Article Number : 2186 |
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| Date | 8/3/2007 8:56:28 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=2186 |
| Abstract | By Steven Feldman Brooklyn, N.Y.—For the better part of four decades, Kane Carpet was a dominant flooring distributor in the New York metropolitan area. A 1989 merger with an equally dominant Benj... |
| Article | By Steven Feldman Brooklyn, N.Y.—For the better part of four decades, Kane Carpet was a dominant flooring distributor in the New York metropolitan area. A 1989 merger with an equally dominant Benj. Berman was designed to create a wholesale powerhouse, but by 1990 the combined entity found itself sentenced to the past tense forever. Nearly 20 years later, Kane Carpet is doing just fine, thank you, having risen from the ashes in 1994 like the mythical phoenix, reincarnated as a carpet manufacturer/importer. Current owner and founder Herb Frank—the original owner of Stanton Carpet, which he sold to Sy Cohen in 1989—purchased the Kane name, receivables and inventory out of bankruptcy that same year. He liquidated over the next five years and, in 1994, when Frank’s non-compete with Cohen expired, Kane Carpet was reborn and a venerable name returned to the floor covering scene. “Herb’s vision was to make Kane a hospitality supplier,” said Bruce Kurtz, vice president of sales and marketing. “Our first customer was Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, to which we sold several million dollars of Axminster carpet.” Kurtz claims Kane was the first company in the U.S. to work with polypropylene in broadloom. “It was young in rugs at that time,” he said. “What we did was take polypropylene and inject 20% of the product with wool. It was called the Elegant Wovens collection and we did it in black, green, cream and red in 10 different styles.” Imported from Belgium and available in broadloom, runners and rugs, it was the first collection made exclusively for the company. Polypropylene is still the name of the game for Kane Carpet. In fact, polypropylene accounts for 95% of the company’s business, Kurtz said. “When we started in 1994, wool was the game and polypropylene was the pioneer. I knew 95% of consumers buy color and design. So we decided to let the competition have the other 5%, which was the wool business.” The fiber is fueling significant growth for Kane. Kurtz said only five years ago the company was posting sales of just $5 million. “This year we will be right around $40 million.” Why? Kurtz pointed to four factors: 1. Color and design. Kane designs its products to coordinate with the latest home furnishings and hard surface trends. “For example, we take all our patterned carpets and adapt them to work with hard surface,” Kurtz said. “When a consumer buys a wood floor, a piece of beige carpet does not work for her. Today, everyone is into brown and earth tones. We make our own yarn colors in Israel, and the yarn is blended together to create a graining effect like hard surface. The goal is for the consumer to have a very easy design process.” 2. Merchandising. Kurtz noted that Kane’s vision was to take carpet off a sample format and put it on a 24 x 36 board that would tell the entire story, something a cut sample cannot do. “Many of our products have coordinating runners and rugs, and that story can only be told on a board. We were the first to do that in 2002. Now everyone is doing it.” 3. Inventory. Kane stocks all products in Calhoun, Ga., and to accommodate growing demand, the company is in the process of adding 115,000 square feet to its facility, which will give it a 250,000-square-foot space by Thanksgiving. “Many importers do not inventory well,” Kurtz said. “It’s been the biggest complaint of dealers. If there’s a six-week lead-time the dealer can easily lose the sale. Consumers want it yesterday.” 4. Pricing. Kurtz believes Kane’s pricing is probably 15% to 20% lower than the competition on similar products. “We have a partner in Israel that allows us to be not an importer but more of a manufacturer. We have an ownership stake in that company.” The formula seems to be working. Aside from growth with independent retailers, Kane Carpet is becoming extremely popular with the CCA Global stable of groups. Kurtz told FCNews the company is the No. 1 supplier in both product and sales in Liz Claiborne Prestige for Carpet One and is also a major player with ProSource. “We grew more than 75% with ProSource in 2006 alone. We anticipate doing about $10 million with CCA this year.” New for 2007 Kane Carpet is breaking into two new categories for 2007: an indoor/outdoor range called the WearEver Collection and a shag program aptly dubbed the Shag Collection. WearEver launches with 12 designs. “The backing is completely plastic so it can’t shrink,” Kurtz said. The line is UV-treated and is offered in broadloom as well as coordinating rugs. As for the shags, Kurtz noted that this is simply an example of the company asking itself what to do next. “Shags are big, but we are trying to do it differently than everyone else,” he said. “It is an avenue we felt was very much needed because people are gravitating to shags but can’t get color and design that works with home décor.” To that end, Kane continually looks at forecasts in the fabric industry. The line includes a wool, a polypropylene and a “faux silk.” |