Features

Karastan’s Style Story

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Mohawk leans into the luxury brand’s design leadership

[Calhoun, Ga.] Mohawk’s Karastan brand has a long rich history dating back to 1928 when its first rug was produced. And while the name has stood for attainable luxury ever since its founding by Marshall Fields, in recent years, Mohawk and Karastan leadership have reenergized the brand’s style and design focus — something that is making an impact on the selling floor, according to its retail partners.

“It started before I took the helm. Four to five years ago, Mohawk made an intentional decision to elevate Karastan again and drive innovation and unique products,” shared Jason Randolph, senior vice president of residential sales, Karastan. “It allowed us to go outside the typical scope of Mohawk and put Karastan in a leadership position in style and design.”

The intent to differentiate the brand has indeed been noticed by Karastan retail partners. “To be honest, prior to about four years ago, I felt like the brand had really gotten dull and sluggish,” recalled Bruce Odette, owner, Carpet Exchange in Denver. “The assortment had pretty much become a duplicate of the Mohawk line, just with different ounce weights and slightly different color palettes. When Jason [Randolph] took on the new role of leading Karastan, I could see an immediate change.

Differentiation was high on the list of ‘must dos’ for Jason. The new product launch was one of the best I had ever seen. This is when they went from a C player to an A player in my mind. And sales results agreed. The year following this launch, they became our number one carpet supplier.”

Product launches, even during the COVID years, have been meaningful. “We are very intentional with every product launch in Karastan — new contemporary styles but also selling and moving timeless classic products with updated color, density and small tweaks designed to make Karastan the brand of choice for the discerning retailer and buyer,” shared Randolph.

Rick Murray, president of Rusmur Floors Carpet One Floor & Home in the Pittsburgh area, has been carrying Karastan for 40 years. “Styling and quality has become a noticeable priority. It reminds me of the early days with Karastan,” he told FCW.

Modern Plaid features Kashmere with XTRA Technology — a blend of nylon and SmartStrand. XTRA offers endless design possibilities to life and is backed by All Pet Protection and Warranty.

Hadinger Flooring in Naples, Fla. is another retailer with a long history of carrying Karastan. “We have had Karastan forever. It is a fashion brand and is very well received in our market. Tom Hadinger was an early supporter of the brand and we have done well with it ever since,” reported Susan Hadinger, CEO.

Bob’s Carpet & Flooring, with stores in the Tampa area, is a newer Karastan partner yet it too has seen significant growth. Explained Ashlie Butler, president, “We’ve been carrying the Karastan brand for nearly four years, starting with only a small handful of stores. We’ve grown so much in that time — in the relatively short amount of time that we’ve offered Karastan to our customers, we have watched their hard surface business skyrocket, becoming one of Bob’s best sellers.”

Added Dave Chambers, director of flooring, Nebraska Furniture Mart, “We have seen the Karastan brand transform in design and aesthetics, bringing more modern and contemporary styles to their lineup. The Karastan brand brings a wide range of products, many of which lead our showroom floor in sales and quality. The brand also adds a level of luxury and reputation that speaks to a lot of our consumers.”

Perfect Partnerships

A cornerstone of Karastan’s market position is its limited distribution designed to protect both the brand and its retail partners.

“Karastan is only sold in the independent retail channel,” explained Randolph. “But it is also limited distribution within the independent distribution model.”

The strategy has its challenges and benefits. “We really offer our retail partners a unique opportunity to promote and endorse a brand not available in the majority of their market,” he noted. “But it is challenging because it requires a true partnership of both parties — us to support them and them to push that brand. We support them by giving limited distribution, co-op programs, national sales events and the most innovative, best-in-class products. We ask that they drive that brand in their local market and make sure that when the consumer walks into that store, it’s the first product they show.”

Retailers reported that it drives both loyalty and revenue. “Karastan is one of the last brands that brings customers into the store,” offered Chris Cosentino, president, Hadinger Flooring. “Their loyal customer base looks to Karastan products first when picking flooring. We are very proud to be a Karastan dealer and expect that it will remain a strong brand for us for years to come.”

Butler at Bob’s Carpet said that her stores are showing Karastan products now more than ever before. “The brand brings style, sophistication and selection to Bob’s,” she said.

