Rugs for furniture stores: mixed container orders

Furniture stores, home-furnishing chains and showroom groups usually buy rugs the way they buy sofas: a range, shipped together, on one purchase order. This page explains how a mixed, multi-design order works with Raheem and Son, a fourth-generation rug maker founded in 1927 in Bhadohi. We make hand-knotted, hand-tufted, handloom, hand-woven, flatweave, jute and natural fibre rugs, plus poufs, pillows and baskets, all made to order.

A store rarely wants one design in 200 pieces. It wants a range across price tiers and sizes that fills a rug wall and a floor display. Because every piece is made to order and the minimum is 1 piece, you can plan a mixed order: several designs, several sizes and more than one construction. Tell us the number of designs, the sizes per design and your target mix of constructions and we will plan production around it.

A practical way to organise this is to group the range in three tiers: flatweave and jute for entry points (see wholesale kilim and dhurrie rugs), hand-tufted for the middle of the range, and hand-knotted for the top (see hand-knotted rugs). The exact build and fibre for each quality are on rug specifications.

1. Select and sample. Approve a sample of each design. Sampling takes 5 to 20 days, and its cost is credited against your order.
2. Agree the specification. Sizes, tolerance, colours and finishing are written into the order. Size tolerance is typically about 3% and agreed in writing.
3. Produce. Bulk production takes 8 to 16 weeks from sample approval. Pieces are checked against the approved sample at four points, including a final check of dimensions and colour before packing.
4. Pack and label. Each rug is packed to your specification, with your label, barcode or QR sticker and packaging if you have asked for them.
5. Document and ship. We prepare the export documents and hand over for shipment.

• Rugs are rolled, poly-wrapped and palletised as standard. Eco-friendly or custom packing is available as per buyer requirement.
• Packing specifications are confirmed before production begins, so they match your receiving and retail standards.
• Standard documents are the commercial invoice, packing list and Certificate of Origin. We do not issue a phytosanitary certificate; a buyer who needs one for jute or seagrass should check the destination's rules with their broker. The full document set is confirmed before production.
• The default term is FOB Nhava Sheva. Other Incoterms are available and are explained on export and logistics.

How many pieces fit depends on the mix of sizes and constructions. As a guide, a 40 ft high-cube holds roughly 2,150 to 3,800 square metres of hand-knotted rugs, 1,650 to 2,950 of hand-tufted and 4,300 to 8,350 of flatweave, which is about 290 to 510 hand-knotted 8 x 10 ft rugs. Approximate, depends on rug size, pile and packing; the exact container plan is confirmed on your quote. See how many rugs fit in a container and rug packing and loading.

On request we attach your own brand label, woven or sewn in, and a barcode or QR sticker once you supply the numbers. We can pack each rug in your own packaging or polybag, with country of origin and fibre content on the label. This is how a store gets rugs that arrive ready to display. See OEM and private label.

A furniture floor often needs the soft furnishings around the rug. Poufs, pillows and baskets can ship in the same order. For the wider picture, read wholesale rugs and how to order, and compare suppliers with the rug manufacturer checklist.

Core references: OEM and private label, rug specifications, how to order, wholesale rugs and the sample program.

See also: How many rugs fit in a container · Rug packing and loading · Export and logistics · Wholesale poufs · Wholesale pillows · Baskets · Rug specifications · Rug sampling process · OEM and private label · Wholesale rugs