Roller: Dr. Michael Heller joins the management

From 1 October 2020, Dr. Michael Heller (53) will join the management of the furniture discounter Roller. As part of his responsibilities as Chairman of the Management Board he will also be in charge of the commercial areas. in charge of the commercial areas. Heller worked for the Otto Group from 2002 until the end of September 2020, where he was most recently a member of the Otto Board of Management with responsibility for category management. Kurt Jox (62), the current Chairman of the Executive Board, is retiring to Tessner Holding as planned in October 2020 after a transitional period.

Messe Frankfurt postpones Heimtextil and Ambiente

Messe Frankfurt is replanning the first quarter of 2021. As a result, the Heimtextil fair will move from January to May. "The current travel restrictions and the renewed rise in infection figures currently represent a major hurdle for our very internationally oriented event," says Detlef Braun, Member of the Messe Frankfurt Management Board. For this reason, Heimtextil has been postponed by four months and is now to take place from 4 to 7 May. The Techtextil and Texprocess trade fairs will be held concurrently.

Woodnotes and Nikari join forces

The two Finnish companies Woodnotes – known for its paper yarn carpets – and Nikari (solid wood furniture) are working much closer together, with separate brands but partly merged organisational and operational areas. As CEO Johanna Vuorio from Nikari will take over the management for both companies, Woodnotes founder Mikko Puotila will actively participate in development projects as chairman of the board.

Oriental Weavers founder Mohamed Farid Khamis passed away

Mohamed Farid Khamis died on 19 September at the age of 80. Khamis founded the Oriental Weavers Group in 1979. Today all companies including subsidiaries employ more than 22,000 people worldwide.

Khamis also founded MAC Carpet and Oriental Weavers USA, among others. The group is also active in tourism, housing, industry and agriculture.

US-Baumärkte wachsen zweistellig

DIY stores are among the corona crisis winners in the US too, with the two market-dominating firms reporting double-digit sales increases in the first half of the 2020/21 financial year. Revenues rose 16% for Home Depot to USD 66.3 billion (EUR 55.7 billion) as of 2 August. Lowe’s, meanwhile, saw revenue surge 21% to USD 47.0 billion as at 31 July.

Domotex Asia: 23.000 visitors

Despite Corona, Domotex Asia had a remarkable number of visitors. The fair was held from 31 August to 2 September as a hybrid event both on site in Shanghai and on the internet. Some 800 suppliers exhibited in Shanghai on over 100,000 m2 of exhibition space, attracting an impressive 23,000 visitors. On Twitter, the fair received over 300,000 views.

Lindsey Michiels heads B.I.C. Sales & Marketing

The Belgian carpet and rug manufacturer B.I.C. has a new Sales & Marketing Manager: Lindsey Michiels replaces Diederik Peferoen, who retired this year. "For me, the human touch in the customer relationship is particularly important," explains Michiels. Accordingly, she places great emphasis on personal contacts and trains the B.I.C. sales team herself. Currently she pays particular attention to B.I.C.'s new cradle-to-cradle collections made from Econyl yarn.

Domotex Hannover 2021 postponed to May

Domotex Hannover 2021 will definitely take place – in May. From 18 to 20 May, Deutsche Messe AG will be hosting the world's largest international trade fair for floor coverings. This decision has been made after consulting with various exhibitors and visitors. "There has been extremely positive feedback on this, and we are confident that many participants will revise their cancellations for January," says Alexander Wurst, Senior Vice President International Trade Fairs at Deutsche Messe AG. At the usual Domtex dates in January, the organisers are planning to host a digital fair including hybrid elements.

Virtual roundtable on hand-knotted rugs on Tuesday

Would you like to participate in a lively Zoom discussion on the situation of handmade carpets in times of Corona? Then join the virtual roundtable on Tuesday, 25 August, 10 a.m. Eastern US time (3 p.m. GMT, 4 p.m CET) .The event is organised by the Kabul Carpet Export Center (KCEC), whose aim is to put Afghan carpet producers in touch with international buyers.

Several panel disussions will cover the impact COVID-19 continues to have on the weavers in Afghanistan and the markets for handmade rugs in Europe and the Americas. Tim Steinert, Editor-in-Chief of Carpet! Magazine will host a panel discussion entitled "Overview and state of rug sales around the world". Other panels will deal with the present and future of the handmade-carpet trade, reports from major production centers, and design trends.

Joining is easy – if you already have Zoom installed, just click on the following link: bit.ly/2Ecv9P6

Tollison new Executive Vice President of Couristan

Couristan, a big US importer and manufacturer of fine area rugs and broadloom, has appointed Matt Tollison to the position of executive vice president of area rugs for its Residential Division. Under Tollison’s guidance, the company will also look to strengthen its sales and support teams.

Tollison most recently was vice president of product management at Orian Rugs serving as liaison between product development and manufacturing as well as sales operations.