March 17, 2025 • 24 mins
Enjoy the world of quality rugs in the rent-to-own industry as Heath Perkins of Daylan Rug Company shares the remarkable journey of bringing fashion-forward floor coverings to a market once dominated by afterthought accessories.
When Daylan first approached the rent-to-own sector over a decade ago, they encountered a surprising reality: most stores were content with basic, low-quality rugs that did little to enhance their showrooms. "Fashion was not even in the conversation," Heath recalls, describing how some dealers would simply request "12 rugs" without any concern for style, color, or quality. What followed was an education campaign that would revolutionize how rental dealers approach accessories.
The secret to Daylan's success has been convincing rental operators that their customers desire the same quality and style found in mainstream furniture retailers. By investing just $20-25 more per rug, stores can access products that dramatically improve showroom aesthetics, boost furniture sales, and—crucially for the rental model—withstand multiple rental cycles. These aren't just pretty accessories; they're strategic sales tools that highlight furniture and create cohesive room designs that customers can envision in their homes.
Perhaps most exciting is Daylan's embrace of truly washable rugs, now the most searched rug-related term online. Using special backing technology, these innovative products can be machine-washed or simply hosed down in a driveway with dish soap, making them ideal for the rental market where reconditioning returned items is essential. As Heath demonstrates, a quick clean leaves them looking "brand new" and ready for the next customer.
Looking to elevate your showroom experience and offer customers the quality they deserve? Contact Heath directly at heathperkins@daylan.com to connect with your local sales representative and discover how Daylan's extensive collection of 1,500+ designs can transform your rental business.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello and welcome to the RTO Show podcast.
I'm your host, pete Hsiao, andtoday we are still outside of
Meeting of the Minds.
This is 2025 in Atlanta,georgia.
I'm with Heath Perkins rightnow from Dalen Rug Company, and
listen, you guys have been doingthis for a very, very long time
.
I see it every single show thathappens, but the truth is, I
(00:31):
don't think everybody knowsenough about what you guys have
really been bringing to thetable, some of the innovations
that you've brought up in thelast few years, and why it's a
great idea to start puttingthese in your showrooms.
So, heath, why don't you giveus a little bit about yourself?
How did you get started in this?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
And where's Dallon going?
Well, yeah, we started withTriob.
I want to say 2011, 12, thatrange.
I remember flying to Atlantaand presenting to the committee
here and I remember them sayingthey had like three rug guys at
the time and they were like Idon't think we really need
another rug person, but we wereselling buddies.
And so they said, okay, we'lltake a look at what you're doing
.
And I flew up here, presentedto them and they just loved what
we were doing and so some ofthe key folks on that committee
(01:16):
actually calling me within weekssaying we need to get some rugs
into the stores and they wereexcited about it.
So that started I don't know,maybe now a 13 year partnership
with Trib and you know we'vegrown every year.
It's a challenge to get involvedin the rent-to-own business and
from our standpoint, from ourcategory, we work primarily with
(01:39):
you know, from High Point inLas Vegas, work with a lot of
furniture folks work with carpetstores, work with area rug
galleries across the country.
So this was definitelysomething different for us.
It took us a couple of years toget comfortable with it and
understand what people werereally looking for in the
rent-to-own business in terms oftheir rugs.
We didn't have the experienceof this is my 23rd year with
(02:04):
Dayland, so I've been around along time doing this.
I'd never experienced theconcept where a rug got sold and
then came back, and then cameback and then people go well,
what do I do with it?
Now I go oh geez, I don't know.
I've never thought of that.
So yeah, it was a differentmindset that we had to get over
the first couple of years.
(02:25):
But yeah, it was.
Once we got comfortable, peoplestarted to really take on our
product.
We started working for them.
We were one of the top five rugmanufacturers in the United
States.
So you know, when we got to therent-to-own side, a lot of
people had never heard of us.
Obviously Just a different typeof business.
But we're like no, we canhandle your needs for you.
(02:48):
We just got to understandexactly what you're looking for
and it took us a couple of yearsto kind of identify the price
points, the product, what wasimportant in terms of
cleanability, returns, how youcan maybe clean them and re-rent
them out.
Oh yeah, they got to be tough.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Oh yeah, they got to be tough and to clean them and
re-rent them out.
Oh yeah, they got to be tough.
They got to be tough and rentto own.
You've got to have a productthat can sustain the test of
time, not only to be delivered,be used, be brought back, be
cleaned, be put out again.
And that's just part of thethings that come with rent to
own.
But so what are some of thedifferences that you've seen?
(03:22):
Okay, I have a rug into my rug,so that now I know this is
going to be worth it.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, I mean when we first started with the
rent-to-own side and I don'twant this to sound bad, but the
fashion was not even in theconversation with most
rent-to-own folks when it comesto rugs, I mean it just it was
just some solid color rugs basicstuff, huh, you know Jim Bob
would come by in their van andsell them 10 rugs out of their
(03:49):
back of their van.
And these were 10 rugs that,frankly, were hard to look at
typically, and the reason JimBob had them in the van is
because they nobody else willbuy them, and that's what.
There's still some rug guys outthere that they'll go overseas
and they'll just bring acontainer to the stuff,
basically stuff that we don'tthink sellable in the United
States.
They'll go get a couplecontainers, bring it in and then
(04:11):
go around try to pitch it tofolks.
It still happens today, butthat was kind of happening in
the rent town business, wherefashion was not in, was not a
part of the equation, reallydidn't even care.
