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Jaipur Has Aggressive Plans for Sales Growth, Diversity
By Lissa Wyman 07/09/2008
Asha Chaudhary, CEO of Jaipur
ATLANTA -- Jaipur, once a tiny
importer of fine hand knot rugs, is on an aggressive
trajectory of sales growth and product diversity, according
to Asha Chaudhary, chief executive officer.
"We have been in the American market for many years, but we
are still in our infancy, " said Chaudhary. U.S. operations
of the Indian manufacturer are now directed by Asha
Chaudhary together with her sister Archana Chaudhary, who is
chief operating officer.
For the past three years, Jaipur has revamped its business
model to include product diversity along the entire price
spectrum. Under the direction of Matt Tollison, Jaipur is
building a strong national sales team .
Jaipur's new high profile stance is already paying off. Two
years ago, the company moved to an 18,000 sq. ft.
distribution center on the north side of Atlanta, and now
that space is already too small. "Now we are looking for at
least a 40,000 sq. ft. warehouse with additional office
space," said Chaudhary.
Company growth also means adding infrastructure. "We've just
hired a creative director, J. C. Lehnen, who was formerly
with Smith & Noble and Ballards. We are also adding two more
customer service specialists," said Chaudhary.
Lehnen comes with a strong background in the home
furnishings industry, and Chaudhary said these skills will
prove valuable as Jaipur continues to diversify into new
products and distribution channels.
"We are still a nascent company, we have a lot of room to
diversify," said Chaudhary.
Although Chaudhary does not rule out adding new product
categories, the focus now is to develop a well-rounded group
of rug collections that cover the full spectrum of hot
fashion looks. Over the next year, Jaipur will be exploring
several new design themes including a lot of transitional
and contemporary tufted products, hand knotted oushaks, hand
loomed rugs featuring different textural looks, some casual
poly shags and even some very high end wool and silk
hand-knot products that will retail for up to $15,000.
"The very high end of the market is growing, even in this
difficult economy. So we want to be a style leader in that
part of the business," said Chaudhary.
The high end remains strong, but Chaudhary also sees Jaipur
in the fashion forefront at the entry level of the hand
tufted market. "We have a very competitive line of hand
tufted rugs that retail for $399 in 5 x 8. So we can be very
competitive. We think we offer the best value out there at
that price point," Chaudhary said.
Jaipur's claim to fame is both value and unique styling, and
Chaudhary said the company is protecting its position by
copyrighting all designs.
Chaudhary said the company's policy is to become more
aggressive in the face of the current business climate,
rather than pulling back. She also has strong negative
feelings about selling on a consignment basis. "I can't
stand the consignment mentality, and it's not a part of our
business," she emphasized.
Moving forward, Jaipur is developing a complete branding
initiative, which will include a head-to-toe revamp of the
company's look, from the logo to the catalog. "Our new look
is much more emotional, stressing a lifestyle approach to
the product," said Chaudhary.
"As a company, we pride ourselves on value, design and
service," she said. "Our new company identification will
carry that message."
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