'New Tradition' Begun At Rug Sales Meet
from Page One)
**'0ntinued
^ions for Fall, 1975 were
' oduced to the group by Mr.
. Displays of the new
surrounded the stage of
*3rge meeting room. In
the new “Oriental
fti!:, *®ns” rugs made at the
|>iteviiie Plant, Mr. Dale
Can'^ styling
jriment and management
(jl 3 bold step in deciding to
t]j complete collection of
tarih'^ Oriental designs in rich
i atones — “today’s most
™tant fashion colors.”
daring styling concept, he
^Wlity to decorate the rugs
Said
Jexi’
»ith
gives homemakers the
hatching broadlooms or to
several of the different
a|o' .signs in a room or
rooms in perfect color
%ony.
Ofi/,a rkin pointed out that the
ijjj *j|al Reflections collection
Kj, previewed by major
stores at the New York
‘'I'll prior to the meeting.
'S' reaction was
C'mous,” he said. “We
dfjj 1,000 percent. Every
who saw the line
aiij ^sed his enthusiasm for it
HjJ'si^ed to be the first in his
to introduce it!”
De^^'Dale then introduced the
»-|,i ^liz Oriental design rug
laul’” been added to the
Karastan collection
produced at Eden. He noted that
this design will have special
appeal to younger homemakers
because of its striking geometric
motifs and rich colorings.
The new, revived version of
the famous “American Eagle”
rug was also presented to the
meeting. Woven of acrylic
yarns, the rug was restored to
the line in recognition of the
Bicentennial celebration.
Mr. Dale then showed
Karastan’s broadloom fashions
for the fall. He noted that the two
new grades called “Allureau”
and “Lumineau,” which feature
ultra-soft, fine nylon yarns, will
be merchandised in a special
new grouping called “The
Intimates” along with the
“Paramour” line brought out
last year. All are products made
at the Laurel Hill plant.
“Intentional Dimensionals” is
another grouping created for
two new broadlooms called
“Design Intrigue” and
“Backgammon,” he said. These
are heavy-duty carpets with bold
geometric designs styled and
engineered for both heavy-duty
commercial use and for active
rooms in the home. Karastan’s
“Progression” carpet will also
be included in this group,
products made at Eden.
Mr. Larkin explained that the
grouping of styles will be a
major new advance in
“conceptual merchandising” for
Karastan which will be
developed in advertising and
display materials for retailers.
This concept is designed to
create new visual interest and
excitement in retail carpet
displays and to make shopping
easier for the consumer.
Mr. Binford gave a review of
the current business climate and
described the important
challenges and opportunities
facing the Karastan sales staff
this fall.
He cited the anticipated end of
fair trade regulations across the
country and discussed its effects
on future Karastan marketing
policies.
He emphasized that every
effort must be made to capitalize
on Karastan’s acknowledged
prestige image and strong brand
identification during this period
to turn the development into
greater sales and profits for the
division.
Using slides to illustrate his
talk, Mr. Binford detailed the
merchandising programs for the
Karastan product line for the
fall. He also cited the growing
importance of Karastan sales to
the contract market, noting that
the division had become an
increasingly important factor in
this field and that the growth
opportunities were virtually
unlimited.
Karastan’s advertising and
promotion program for the fall
was presented by Mr. Grulich.
He unveiled a new concept in
national advertising revealing
that Karastan will be the sole
sponsor of all “News Reports”
occurring on the ABC television
network of over 200 stations.
These are the reports of news
events of such importance they
require interruption of regular
programming. Up to now, these
reports had been unsponsored.
Mr. Grulich then presented a
completely new 30-second TV
commercial which will appear
during the News Reports. It
stresses the quality image of
Karastan — “The first step to a.
beautiful room. Don’t just buy a
carpet. Invest in Karastan!”
This commercial is the first in
a series being prepared for
Karastan by the division’s new
advertising agency, Julian
Koenig Advertising. Mr. Koenig,
president of the firm, who was
introduced at the meeting, is one
of only 10 persons honored in the
“Advertising Copywriter’s Hall
of Fame.”
Besides the News Reports, Mr.
Grulich explained, the new
Karastan commercial will also
appear on a new Saturday
evening network news program
over ABC this fall, starting
September 13 and probably to be
broadcast after the college
football games.
A dealer version of the new
commercial has also been
^Qrastan Receives A.S.I.D. Design Award
p^®ntinued from Page One)
li'ofi^^^ntation was made by
DeHaan, FASID, to
X. Larkin, president of
Diy: Karastan Marketing
who accepted the
i(i(| behalf of the company,
^ Robert V. Dale,
® president of
representing the
■i'' staff.