Added Rusmur’s Murray, “Karastan gives us the opportunity to make money on quality hard surface and carpet styles that are not saturated. This impact has brought us growth in sales and profit.”

Odette at Carpet Exchange shared, “By partnering with Karastan, it allows you to have an elite brand with very limited distribution. This combined with the transformation of products has had a significant impact on our sales associates. Our team knows if they spend the time telling the Karastan story it will be well worth it. It’s all about industry-leading fashion and high performance, stain-resistant yarns. Plus, when we meet or exceed our customers’ expectations, that leads to happier customers. The Karastan brand allows you to tell a compelling story that enhances the value of a product. You are literally giving the consumer a reason to upgrade their purchase by creating value and differentiation from other product lines.”

Intent & Evolution

Whether a line expansion or layering on of a new category, Randolph is clear that everything is done with a design-forward mindset utilizing all of Mohawk’s assets. The company’s core strategy is around its three major brands: Mohawk, Karastan and Pergo, with Karastan being its pinnacle brand. “All innovation goes into that brand first, as the style and design flagship of Mohawk,” said Randolph.

And, he added, “We are always looking for the latest design trends for building new collections. One of the key benefits Mohawk has, and Karastan in particular, is the ability to tap into the knowledge and expertise of the rug group. Their trends move faster than carpet.” He noted too that the Karastan design team attends home interior shows looking at everything from furniture to rugs and paint. “We are collaboratively working on those things to understand what is trending there,” he said.

BelleLuxe Waterproof Wood provides high fashion at an accessible price point to help retail partners expand their market reach. This collection features Signature Technology and WetProtect.

Soft Surface Transformation

While the brand’s focus has been steady, the last several years have brought innovation in everything from fiber to machinery investment ensuring that the soft surface side leads the segment.

Explained Randolph, “One of the things we did was broaden the portfolio. We always had nylon in portfolio. We now have nylon, SmartStrand and New Zealand wool with a focus on all premium fibers in carpet,” he said. “We moved into some new machines that allow us to mimic woven products and also invested in machines allowing us to mimic wool loops in synthetic fiber making it more affordable.”

The acquisition of Godfrey Hirst in July 2018 expanded Karastan’s capability and portfolio significantly. “Godfrey Hirst was a great pick up for us. When we got that, we immediately recognized the value of that line. As the largest wool manufacturer, it brought all of the expertise. We also recognized the value of having a secondary high-end brand. With the limited distribution of Karastan, it has allowed us to have market expansion in that higher end segment.”

Godfrey Hirst too has evolved adding synthetic fibers to its mix. “We have overhauled that assortment and put a lot of effort in balancing out that portfolio with nylon, SmartStrand and wool,” he said.

And, Randolph noted, “We invested in new fiber blends where we are taking nylon and combining it with SmartStrand. With SmartStrand, we get unique color contrasts we could never get in the past. You get really subtle colorations or really bold colorations as well so it opens up a whole new avenue using patterns, loops and textures.”

Moving into Hard Surface

In 2020, Karastan expanded its portfolio into the hard surface arena. “It was the next evolution for Karastan,” said Randolph. “More and more purchases are moving into hard surface — now 60 percent of flooring purchases. Up until 2020, we were 100 percent in carpet. We had to move into [hard surface] to evolve.”

Karastan first offered hardwood and some luxury vinyl tile (LVT). “We now have a full service assortment of hardwood, LVTand RevWood with all the accessories. The collection continues to grow and expand every year and gets better every year,” he said, pointing to the BelleLuxe waterproof line as an example. “It’s just a gorgeous collection with the most realistic visuals in the market today.”

And as with carpet, hard surface enjoys the latest innovations first — things such as Signature Technology that provides both a realistic visuals and texture and WetProtect which ensures a product’s waterproof attributes from top down with watertight joints. “Consumers today expect style and design but also expect functionality. Everything we design at Karastan keeps in mind a floor that will be beautiful for years to come,” explained Randolph.

Commented Hadinger, “In the last few years, they’ve added hard surfaces to their mix and have been expanding on their offerings since. The products and designs have ensured that Karastan remains a top brand. They’ve always been a high-end brand and Jason has made sure that it keeps that title.”