Half the time it was just sendme 12 rugs.
You're part of the equation,really didn't even care.
Half the time it was just sendme 12 rugs.
And you're like what do youwant?
Yeah, what are you looking for?
I don't know, just 12 rugs,that's what we need.
And you're like, oh goodnesssakes.
(04:33):
So we came in trying to tellfolks they were used to paying
50 bucks for a rug and notcaring what it looked like and
then they would throw it infront of the furniture and look
like and then they would throwit in front of the furniture and
it would you're like well, youjust made the furniture and the
whole store look terrible andhe'd been better off not even to
do a rug than what you justbrought in.
You just made the situation much, much harder to try to sell the
(04:56):
product.
So you know, we started tryingto talk about fashion.
The same rugs we were bringingto the rent-to-own stores are
the same rugs that are in allthe mainline furniture stores
the Haverty's furniture, theLazy Boy furniture, the Any
Rooms to Go.
I mean these mainline furnitureguys.
We were bringing that sameproduct to the rent-to-own side
(05:17):
and saying, hey, you might pay afew dollars more up front, but
the rug will wear a lot longer,it's a lot easier to clean, you
can re-rent it out, it's morefashion oriented and help your
store look a lot better.
It'll help your furniture sella lot better.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well listen, there's nothing worse than having
somebody come in and you'retrying to accessorize something
that you've got, things thatjust don't match, don't look
right, and you're telling themI'll make you a great deal, I'll
put this in your house.
Truman, there's no way you'regoing to put that in my house.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Because everybody has a different taste.
Everybody has a different ebband flow, in kind of the way
they look at things and the waytheir partner looks at things
and the way their household is.
With traditional contemporary,however, it is where you want
somebody that's real modern andthey come in and you have
somebody who likes a bare skinrug.
They're not exactly the same.
It just doesn't add up, RightRight.
So you come in and you addthese colors, you add these
choices.
How big was that forrent-to-own to see?
(06:09):
Wait a minute, we don't havethis solid shag rug, but we have
an option to where we have awhole lot of different views and
a different color schemes andthe way they kind of incorporate
with the lamps and the tablesand rugs.
Was that a huge push thatDaylon was able to take
advantage of?
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, once you startedgetting some, the first step was
to get folks past a price pointin their head you know they had
for so many years.
We pay $50 for rugs and you go,well, okay, we can sell you a
$50 rug, but I don't know thatthat's really what you truly
(06:48):
need long term.
I mean, yeah, it will feel avery short term need to because
you got four or five empty spots, but if you entertain the idea
of going to 70 or 80 dollars forrug just for that extra 20
bucks, 25 bucks, you won'tbelieve how much of a better
product I can deliver to you.
And so it took folks likeBuddy's and then we kind of
moved into, you know, babers,and the list goes on.
(07:09):
Folks going, ok, let me paythat little bit extra up front
and let me get much more of afashion forward product, a
product that it's going to makemy store look better.
And once they did that and theyput, they start putting our
rugs out there.
Then all of a sudden theconsumer comes in and goes, whoa
, wow, that's a great lookingrug.
And so it just took off.
(07:29):
And so then they were, you know, whoa, wow, that's a great
looking rug and so it just tookoff and so then they were.
You know, they bought in atthat point and so that's just
been the way it's been.
Each year it gets a little bitbigger.
Rugs are the number oneaccessory category in the
furniture industry, have beenfor probably close to two
decades by a landslide.
So when it comes to lamps,artwork and greenery, you know
(07:50):
rugs triumph all that by alandslide.
So when it comes to lamps,artwork and greenery and all
that, rugs triumph all that by ahuge margin.
So you know it's been good tosee the RTO folks gravitate
towards rugs, appreciate somegood looking rugs, and we've
kind of tapped into that.
And pretty much most of theother rug guys have left, you
know, over the years, right,right, and a lot of them have
(08:10):
left because they, like you know, dayland's just kind of, you
know, come in and really donesomething different and we have
so many great relationships outthere.
We were one of those unique rugcompanies that we have sales,
have a huge sales team acrossthe United States calling on
rent, on stores.
It's not just we come to theshows and try to sell you
something, it's not just we cometo the shows and try to sell
(08:31):
you something it's.
You know, we're following up inyour stores.
We're visiting your stores,writing orders in your stores,
talking to your managers,training.
So there's just a lot thatcomes with Dalen.
That's beyond what we do hereat the show.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Well, we're at Meeting of the Minds right now
and you've got a lot of theowner operators coming in and
these are the guys that buy fortheir locations, whether it be
one, whether it be 40, whetherit be a couple hundred.
They're buying.
Now, let's say that you havetheir ear for 10 minutes, two
minutes.
What is going to compel them toput Daylant on the floor?
What are some of the productfeatures that you can say these
(09:01):
rugs, the $25 or $30 that youwere talking about over the
plain old, plain Jane, that I'mjust going to pull out and throw
on the floor for a good twoweeks and it's going to wear out
, there's going to be no colorsleft.
What would you say to them?
That's really going to say, hey, I should do this, and not only
does it have the durability, orwhatever the case is, it's
going to have longevity that youprobably wouldn't get at a
different price point.
So what are some of thosethings that we can tell these
(09:23):
owner operators?
Hey, this is why you shouldselect Dayland Rugs.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, I think sometimes there's maybe there's
a thought from some folks thatwell, folks that are shopping
rent on maybe they're just okaywith this just mediocre looking
or below looking quality producton the rug side.
