The Oriental Rug Importers Association (ORIA) has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with AmericasMart Atlanta, sustaining the organizations’ long-standing alliance and signaling continuing support for the U.S. area rug industry, according to Jeffrey DeSantis, ORIA president, and Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart Atlanta.
The agreement secures ORIA’s sponsorship of the National Oriental Rug Show (NORS), staged annually as the temporary component of the January Atlanta International Area Rug Market and the U.S. trade show serving the area rug and home furnishings retail and design communities. NORS is a preferred global market event for importers and manufacturers of hand-made, machine made and antique rugs covering the spectrum of design, style and price points. It has traditionally highlighted the four-day Atlanta International Area Rug Market, which presents area rugs in five floors of temporaries and showrooms in AmericasMart Building One.
The Oriental Rug Importers Association (ORIA) is a national trade association formed in 1958 to foster ethical business practices and promote the best interests of the Oriental Rug Trade in the United States and in countries that produce Oriental rugs. The ORIA membership has grown to include area rug importers and manufacturers, including more than 70 leading U.S. based importers, wholesalers and manufacturers of area rugs and oriental carpets whose products sell at retail in all of the 50 states. ORIA member firms have products from virtually every carpet sourcing country including India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Tibet, Turkey, Romania and Iran.
“The ORIA-AmericasMart partnership creates an important global platform for the area rug industry,” notes DeSantis. “Our membership represents the vast majority of the U.S. area rug industry with huge capacity for innovation and growth. AmericasMart and its formidable markets, resources and services continues to play a key role in our pursuit of that growth,” DeSantis adds.
“This partnership perfectly captures a call to industry stewardship which we are privileged to answer,” says Portman. “If we can help give voice to the U.S. area rug community in the global marketplace in ways that will advance its present and future prospects, then we hope our contributions will be appropriate to the ORIA mission,” notes Portman.
The new three-year agreement is effective with the January 2013 Atlanta International Area Rug Market featuring the National Oriental Rug Show. The existing ORIA-AmericasMart partnership agreement continues now with the staging of the January 2012 NORS, which runs January 13-15 in conjunction with the Atlanta International Area Rug Market January 12-15.
ORIA, AmericasMart renew partnership
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