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By
Francine Brevetti
BUSINESS WRITER
From
The Oakland Tribune, Friday, February 25, 2000
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Customers
preview carpet selections online |
WHEN
ADOBE SYSTEMS CEO John E. Warnock and his wife, Marva,
decided their colonial home's hardwood floors "cried
out for rugs," they turned to Claremont Rug Co., which
specializes in art-level antique oriental rugs.
The Warnocks eventually bought a half-dozen pieces from
Claremont, but the big bonus for proprietors Jan David
and Christine Winitz was the advice and help John Warnock
gave them in using high-tech tools like digital photos
and e-mail to speed the sales process.
While they have yet to use all the Internet's tools
-- their Web site will be launched next month -- the
Winitzes were able to boost sales considerably between
1998 and 1999.
They are able to make sales more quickly -- and thus
have more sales by
e-mailing high quality digital photos to customers,
rather than relying on customer visits to their showroom
or sales calls by Jan David Winitz to customers around
the world.
Ironically, much of their increased business came from
the newly wealthy who made their riches in the high-tech
industry, Winitz said.
"The type of people we deal with, you have to gain their
trust. Always the way to do that was by having them
come to the store," he said. "With digital photography
and digital files working so well, we are now telling
people, "No, you don't have to wait six months till
you're coming to San Francisco. Let us send you the
digital files."
In the past, the Claremont couple and their specialized
sales force met designers or clients at the store. Or
Winitz himself flew to the clients' home cities with
carpets in tow.
Since
the smallest rug can cost $10,000 or more and the largest
well over one hundred thousand dollars, this expensive
and time consuming service seemed a necessary part of
doing business.
That
changed with Warnock's help.
The
rug dealer told the Adobe chief of the difficulties
of capturing the charm of genuine Bakshaish or Ferahan
Sarouk rug in a photo. The lack of fidelity in a photo
was a handicap in selling to clients who couldn't visit
the store and its vast trove of art-level 18th and 19th
century carpets.
Warnock asked, "Have you ever thought about Web sites
and communicating your carpets electronically?"
Warnock, whose firm is famed for its ability to transmit
high-quality images on the internet, put the Winitzes
together with a family member skilled in Adobe technology.
As they collaborated, Warnock tested the product on
his own rugs at home to perfect the technique.
"These (carpets) are so heavy and hard to ship around
easily, so the electronic route makes a lot of sense,"
Warnock said.
The
rug company has whole-heartedly adopted digital photo-graphy
and Internet communication, which helped boost sales
substantially last year with the addition of only one
new salesperson.
Claremont Rugs owes another debt to the high-tech industry:
it has created a new wealth and a new breed of customers.
The number of young millionaires who buy a raft of rugs
at a single blow is staggering, Winitz said.
The digital tools help clinch sales quickly, he said.
To cut down on sales costs and travel, Claremont Rug
had promoted sales by sending prospective clients photographs
before investing in a personal trip. But standard photographs
just weren't adequate, and the process took a lot time.
Nineteenth century carpets from Persia and the Near
East are notable for their delicate striations
in color. Connoisseurs want to see these as well as
the knotting, and any evidence of restoration and the
highly idiosyncratic patterns typical of the nomadic
peoples who wove them.
Too frequently, customers complained that when the rug
arrived, it didn't match the photo. The colors were
off, the details were blurry or obscured.
Today, when the rug company wants to send a picture
to a client, it uses digital photography, which the
client can either see as a color accurate print or view
on his computer.
"With
digital photography, the color is right on," Winitz
said. Furthermore, one can zoom in on those crucial
details, which reveal the weaver's artistry and the
piece's age.
Claremont also produces CD-ROMs to present larger selections
of rugs to special clients.
The Winitzes plan to launch their Web site, www.claremontrug.com,
in early March, completing their move to electronic
commerce. But you won't be able to point and click on
your purchase and proceed to check out as if you are
buying from Amazon.com. Personal shepherding through
the sale process will still be part of the procedure.
Although Claremont Rug retains its two long-standing
stores in Oakland, its use of technology has added many
important sales to its international business. The rug
dealer recently concluded a sale in England with six
major pieces as well as 18 pieces to a client in Trinidad,
West Indies. These were done solely with digital files,
without Winitz ever meeting the clients.
International sales are tricky. With the U.S. embargo
against trade in Persian rugs, pieces sent out of the
country cannot be sent back. So Claremont can send rugs
abroad only on the certainty of sale, not on an approval
basis.
"The
(digital) files are so accurate (that) coupled with
our reputation, they allow clients to have the comfort
level to buy sight unseen," Winitz said.
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