And I say, no, it's the samepeople shopping your stores that
(09:48):
are shopping rooms to go.
You know they might be in adifferent situation where they
want to rent something and go adifferent route, but they still.
They still see the same fashionon TV when they're watching
HGTV.
They still want stuff thatlooks good, this fashion forward
, this quality products.
So, yeah, I mean to me you wantyour store looking as good as
(10:11):
possible, right?
You know, it's kind of likegoing and buying a nice Lexus
and then painting it purple withyellow stripes.
You're like, why did you justdo that?
You know you took, you got abeautiful piece of furniture out
there and you want toaccessorize it.
And because that's your mainitem we understand you're not a
rug store your main items torent this furniture out and
(10:31):
these beds and mattresses andappliances, et cetera.
You want to highlight thoseitems and the way you highlight
it is to get really, really goodaccessories built around that
particular product.
So it helps you sell thatbigger ticket item over and over
and over.
So the rugs help facilitatebetter sales through that
process.
(10:51):
So, yeah, I just think to me,for the $60, $70, you can just
absolutely make a set on yourfloor stand out and look
unbelievable.
And so, yeah, you go in anymainline furniture store right
now they have rugs all over thefloors, you know, because it
highlights their furniture.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Well they are.
They are everywhere.
I mean listen, the rugs areeverywhere.
One of the main things thatalways stands out is there's a
big selection in in Dayland rugs.
A lot of different colors, alot of different avenues.
Some's got squirrels, somedon't.
You know some of their.
You know you got earth tonesand non-earth tones.
How many different designs doesDaylil sell to the RTO sector?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Well, we have a very large assortment.
It can be challenging becausewe have to try to reduce it down
.
We probably have just differentdesigns probably 1,500 designs
currently and it's in ourassortment.
But of course we come to marketwith 25 rugs, you know.
We come to market with 30, 35.
(11:55):
And we really try to focus.
We've been doing this longenough.
We know the price points peopleare looking for.
We know they're.
They got gray and brown andblack.
You know sofas everywhere.
So we bring rugs that canhandle traffic, you know, in the
store so they don't get dirtyreal fast and look dirty.
We pick out rugs that can movearound the floor and so that's
(12:20):
usually when we're targeting,you know, either the show or out
in the marketplace.
We go into stores, our guysknow this is the type of product
, these are the type of colors,this is what they're looking for
in terms of cleanability, andso we usually go in with a very
focused approach of you know,here's 40, 50, 60 rugs to pick
from.
(12:40):
Of course they can go into ourwebsite and our catalog and look
at the other 1500, but wecertainly know what after all
these years, what works.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
So design and durability are probably the main
selection points that you sayhey, this is why you want this
rug here.
Not only does it look good, butit performs well under heavy
duty traffic and usage.
Now, we did say somethingbefore you said something to me
that I hadn't seen in a while.
I've heard it.
I really haven't gone throughit.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Washable how does that work?
Well, that's a great question.
Yeah, washable is.
I think right now, if you know,they have the metrics online
for when people search keywords.
You know when they're searchingproducts and and the number one
word that's associated withrugs is washable that people are
(13:28):
searching in the United States.
So washable rugs is theconnection there.
So you know, you had thecompany called Ruggables come
out some years ago and theystarted doing hundreds of
millions of dollars and it wasquite amazing and it was built
all around washable rugs and youknow, most classic rug guys
(13:53):
were just like what in the worldis going on here, yeah and uh,
but it it was huge dynamite typeof sales and so, consequently,
in the coming years, rug guysDalen was kind of a front runner
for this to try to figure outhow to, how to make folks see a
rug that they're familiar withand go, oh, that looks like a
(14:14):
normal rug, feels normal, hasthe nice hand, et cetera, et
cetera.
But how could I take that rugand potentially put it in a
washing machine, right, howcould I take that rug and put it
on my driveway and hose it offwithout somehow, you know,
messing the rug up?
And so it involves a lot of thematerial itself polyester,
(14:35):
polypropylene.
You could do that anytime.
But the problem was is thebackings.
They just hold a lot of water.
Rugs get very heavy.
It could take a week to dry itout.
It was a lot of complexitieswith that.
So, yeah, they, daylon and andothers, have kind of figured out
how to do the backings on theserugs so that they are able to
(14:57):
go and wash machines.
You know five, eights and below, obviously, for your home wash
machine.
If you've got an eight by 10,you can take it to a commercial
wash machine and wash it Um, oryou can just throw it in the
driveway.
We actually have videos thatwe're adding to our website that
shows us cleaning rugs in adriveway and they just hang in
them over a rail and they lookbrand new, feel brand new.
(15:20):
You know we have one at Marketat the furniture show in High
Point we washed it three timesin a washing machine and put it
beside another one that justcame off the loom and tested
people.
So can you feel a difference?
They could not feel adifference.
So it's pretty amazing wherethings have come.
And for rent to own this justseems like the one category of
(15:45):
folks that would be the mostexcited about this is rent to
own folks.
They can kind of go well, wecan get it back, it's easy to
claim and get all the stains outof it, et cetera, et cetera,
and we can rent this baby backout.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Well, that's super important.
Obviously, rent-to-own alwayswants to have that one owner
right.
You come in, you either buy itor you rent it.
You keep it for the life of theproduct.
No-transcript, that same value.
(16:41):
And so that's where I think rugalways gets that bad rap is.
