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Did you know? Shaw Carpet is the largest carpet manufacturer in the world and has always established the market price for carpet prices. Shaw also now manufactures area rugs, hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, vinyl flooring and ceramic tile. Shaw offers one of the most extensive lines of Frieze Carpet, Trackless carpet, and Berber Carpet of all carpet manufacturers, and their carpet prices are the most competitive you will find anywhere.Shaw Carpet
Prior to 1986, when Stainmaster Carpet was first introduced, most manufacturers were very selective in the carpet retailers they sold in each market. As a consumer traveled from carpet retailer to carpet retailer they typically found a limited selection of carpet manufacturer brands in each retailers showroom. Carpet manufacturers representatives typically had 4-5 different carpet price levels, based on the commission rate they wanted to earn. Most were on straight commission. Typically most carpet retailers would receive the highest price (from the carpet manufacturer) and this reflected higher retail carpet pricing. With limited distribution of carpet brands among retailers in a market, carpet retailers could price the carpet styles at any price they chose without worrying about competition. Shaw Carpet turned the carpet industry upside down by hiring 20-something college graduates and paying them a salary, plus commission, and travel expenses. Shaw Carpet manufacturer representatives were no longer concerned with pricing their retailers at higher prices because the bonus (commission) rates were the same whether the carpet style was priced at the high or low price. Shaw reps began to sell every carpet retailer in the local market. Retailers disliked this philosophy because they now had to worry about competition, but Shaw carpet prices were so low (as compared to other carpet manufacturers) that the retailer could not afford "not" to buy from Shaw.
Shaw rocked the carpet world by purchasing Cabin Crafts, which was one of the five largest carpet manufacturers in the world. Listed below is a timeline of Shaw carpet manufacturer purchases. A few years ago, Shaw carpet itself was purchased by Warren Buffet and placed in his Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. You may recall that Warren Buffet donated billions in company worth to Bill Gates for Philanthropic purposes. Berkshire Hathaway and Shaw Carpet was a part of this donation. This again rocked the carpet world because every Shaw carpet purchase is now a Philanthropic donation to the Bill gates foundation. Shaw Carpet History and BrandsPhiladelphia Carpet Philadelphia Carpets - Established in 1846, Philadelphia Carpets is
Shaw's oldest flooring line
and
one of the most respected brands in the industry. It was the Philadelphia carpet
line that enabled Shaw to change the carpet world. Cabin Crafts CarpetCabin Crafts Carpets - Cabin Crafts, one of Shaw's most widely distributed
carpet lines, has always offered some of the most beautiful carpet styles and
colors in the industry. Cabin Crafts and their parent company, WestPoint
Pepperell were purchased by Shaw industries in 1987. This brand name
purchase stated the carpet industry's manufacturer buyout phenomena.Armstrong Carpet / Evans Black CarpetPurchased by Shaw in 1989. Two years after the Cabin Crafts purchase, Shaw was ready for another manufacturer buyout. Armstrong World Industries offered two primary carpet divisions; Evans Black which was marketed primarily to carpet retailers, and Armstrong carpets which was marketed through local distributors, who then sold to area carpet retailers. Armstrong offered a highly profitable line of carpet products called Anything Goes, a style that was constructed for durable wear capabilities. The Evans Black brand utilized selective distribution in each market place to create higher priced, high profit goods for select local carpet retailers. In 1990, I moved from Indianapolis to Boca Raton to manage the Evans Black brand in this market place. In a market area that covered from Melbourne, FL across the state to Sarasota, FL and south to Miami and Key West, I had 7 customers. However, these 7 carpet retailers sold more than $7 million in Evans Black products in this market place. Limited distribution did have its rewards. Salem CarpetsIn 1992, Salem Carpets were purchased by Shaw. Salem brought with it a
Amoco Carpet FibersLater in 1992, Shaw purchased Amoco's carpet fiber division and Shaw bolstered its polypropylene fiber production. Shaw was now the largest producer of olefin Berbers. Shaw Area RugsIn 1993, the area rug market was beginning to mature and amazing growth was being experienced in the area market. Shaw birthed its' new Shaw Rugs division to establish a broader share of this growing market. Queen Carpet
Laminate FlooringIn 2002, Shaw began its diversification in the flooring market by constructing a laminate flooring manufacturing facility. Carriage Carpets, Bretlin, and Globaltex.In 2003, Shaw completed its' acquisition of The Dixie Group. Dixie was one of the key players in the manufacturing of carpet for the Mobile Home Industry. It's Globaltex line was wide distributed through Home Depot. The Dixie Group purchase rounded out the Shaw line and enabled it to capture other markets in which it had limited market penetration. |
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Industries that
necessitated that change. Shaw has always been one of the most progressive
forward-thinking carpet manufacturers in the market.
Shaw quickly grew to become the largest carpet manufacturer, passing
value
priced line, and a significant polypropylene extrusion capability. Salem
offered a complete line of Berber Carpet with its Sutton carpet line. At
that time, Salem carpets boasted of being the second largest carpet
manufacturer.
Queen
carpet was always one of the toughest competitors in the market place and Queen
offered some of the most beautiful carpet styles and colors of any manufacturer.
In 1998, Shaw and Queen merged under the Shaw Industries umbrella.
