The oriental rug trade has changed tremendously over the past two decades, to the point where the description is no longer even politically correct. It has been replaced by the more generic ‘area rug’ or ‘decorative rug trade.’ The way we do business here at Persian Gallery New York has also evolved enormously over the two past decades. We went from being a traditional wholesale trade business that was very insular and protected, in which a client had to go through a retailer or interior designer to gain access, to a modern, high tech, global operation, where the emphasis is on being digital. In addition to a highly functional website, including high resolution digital images, there is email, social media, live chat and being accessible and available on all of them 24-7. All those platforms require having your product available wherever the user's smart-phone is likely to take them, and with the minimal number of taps and swipes.
“Everyone used to compete for access to the seller, and now everyone is competing for access to the buyer.“
Whereas the business’ cache used to rely on exclusivity and how hard a buyer had to work to see the merchandise, today the exact opposite is true. We have to outwork all the other vendors not only in our region, but those anywhere in the world, all in an effort to show up first in search results—on a buyer's phone, tablet, or computer. Tastes have changed, price points have changed, and the fashion cycle has turned around many times over, but nothing has changed more than this central dynamic between buyer and seller; everyone used to compete for access to the seller, and now everyone is competing for access to the buyer.
Images courtesy of Persian Gallery New York