You know, it's not like a shirt, right A shirt, unless it's one
of those baseball shirts whereyou're sliding on it.
Well, sure, it doesn't gothrough that type of wear and
tear.
But when you're talking about arug it's like we stand on it,
we work on it.
We could have you got the kids.
They're spilling stuff on, noton purpose, but you know things
happen.
It's a life.
It's a life that people have.
And so when you're living thatregular life and you know you've
(17:15):
got pets and they're some elbowgrease into it, it's going to
be near new.
When you're done with her, it'sgoing to look very much like
new.
So not only are you going toget your product, you're going
to get your money out of it asfar as resale value.
But the customer who's comingin and purchasing that knows
they're getting a value out ofit because it can be taken care
of again and again and again andit'll kind of look of different
designs?
Is the five foot by eight footkind of size the most utilized
in the rental owned industry?
Speaker 2 (17:39):
It's actually changing.
We're getting into eight bytens a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
So eight by ten is a new kid on the block.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, I mean that's changed dramatically in the last
18 months, really Doing a tonof five by eights, now we're
into eight-by-tens, doing a lotof eight-by-tens.
So not everybody's on boardwith that, but we're certainly
moving that direction.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Is that because sofas are getting bigger?
Is that because they've widenedup?
Maybe they have the largerrails on the side and they're
still using that for the livingroom, or are they using it more
for these show pieces where youhave a large dining room or a
large area where you're tryingto cover it up?
What have you seen as thereason that we're shifting to
getting bigger rugs?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, houses are getting bigger, Spaces are
opening up, getting larger, youknow, just, the whole layout of
homes is changing.
So consequently you're gettingsituations where people just
need a larger rug.
You know, 5'8 starts to lookreally small.
So yeah, Rentone has trouble insome stores because the
location, the size, the space,they can't put a lot of 8x10s in
(18:40):
.
But fundamentally in themarketplace 8x10s are where it's
happening.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
That's where it's going to.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, I mean it's.
60% of our business is 8x10s.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Well, listen to that guys, the dealers.
I want to get you guys tounderstand that these operators
need to know If you're startingto move in that direction.
You might want to get on thatand give he the call and say,
hey, let's try these out and seehow they work.
Now having to wash themcommercially right?
Let's say, want to keep itsimple and we take it home when
we do it in a driveway.
Let's say that we're talkingabout a driveway as opposed to
(19:11):
doing some kind of commercialcleaning.
How is that done?
Is it a brush?
Is it just taking water to it?
What kind of cleaners can youuse on that?
I mean, what makes it so easythat I can take care of it?
And before I know it, it lookslike a brand new rug again.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Yeah, you just simply water it down.
Water down, use a little bit ofsoap, and then you just simply
brush it.
You can do a light brush on it,then you can just hose it back
off and gets all the soap out ofit.
That's the trick is to get allthe soap out of it.
But yeah, it's a.
It's a actually very simpleprocess.
I did one the other day in myown driveway, where you know my
(19:44):
own house.
So we just, you know, take alittle Dawn dish soap spray on
it and put a little water on it.
I sprinkle some Dawn dish soapand literally just take a little
brush, handheld brush, and kindof push it along and into the
fiber gently, then just spray itoff, and then I, you know, we
hung it over a little ladderthat I had there and by the end
of the day it was dry and put itback in the house.
(20:05):
It's brand new.
That's.
That's how quickly it's.
Uh, you know they, they can becleaned up and reused.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Well, you guys got to understand.
Heath himself is saying stickit in the driveway, spray it
down, use some Dawn soap and youcan have a brand new rug by
it's all done.
It's magic, magic, magic.
Listen, I want you guys to knowwe appreciate that you stopped
by.
I know that you guys got a lotgoing on in Meeting of the Minds
.
There's a lot of things goingon in there, a lot of operators
who want to get their hands onthese new rugs that you've got.
I know that you always got somegood deals going on, so we
(20:34):
appreciate you taking out thetime to come out here and listen
.
If somebody wants to takeadvantage of your services, they
say you know what?
I need a better vendor for rugs.
I need to know all these newdesigns and I need to know
what's coming up next, likewashability or the fact that we
have these new sizes that arebecoming more of marketplace.
Sure, how are they going to geta hold of you?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Well, they can obviously reach out to me
directly and I can hook them upwith their local salesperson.
We have roughly 25 salespeopleand they cover all the states,
but heathperkins at dalencom isthe quickest way to get a quick
answer on a question and thenI'll take it from there.
I'll get them hooked up withtheir local rep.
(21:15):
Their local rep will contactthem, set up a time to introduce
the new products to them,explain what we're doing that's
different than everybody elseand get them signed up.
So you know we do it.
We're working with a lot ofTrib members for rugs and we
consider ourselves kind of theRUGS source for Trib members.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
So listen guys, if you guys don't know who the Trib
is, the Trib is the rentaldealer.
It's an industry buying groupand they are the ones that come
together for rent, to own andhelp really put all of these
vendors together.
For us, as owners, operatorsand people who are on the front
line selling to our customers,they have the ability to kind of
get everybody together and say,hey, these are the kind of
(21:56):
relationships that we need.
You help me sell these rugs andI'll help you make some money.
What we can do is just get allthese out there with so many
designs, so many size choicesand the ability to get it washed
.
You've got Heath here to saythat, hey, hit me up, I not only
can set you up, but I can takecare of you if there's anything
that you need.
I really appreciate your time,heath.
