retailer of the Year (ROY) Awards. Each July, the ROY Awards salutes outstanding achievement among the nation's premier area rug retailers. All ROY nominees are nominated by AmericasMart area rug exhibitors and are then voted on by an independent panel of industry experts.
A lively crowd was on hand in AmericasMart’s Penthouse Fashion Theatre to recognize and celebrate the winners in the following categories:
Creative Selling: The Mink Companies at Macy’s East (New York, NY)
"Founded more than 60 years ago, the Mink Companies formed a partnership with Macy’s in the mid 1990s...today there are 54 stores in operation from Maine to Louisiana...all customers are treated like guests."
Outstanding Merchandising: American Home (Albuquerque, NM)
"Established in 1936, American Home is today the dominant home furnishings store in the southwest...eight locations throughout Arizona and New Mexico...recently opened American Home Design."
Area Rug Specialty Store: Rug & Home (Gaffney, SC)
"Today serves three states...a handsome store of 70,000 square feet on two floors...furniture and accessories are a burgeoning category for this business...1,000 consumers visit this store weekly...spent more than one million dollars in 2004 on advertising."
Carpet & Rug Specialty Store: Carpets of Dalton/American Home Showcase (Dalton, GA)
"Founded in 1972 as a carpet remnant store...today it is a comprehensive home furnishings campus comprised of four buildings and several hundred thousand square feet of space...a spectacular campus with high ceilings and fantastic visibility…a dominant player in the home furnishings industry."
Furniture Retailer: Baer’s Furniture (Boca Raton, FL)
"Founded in South Bend, Indiana in 1945...opened its southeastern headquarters in 1968 in Boca Raton, Florida…today there are 13 stores...the rug component of store opened just two years ago...will open four additional area rug departments by the end of 2005."
