Rugs of Las Vegas, NV

What do Las Vegas, NV and the industry of rugs have in common? Well for this week at least, a whole lot. That is because the area rug industry hosts over 50,000 visitors (e-tailers such as www.RugsToMyDoor.com and retailers such as Macy's) at the incredible new Las Vegas World Market Center. It is at this market that we get to see the very latest that the area rug industry has to offer and review the sort of products we have on our site, and what rugs we should add in the very near future.

In years past this sort of market was held in a small town in the Triad area of North Carolina. High Point market was for decades the go to place for anything to do with home interiors. But in more recent years the construction of the massive World Market Center in Las Vegas, NV has challenged that. Founders Jack Kashani and Shawn Samson are to complete an astounding 12 million square feet of showroom space by 2015. At that point the World Market Center will be far and away the largest gathering place for the purchase and review of wholesale home interior goods.

The folks in the relatively sleepy town of High Point, NC are not taking this massive new project and the daunting competition it brings lightly. They have increased their attention to detail and added amenities that did not previously exist in an effort to satisfy customers that used to have only one viable market to attend-the rugs market of High Point.

Certainly time will tell which of these two markets win out, however there is little doubt that one of them will have to eventually diminish in both scope and importance. The reason is that with rents ranging from $18-$20 per square foot for permanent showroom space that is used for two weeks out of a 52 week period, the cost to manufacturers of area rugs is absolutely staggering, and many vendors in these challenging times simply must choose one or the other.

For industry leader Sphinx by Oriental Weavers, the choice was to open a state of the art facility in Las Vegas, NV two year ago while their lease in High Point, NC expired. Recently the area rug giant decided not to renew it's lease in High Point. Many area rug insiders interpret this as a nod to the Las Vegas World Market.

Only time will tell if the tradition of High Point market is able to keep at bay the truly staggering investment that is being poured into the Las Vegas World Market Center. While there is little doubt that a national recession is underway now, there is no sign of it at the World Market Center. Construction continues on new buildings and those that are complete are packed with area rug manufacturers and other category suppliers such as lighting and home accents. One thing is certain, the World Market Center is here to stay. The question then is, can High Point have a place at the table as well?