I'm glad that you were able tocome out here and talk to us a
little bit about it, because I'mgoing to be honest with you,
rugs is something that we don'tthink about, but it might be
(22:16):
something that we need goinginto 2025.
Get a little bit more ofAccessorize, a little bit more.
There are so many things thatcome out new all the time.
Let's make it look good,absolutely, and that's how we.
If you have anything that youwant to know about the rug
company Dillon Rugs, or DillonRugs excuse me, and you just
haven't kind of caught it in theconversation feel free to hit
(22:36):
him up, or you can hit me up atthe show it's Pete at the
RTOShowPodcastcom.
You can hit me up on Facebook,on Instagram, on LinkedIn and
now we have YouTube.
So make sure that you subscribeand I will tell you.
Guys, as always, I appreciateit, heath.
Hello and welcome to the RTO Show podcast.
I'm your host, pete Hsiao, andtoday we are still outside of
Meeting of the Minds.
This is 2025 in Atlanta,georgia.
I'm with Heath Perkins rightnow from Dalen Rug Company, and
listen, you guys have been doingthis for a very, very long time
.
I see it every single show thathappens, but the truth is, I
(00:31):
don't think everybody knowsenough about what you guys have
really been bringing to thetable, some of the innovations
that you've brought up in thelast few years, and why it's a
great idea to start puttingthese in your showrooms.
So, heath, why don't you giveus a little bit about yourself?
How did you get started in this?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
And where's Dallon going?
Well, yeah, we started withTriob.
I want to say 2011, 12, thatrange.
I remember flying to Atlantaand presenting to the committee
here and I remember them sayingthey had like three rug guys at
the time and they were like Idon't think we really need
another rug person, but we wereselling buddies.
And so they said, okay, we'lltake a look at what you're doing
.
And I flew up here, presentedto them and they just loved what
we were doing and so some ofthe key folks on that committee
(01:16):
actually calling me within weekssaying we need to get some rugs
into the stores and they wereexcited about it.
So that started I don't know,maybe now a 13 year partnership
with Trib and you know we'vegrown every year.
It's a challenge to get involvedin the rent-to-own business and
from our standpoint, from ourcategory, we work primarily with
(01:39):
you know, from High Point inLas Vegas, work with a lot of
furniture folks work with carpetstores, work with area rug
galleries across the country.
So this was definitelysomething different for us.
It took us a couple of years toget comfortable with it and
understand what people werereally looking for in the
rent-to-own business in terms oftheir rugs.
We didn't have the experienceof this is my 23rd year with
(02:04):
Dayland, so I've been around along time doing this.
I'd never experienced theconcept where a rug got sold and
then came back, and then cameback and then people go well,
what do I do with it?
Now I go oh geez, I don't know.
I've never thought of that.
So yeah, it was a differentmindset that we had to get over
the first couple of years.
(02:25):
But yeah, it was.
Once we got comfortable, peoplestarted to really take on our
product.
We started working for them.
We were one of the top five rugmanufacturers in the United
States.
So you know, when we got to therent-to-own side, a lot of
people had never heard of us.
Obviously Just a different typeof business.
But we're like no, we canhandle your needs for you.
(02:48):
We just got to understandexactly what you're looking for
and it took us a couple of yearsto kind of identify the price
points, the product, what wasimportant in terms of
cleanability, returns, how youcan maybe clean them and re-rent
them out.
Oh yeah, they got to be tough.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Oh yeah, they got to be tough and to clean them and
re-rent them out.
Oh yeah, they got to be tough.
They got to be tough and rentto own.
You've got to have a productthat can sustain the test of
time, not only to be delivered,be used, be brought back, be
cleaned, be put out again.
And that's just part of thethings that come with rent to
own.
But so what are some of thedifferences that you've seen?
(03:22):
Okay, I have a rug into my rug,so that now I know this is
going to be worth it.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, I mean when we first started with the
rent-to-own side and I don'twant this to sound bad, but the
fashion was not even in theconversation with most
rent-to-own folks when it comesto rugs, I mean it just it was
just some solid color rugs basicstuff, huh, you know Jim Bob
would come by in their van andsell them 10 rugs out of their
(03:49):
back of their van.
And these were 10 rugs that,frankly, were hard to look at
typically, and the reason JimBob had them in the van is
because they nobody else willbuy them, and that's what.
There's still some rug guys outthere that they'll go overseas
and they'll just bring acontainer to the stuff,
basically stuff that we don'tthink sellable in the United
States.
They'll go get a couplecontainers, bring it in and then
(04:11):
go around try to pitch it tofolks.
It still happens today, butthat was kind of happening in
the rent town business, wherefashion was not in, was not a
part of the equation, reallydidn't even care.
Half the time it was just sendme 12 rugs.
You're part of the equation,really didn't even care.
Half the time it was just sendme 12 rugs.
And you're like what do youwant?
Yeah, what are you looking for?
I don't know, just 12 rugs,that's what we need.
And you're like, oh goodnesssakes.
(04:33):
So we came in trying to tellfolks they were used to paying
50 bucks for a rug and notcaring what it looked like and
then they would throw it infront of the furniture and look
like and then they would throwit in front of the furniture and
it would you're like well, youjust made the furniture and the
whole store look terrible andhe'd been better off not even to
do a rug than what you justbrought in.
You just made the situation much, much harder to try to sell the
(04:56):
product.
So you know, we started tryingto talk about fashion.