Ks introduction,” Mr.
kasii'^°'^mented, “Berbereau
iii an outstanding success
of widespread
iesip^’^f>ce by interior
fottil®’'®.’ architects and other
ia specifiers as well as
to homemakers,
today can be seen in
,, X ir
>s
^Cfog '^Portant public buildings
'"aw country, including
3 museum.
he Q
v:,r
Corporate offices, banks
:r
He concept, the design and
Hr„^®.y®lopment of Berbereau
and very important
a natural outgrowth of
look’ in interior
‘‘Th’ pointed out.
"late^j natural look in
"ll ®*s, colors and textures in
\i L®^®Sories of home
Pfodu I'Ogs and building
is a basic trend that has
Joining momentum for
1, years.”
®rbereau, he said,
C aimed at re-creating
\t. ^al Berber colors from
At award presentation, left to right, are Norman DeHaan, prMident of American
Society of Interior Design, Francis X. Larkin, president of the Karastan Marketing
Division, and Robert V. Dale, division vice president of products.
N,
,doi
!'i'th African desert. This
'"Hd /"c by mixing tones of
j’ ^"one and wood with tans.
: "COal UlUWiis,
Sar blacks in the
Itapg ® '’f 100 percent acrylic.
JOligp .^0*1 colorists went a step
simulating the native
In, ^ look by developing a
JULY H, 197.0
'6s
grays, browns.
“homespun” effect in the fabric.
This was achieved by blending
accent tones in the carding of the
acrylic tones.
Also, Karastan’s designers
created a “handcrafted” look in
the carpet which is actually
woven on the mill’s own Kara-
loc loom. This was accomplished
by weaving a “bas-relief”
geometric design in the thick
surface through varied pile
heights of the bulky looped
yarns.
Berbereau’s widespread ap
peal among contract specifiers
is based on the carpet’s style and
also its rugged construction, Mr.
Dale commented. “The pile of
Creslan acrylic yarns is ultra-
dense and extra-heavy so that it
can withstand a great deal of
foot traffic.”
Since its introduction.
Berbereau has been widely
specified for a number of
important buildings. The carpet
has been installed in the
headquarters of Ingersoll Rand
in Liberty Corners, N.J.
It is also featured in the
Algemene Bank Nederland and
a Marine Midland Bank in Man
hattan as well as the offices of
the Bethlehem Steel Corp. and
Oxford Industries, in New York.
prepared and will be made
available to all Karastan
retailers who will be able to add
their own store messages for
local broadcasting.
Utilizing slides, Mr. Grulich
also showed a new “Action
Package” developed for all
Karastan dealers. The boxed
package contains a series of
folders with all the materials
necessary to help dealers
prepare their merchandising,
advertising and promotion
programs for the Fall.
This includes planning
calendars, suggested retail
advertising for all the new
grades plus special promotion
advertising on selected carpet
grades.’
A report on the current
production situation at all the
mills was given by Mr. Kitchens.
Important factors affecting
pricing and deliveries were
explained in detail.
On the second day of the sales
meeting, Mr. Pearlman and Mr.
Eggleston led a discussion of the
legal ramifications of the end of
Fair Trade, which was followed
by a question-and-answer period
with the staff.
A presentation of retail
account analysis was chaired by
George H. Kim and Edward J.
McRae, Eastern and Western
sales managers, respectively.
The session illustrated how the
sales staff can develop
comprehensive profiles of each
of their retail accounts to help
plan effective merchandising
and sales programs in all
markets.
Brad Sharts, national contract
sales manager, led a discussion
on the important commercial
carpet market in the third day’s
session. Mr. Guinan, whose
experience in the contract field
goes back many years,
addressed the group on this key
subject, describing ways the
sales staff can develop new
business and exploit the vast
potential in this area.
James E. Troy, director of
product development, described
important new carpet styles
designed and engineered for
commercial use and woven on
Karastan’s Kara-loc looms at
Eden. He illustrated his talk
with a group of samples
revealing new designs and
textures previously not
obtainable on the looms. He also
discussed new fiber develop
ments.
J. E. Dougherty, director of
technical services for the rug
division, gave a slide
presentation on the latest de
velopments in carpet flam
mability tests and described
current government and
industry attitudes on the subject.
Mr. Larkin closed the three-
day meeting with the statement
that he was greatly impressed
and inspired by the program’s
content and by the response and
professional attitude
demonstrated by the sales staff
at the demanding sessions.
He expressed his thanks to all
who had participated in making
the meeting a success with a
special commendation for the
efforts of Robert W. Schwing,
vice president for market
development, who played a key
organizational role.
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