Rug Market Names Retailers of the Year

Atlanta, GA, July 16, 2008—Area rug and furniture retailers were honored during the July Atlanta International Area Rug Market's  Retailer of the Year Awards ceremony on Monday, July 14, at the Georgia Aquarium.

Presented by AmericasMart and the Oriental Rug Retailers of America (ORRA), the ceremony recognized leaders making a significant impact on the entire industry. The ROY nominees were selected by AmericasMart area rug exhibitors and were voted on by an independent panel of industry experts.
 
The winners were:
• Area Rug Specialist: Albed Rug Company, based in Wayne, Pa. Ray Albed, owner, accepted the award.

• Creative Selling: AJA Rugs, headquartered in La Jolla, Calif. Its presentation was the most outstanding one ever received by AmericasMart.

• Furniture Store: HOM Furniture, of Minneapolis, Minn. Its rug departments and galleries range in size from 3,000 to 17,000 square feet with more than 3,000 rugs.

• Flooring Store: The Carpet Shop, based in Augusta, Ga. It was one of the first carpet specialty stores in the Southeast and has grown to one of the top 100 in the nation.

• Outstanding Merchandising: Elte Carpets from Toronto, Ontario.