The same rugs we were bringingto the rent-to-own stores are
the same rugs that are in allthe mainline furniture stores
the Haverty's furniture, theLazy Boy furniture, the Any
Rooms to Go.
I mean these mainline furnitureguys.
We were bringing that sameproduct to the rent-to-own side
(05:17):
and saying, hey, you might pay afew dollars more up front, but
the rug will wear a lot longer,it's a lot easier to clean, you
can re-rent it out, it's morefashion oriented and help your
store look a lot better.
It'll help your furniture sella lot better.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well listen, there's nothing worse than having
somebody come in and you'retrying to accessorize something
that you've got, things thatjust don't match, don't look
right, and you're telling themI'll make you a great deal, I'll
put this in your house.
Truman, there's no way you'regoing to put that in my house.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Because everybody has a different taste.
Everybody has a different ebband flow, in kind of the way
they look at things and the waytheir partner looks at things
and the way their household is.
With traditional contemporary,however, it is where you want
somebody that's real modern andthey come in and you have
somebody who likes a bare skinrug.
They're not exactly the same.
It just doesn't add up, RightRight.
So you come in and you addthese colors, you add these
choices.
How big was that forrent-to-own to see?
(06:09):
Wait a minute, we don't havethis solid shag rug, but we have
an option to where we have awhole lot of different views and
a different color schemes andthe way they kind of incorporate
with the lamps and the tablesand rugs.
Was that a huge push thatDaylon was able to take
advantage of?
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, once you startedgetting some, the first step was
to get folks past a price pointin their head you know they had
for so many years.
We pay $50 for rugs and you go,well, okay, we can sell you a
$50 rug, but I don't know thatthat's really what you truly
(06:48):
need long term.
I mean, yeah, it will feel avery short term need to because
you got four or five empty spots, but if you entertain the idea
of going to 70 or 80 dollars forrug just for that extra 20
bucks, 25 bucks, you won'tbelieve how much of a better
product I can deliver to you.
And so it took folks likeBuddy's and then we kind of
moved into, you know, babers,and the list goes on.
(07:09):
Folks going, ok, let me paythat little bit extra up front
and let me get much more of afashion forward product, a
product that it's going to makemy store look better.
And once they did that and theyput, they start putting our
rugs out there.
Then all of a sudden theconsumer comes in and goes, whoa
, wow, that's a great lookingrug.
And so it just took off.
(07:29):
And so then they were, you know, whoa, wow, that's a great
looking rug and so it just tookoff and so then they were.
You know, they bought in atthat point and so that's just
been the way it's been.
Each year it gets a little bitbigger.
Rugs are the number oneaccessory category in the
furniture industry, have beenfor probably close to two
decades by a landslide.
So when it comes to lamps,artwork and greenery, you know
(07:50):
rugs triumph all that by alandslide.
So when it comes to lamps,artwork and greenery and all
that, rugs triumph all that by ahuge margin.
So you know it's been good tosee the RTO folks gravitate
towards rugs, appreciate somegood looking rugs, and we've
kind of tapped into that.
And pretty much most of theother rug guys have left, you
know, over the years, right,right, and a lot of them have
(08:10):
left because they, like you know, dayland's just kind of, you
know, come in and really donesomething different and we have
so many great relationships outthere.
We were one of those unique rugcompanies that we have sales,
have a huge sales team acrossthe United States calling on
rent, on stores.
It's not just we come to theshows and try to sell you
something, it's not just we cometo the shows and try to sell
(08:31):
you something it's.
You know, we're following up inyour stores.
We're visiting your stores,writing orders in your stores,
talking to your managers,training.
So there's just a lot thatcomes with Dalen.
That's beyond what we do hereat the show.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Well, we're at Meeting of the Minds right now
and you've got a lot of theowner operators coming in and
these are the guys that buy fortheir locations, whether it be
one, whether it be 40, whetherit be a couple hundred.
They're buying.
Now, let's say that you havetheir ear for 10 minutes, two
minutes.
What is going to compel them toput Daylant on the floor?
What are some of the productfeatures that you can say these
(09:01):
rugs, the $25 or $30 that youwere talking about over the
plain old, plain Jane, that I'mjust going to pull out and throw
on the floor for a good twoweeks and it's going to wear out
, there's going to be no colorsleft.
What would you say to them?
That's really going to say, hey, I should do this, and not only
does it have the durability, orwhatever the case is, it's
going to have longevity that youprobably wouldn't get at a
different price point.
So what are some of thosethings that we can tell these
(09:23):
owner operators?
Hey, this is why you shouldselect Dayland Rugs.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, I think sometimes there's maybe there's
a thought from some folks thatwell, folks that are shopping
rent on maybe they're just okaywith this just mediocre looking
or below looking quality producton the rug side.
And I say, no, it's the samepeople shopping your stores that
(09:48):
are shopping rooms to go.
You know they might be in adifferent situation where they
want to rent something and go adifferent route, but they still.
They still see the same fashionon TV when they're watching
HGTV.
They still want stuff thatlooks good, this fashion forward
, this quality products.
So, yeah, I mean to me you wantyour store looking as good as
(10:11):
possible, right?
You know, it's kind of likegoing and buying a nice Lexus
and then painting it purple withyellow stripes.
You're like, why did you justdo that?
You know you took, you got abeautiful piece of furniture out
there and you want toaccessorize it.
And because that's your mainitem we understand you're not a
rug store your main items torent this furniture out and
(10:31):
these beds and mattresses andappliances, et cetera.
