The carpet industry commodity chain in North York, Toronto

Commodity Chain -- Carpets in North York, Toronto

In this era of rapid change, more and more home owners choose hardwood floors and some of them prefer to leave these floors uncovered and no longer purchase carpets. The situation may seem of a socio-cultural nature, mostly associated with spending more time at work and reduced time on household activities (cleaning just the hardwood floor is less time costly than cleaning both floor and carpets), but it has impacted the rugs industry. In order to cope with the emergent modifications in the market and industry, carpet manufacturers have enlarged and diversified their product offering with carpets that meet not only functional needs, but also design ones. A region rich in carpet manufacturers is North York in Toronto, Canada. The entrepreneurs here have combined the modern and traditional styles and techniques to generate incremental levels of customer appeal.

Product Design

The first step taken by the manufacturers of carpets in North York is the development of the design. This basically revolves around creative operations that design the pattern of the rug. Some designs reveal scenes in nature, floral motifs, geometric or abstract shapes. Others are for instance replicas of famous carpets. The most common designs are from Persian themes. For these rugs, based on the Arabesque tradition, the Koran prohibited the reproduction of natural elements that could be perceived as having a soul. "The basic components are borders, corner elements, and a central medallion (plus pendants top and bottom) -- nearly always a quincunx design. Although the central field can become so filled (or cluttered) as to obscure the basic structuring shape, the quincuncial (or the arch variation) can still be discerned beneath the proliferated ornamentation" (Kopley, p.189).

Once the pattern has been chosen, the carpet manufacturers will have to select the mechanisms employed in the actual making of the carpets. There are four types of methods used by the carpet manufacturers in North York, the ultimate individual selection depending on personal preferences or characteristics of each technique. These mechanisms retrieve four types of carpets: machine women; tufted carpets -- "A pre-woven backing gets yarns tufted into it. Needles push the yarn through the backing and which is then held in place with underlying loopers" (the Carpet Information Center); fiber bonded (the core procedure is that of sticking fibers to the backing); and fourth, hand knotted -- these hand made carpets have the finest levels of quality (but also the highest retail prices); the waver of the traditional hand knotted rugs will often include a deliberate mistake in the pattern to ensure its authenticity.

A final specification that has to be made about carpet product design is that, throughout the past recent years, manufacturers in North York have focused their attention on environmental issues. As a result then, they began to collect old rugs from customers and recycle them into making new carpets.

3. Geography of Production

There are nine notable carpet manufacturers in North York, geographically distributed as follows:

Alloray Rug and Carpet -- 3715 Keele Street

Carnival Rugs -- 40 Kodikal Creas

Carpet Land -- 4884 Dufferin Street

Carpet Villa Ltd. -- 1170 Sheppard Ave W

Centura Floor and Wall Fashion -- 53 Apex Rode

Contract Flooring Systems Ltd. -- 4476 Chesswood Drive

Olympia Carpets -- 38 Apes Rode

Olympia Tile International Inc. -- 1000 Lawrence Ave W, and Pro-Source Wholesale Floor Coverings Toronto -- 8 Hafis Rode (Canadian Business Directory)

4. Product Marketing

Carpet manufacturers have developed a wide array of strategies to attract their customers. One such endeavor for instance revolves around creating exact replicas of carpets that have been present in important events in history or have belonged to notable personalities. For the fans of John F. And Jackie Kennedy, the Elte Carpet and Home has on sale a replica of the floral Victorian carpet that was found in the Oval Office during the Kennedy presidency (Mitchell and Rutenberg, p.67).

Other marketing strategies revolve around the traditional promotional endeavors, such as price discounts or product placement strategies. In terms of discounts, these are established in accordance with the internal policies of each producer and retailer. In terms of product placement however, it can be observed that the carpet industry strives to launch its products onto the market by revealing two benefits of the rugs -- functionality in protecting the floors and creating heat within the house, and secondly, the design aspect, by which the carpet is able to add a spot of color in a room and enhance its beauty and style. Directly related to product placement is also the promotion of a wide palette of product offerings of carpets from all styles and time periods, made from various materials and satisfying the needs of every customer (including relative to price, where the range is also vast).

Aside these traditional marketing techniques, the carpet manufacturers and retailers in North York have modernized their approach of the audience. This basically revolves around the integration of newer technologies in attracting customers. The most common endeavors refer to the development of websites (for example Alloray's website at http://www.alloray.ca / or Carpet Villa's website at http://www.carpetvilla.ca/), the hosting on online advertisements on popular websites or the actual sending of advertisements via email.

5. Retailing

Carpet retailing operations are rather vast, with some manufacturers distributing their products directly from their own stores, and with others using intermediaries. The creation of centers specialized in housing products is also notable. In North York, there are a total of 40 carpet retailers, including: Carpet Villa Ltd., Carpet Land, a&a Flooring Supplies, All Line Carpet, Carpet Van Go, Giant Carpet and Flooring or Horseshoe Valley Flooring Ltd. (Canadian Business Directory).

The previously mentioned Elte Carpets and Home is a center specialized in housing products and it hosts numerous carpets, from all time periods. Significant about this store is that most manufacturers strive to have their products presented here. The Elte Carpets and Home is like the center of the rug industry, a place where all trades and marks meet to satisfy the customer. It is then understandable that the comfort of clients coming to a single place to purchase a rug, rather than visiting more places is the main reason as to why manufacturers increase their efforts of gaining a spot within the store. The shop offers their customers a wide variety of national and international rugs, made by both local manufacturers, as well as by various exporting countries, such as the Persian rugs (Mitchell and Rutenberg, p.67).

7. Conclusions

In this era of globalization and rapid technological change, preservation of the traditions becomes more and more challenging. An example of an industry that has however managed to adapt and consequently survive the domino effect changes is offered by the carpets sector. With nine most notable manufacturers and forty retailers, North York, Toronto, Canada is one of the most notable representatives of the carpet industry. The life of the rug commences with the development of the pattern. These have suffered modifications throughout the years, but the most common themes remain the Arabesque ones. Once the design is completed, the textile materials will be processed by either hand knitting, machine woven, tufting, or bonding fibers.

Manufacturers and retailers integrate the concepts of both traditional as well as modern marketing in order to place their carpets onto the market in a way that is appealing to customers. Throughout the recent past, reductions have been observed in demand for rugs, generally due to modifications in social, cultural and economic statuses. The industry strives to sustain an increased demand by adapting to the emergent needs and by focusing on the benefits of the rugs -- heat, design, and more recently, increased indoor air quality.

Works Cited:

Kopley, R., Poe's Pym: Critical Explorations, Duke University Press, 1992

Mitchell, S., Rutenberg, L., Secret Toronto: The Unique Guidebook to Toronto's Hidden Sites, Sounds and Tastes, 2nd Edition, ECW Press, 2002

Carpet and Rug Distributors and Manufacturers in North York, Ontario, Canadian Business Directory http://www.canpages.ca/business/on/north-york/carpet-and-rug-distrs-and-mfrs/3527-137200.html last accessed on April 3, 2009

Carpeting Improves Indoor Air Quality, Explore Canada's Textile Industry, http://www.exploretextiles.ca/media/mediafiles_e.aspx last accessed on April 3, 2009

How Is Carpet Made? The Carpet Information Center, http://www.carpetinfo.co.uk/all_about_carpet/how_carpet_is_made.htm last accessed on April 3, 2009