You want to highlight thoseitems and the way you highlight
it is to get really, really goodaccessories built around that
particular product.
So it helps you sell thatbigger ticket item over and over
and over.
So the rugs help facilitatebetter sales through that
process.
(10:51):
So, yeah, I just think to me,for the $60, $70, you can just
absolutely make a set on yourfloor stand out and look
unbelievable.
And so, yeah, you go in anymainline furniture store right
now they have rugs all over thefloors, you know, because it
highlights their furniture.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Well they are.
They are everywhere.
I mean listen, the rugs areeverywhere.
One of the main things thatalways stands out is there's a
big selection in in Dayland rugs.
A lot of different colors, alot of different avenues.
Some's got squirrels, somedon't.
You know some of their.
You know you got earth tonesand non-earth tones.
How many different designs doesDaylil sell to the RTO sector?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Well, we have a very large assortment.
It can be challenging becausewe have to try to reduce it down
.
We probably have just differentdesigns probably 1,500 designs
currently and it's in ourassortment.
But of course we come to marketwith 25 rugs, you know.
We come to market with 30, 35.
(11:55):
And we really try to focus.
We've been doing this longenough.
We know the price points peopleare looking for.
We know they're.
They got gray and brown andblack.
You know sofas everywhere.
So we bring rugs that canhandle traffic, you know, in the
store so they don't get dirtyreal fast and look dirty.
We pick out rugs that can movearound the floor and so that's
(12:20):
usually when we're targeting,you know, either the show or out
in the marketplace.
We go into stores, our guysknow this is the type of product
, these are the type of colors,this is what they're looking for
in terms of cleanability, andso we usually go in with a very
focused approach of you know,here's 40, 50, 60 rugs to pick
from.
(12:40):
Of course they can go into ourwebsite and our catalog and look
at the other 1500, but wecertainly know what after all
these years, what works.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
So design and durability are probably the main
selection points that you sayhey, this is why you want this
rug here.
Not only does it look good, butit performs well under heavy
duty traffic and usage.
Now, we did say somethingbefore you said something to me
that I hadn't seen in a while.
I've heard it.
I really haven't gone throughit.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Washable how does that work?
Well, that's a great question.
Yeah, washable is.
I think right now, if you know,they have the metrics online
for when people search keywords.
You know when they're searchingproducts and and the number one
word that's associated withrugs is washable that people are
(13:28):
searching in the United States.
So washable rugs is theconnection there.
So you know, you had thecompany called Ruggables come
out some years ago and theystarted doing hundreds of
millions of dollars and it wasquite amazing and it was built
all around washable rugs and youknow, most classic rug guys
(13:53):
were just like what in the worldis going on here, yeah and uh,
but it it was huge dynamite typeof sales and so, consequently,
in the coming years, rug guysDalen was kind of a front runner
for this to try to figure outhow to, how to make folks see a
rug that they're familiar withand go, oh, that looks like a
(14:14):
normal rug, feels normal, hasthe nice hand, et cetera, et
cetera.
But how could I take that rugand potentially put it in a
washing machine, right, howcould I take that rug and put it
on my driveway and hose it offwithout somehow, you know,
messing the rug up?
And so it involves a lot of thematerial itself polyester,
(14:35):
polypropylene.
You could do that anytime.
But the problem was is thebackings.
They just hold a lot of water.
Rugs get very heavy.
It could take a week to dry itout.
It was a lot of complexitieswith that.
So, yeah, they, daylon and andothers, have kind of figured out
how to do the backings on theserugs so that they are able to
(14:57):
go and wash machines.
You know five, eights and below, obviously, for your home wash
machine.
If you've got an eight by 10,you can take it to a commercial
wash machine and wash it Um, oryou can just throw it in the
driveway.
We actually have videos thatwe're adding to our website that
shows us cleaning rugs in adriveway and they just hang in
them over a rail and they lookbrand new, feel brand new.
(15:20):
You know we have one at Marketat the furniture show in High
Point we washed it three timesin a washing machine and put it
beside another one that justcame off the loom and tested
people.
So can you feel a difference?
They could not feel adifference.
So it's pretty amazing wherethings have come.
And for rent to own this justseems like the one category of
(15:45):
folks that would be the mostexcited about this is rent to
own folks.
They can kind of go well, wecan get it back, it's easy to
claim and get all the stains outof it, et cetera, et cetera,
and we can rent this baby backout.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Well, that's super important.
Obviously, rent-to-own alwayswants to have that one owner
right.
You come in, you either buy itor you rent it.
You keep it for the life of theproduct.
No-transcript, that same value.
(16:41):
And so that's where I think rugalways gets that bad rap is.
You know, it's not like a shirt, right A shirt, unless it's one
of those baseball shirts whereyou're sliding on it.
Well, sure, it doesn't gothrough that type of wear and
tear.
But when you're talking about arug it's like we stand on it,
we work on it.
We could have you got the kids.
They're spilling stuff on, noton purpose, but you know things
happen.
It's a life.
It's a life that people have.
And so when you're living thatregular life and you know you've
(17:15):
got pets and they're some elbowgrease into it, it's going to
be near new.
When you're done with her, it'sgoing to look very much like
new.
So not only are you going toget your product, you're going
to get your money out of it asfar as resale value.
But the customer who's comingin and purchasing that knows
they're getting a value out ofit because it can be taken care
of again and again and again andit'll kind of look of different
designs?
Is the five foot by eight footkind of size the most utilized
in the rental owned industry?
Speaker 2 (17:39):
It's actually changing.
We're getting into eight bytens a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
So eight by ten is a new kid on the block.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, I mean that's changed dramatically in the last
18 months, really Doing a tonof five by eights, now we're
into eight-by-tens, doing a lotof eight-by-tens.
So not everybody's on boardwith that, but we're certainly
moving that direction.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Is that because sofas are getting bigger?
Is that because they've widenedup?
Maybe they have the largerrails on the side and they're
still using that for the livingroom, or are they using it more
for these show pieces where youhave a large dining room or a
large area where you're tryingto cover it up?
What have you seen as thereason that we're shifting to
getting bigger rugs?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, houses are getting bigger, Spaces are
opening up, getting larger, youknow, just, the whole layout of
homes is changing.
So consequently you're gettingsituations where people just
need a larger rug.
You know, 5'8 starts to lookreally small.
So yeah, Rentone has trouble insome stores because the
location, the size, the space,they can't put a lot of 8x10s in
(18:40):
.
But fundamentally in themarketplace 8x10s are where it's
happening.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
That's where it's going to.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, I mean it's.
60% of our business is 8x10s.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Well, listen to that guys, the dealers.
I want to get you guys tounderstand that these operators
need to know If you're startingto move in that direction.
You might want to get on thatand give he the call and say,
hey, let's try these out and seehow they work.
Now having to wash themcommercially right?
Let's say, want to keep itsimple and we take it home when
we do it in a driveway.
Let's say that we're talkingabout a driveway as opposed to
(19:11):
doing some kind of commercialcleaning.
How is that done?
Is it a brush?
Is it just taking water to it?
What kind of cleaners can youuse on that?
I mean, what makes it so easythat I can take care of it?
And before I know it, it lookslike a brand new rug again.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Yeah, you just simply water it down.
Water down, use a little bit ofsoap, and then you just simply
brush it.
You can do a light brush on it,then you can just hose it back
off and gets all the soap out ofit.
That's the trick is to get allthe soap out of it.
But yeah, it's a.
It's a actually very simpleprocess.
I did one the other day in myown driveway, where you know my
(19:44):
own house.
So we just, you know, take alittle Dawn dish soap spray on
it and put a little water on it.
I sprinkle some Dawn dish soapand literally just take a little
brush, handheld brush, and kindof push it along and into the
fiber gently, then just spray itoff, and then I, you know, we
hung it over a little ladderthat I had there and by the end
of the day it was dry and put itback in the house.
(20:05):
It's brand new.
That's.
That's how quickly it's.
Uh, you know they, they can becleaned up and reused.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Well, you guys got to understand.
Heath himself is saying stickit in the driveway, spray it
down, use some Dawn soap and youcan have a brand new rug by
it's all done.
It's magic, magic, magic.
Listen, I want you guys to knowwe appreciate that you stopped
by.
I know that you guys got a lotgoing on in Meeting of the Minds
.
There's a lot of things goingon in there, a lot of operators
who want to get their hands onthese new rugs that you've got.
I know that you always got somegood deals going on, so we
(20:34):
appreciate you taking out thetime to come out here and listen
.
If somebody wants to takeadvantage of your services, they
say you know what?
I need a better vendor for rugs.
I need to know all these newdesigns and I need to know
what's coming up next, likewashability or the fact that we
have these new sizes that arebecoming more of marketplace.
Sure, how are they going to geta hold of you?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Well, they can obviously reach out to me
directly and I can hook them upwith their local salesperson.
We have roughly 25 salespeopleand they cover all the states,
but heathperkins at dalencom isthe quickest way to get a quick
answer on a question and thenI'll take it from there.
I'll get them hooked up withtheir local rep.
(21:15):
Their local rep will contactthem, set up a time to introduce
the new products to them,explain what we're doing that's
different than everybody elseand get them signed up.
So you know we do it.
We're working with a lot ofTrib members for rugs and we
consider ourselves kind of theRUGS source for Trib members.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
So listen guys, if you guys don't know who the Trib
is, the Trib is the rentaldealer.
It's an industry buying groupand they are the ones that come
together for rent, to own andhelp really put all of these
vendors together.
For us, as owners, operatorsand people who are on the front
line selling to our customers,they have the ability to kind of
get everybody together and say,hey, these are the kind of
(21:56):
relationships that we need.
You help me sell these rugs andI'll help you make some money.
What we can do is just get allthese out there with so many
designs, so many size choicesand the ability to get it washed
.
You've got Heath here to saythat, hey, hit me up, I not only
can set you up, but I can takecare of you if there's anything
that you need.
I really appreciate your time,heath.
I'm glad that you were able tocome out here and talk to us a
little bit about it, because I'mgoing to be honest with you,
rugs is something that we don'tthink about, but it might be
(22:16):
something that we need goinginto 2025.
Get a little bit more ofAccessorize, a little bit more.
There are so many things thatcome out new all the time.
Let's make it look good,absolutely, and that's how we.
If you have anything that youwant to know about the rug
company Dillon Rugs, or DillonRugs excuse me, and you just
haven't kind of caught it in theconversation feel free to hit
(22:36):
him up, or you can hit me up atthe show it's Pete at the
RTOShowPodcastcom.
You can hit me up on Facebook,on Instagram, on LinkedIn and
now we have YouTube.
So make sure that you subscribeand I will tell you.
Guys, as always, I appreciateit, heath.
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