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Jan
David Winitz
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By Scott S. Smith
From
California CEO magazine, March 2002
A
Rocky Mountain couple was searching for Oriental rugs. The best kind of
these rugs, as Oriental rug aficionados know, were produced 80 to 200
years ago before the advent of commercial production, and are made
either by skilled artisans in workshops or by nomadic tribes using
natural dyes primarily from Persia, Turkey, the Caucasus, or Central
Asia.
A single person or a group of
weavers may have spent two to 10 years creating each unique rug, making
them rare and valuable commodities. It shows, too, in the elaborateness
of the design and the softness in the colors. They are more like works
of art for the floor than they are room furnishings to be stepped on.
During the couple's search, they came across
an ad for Claremont Rug Company of Oakland and checked out
its website.
Using the "Find a Rug" feature,
they pulled up images in a range of styles and sizes to fit
their needs. They were able to examine digital photos in PDF
files more productively than if they had looked at the actual
carpets in person - pictures can be enlarged 300% without
loss of clarity. After an hour of browsing, they called to
discuss their specifications and preferences with a senior
sales associate, who has worked with Claremont for over 20
years. He guided the couple to some other choices, which they
looked at together online.
"We're almost always able to satisfy
even those who tell us they've been shopping for months without
finding what they wanted," says Claremont president,
Jan David Winitz.
After
consulting Winitz, the sales associate sent their recommendations three
hours later in an email with a signature that included the Financial
Times’ assessment of Claremont as “one of the world’s best sources of
antique carpets.” The next day, the couple ordered five rugs, shipped
overnight to their home. After deciding which rugs worked best where,
the couple bought three of the five rugs for $225,000 without ever
leaving their home.
"Our clients are incredibly busy and
appreciate immediate gratification," says Winitz.
These days, that's a common online transaction
between Claremont Rug and its more than 200 ongoing long-distance
customers.
Founded in 1980, Claremont is the combined
effort of Winitz, his wife, Christine Hunt Winitz, and a partner
who oversees international buying, but prefers no publicity.
Winitz became fascinated with antique rugs
after he inherited 350 from his grandmother, who he describes
as "an impassioned connoisseur and world traveler who
taught me things about carpets I could not have learned elsewhere."
The onetime high school teacher who sold rugs on the side
is now the impassioned connoisseur. He has a two-building
gallery complex and warehouse in Oakland, another shop in
Berkeley, a warehouse in New York City, and a staff of 20
buyers worldwide to pull together an international collection.
The rugs come from all over. Sometimes, they're
picked up from estates. A couple of years ago, a Swiss woman
left behind more than 250 rugs that she amassed over 50 years
and which Claremont acquired and now sells as part of its
collection.
The Net Result
Until 1999, all business at Claremont was
conducted by phone, mail, at their two stores, or by flying
anywhere in the world to show samples. Then John Warnock,
CEO of Adobe Systems and a longtime Claremont client, suggested
they consider how the Internet could help their sales. Claremont
started out carefully online, but quickly realized what a
huge role the Web presence could play.
The company developed a state-of-the-art,
in-house imaging department and photo lab where they create
all the photos and files for online display. The look and
ease of the website has hit a chord with clients from Palm
Beach to Hong Kong. But rather than eliminating travel and
phone calls, the Internet has generated more of both. Winitz
spends about 20% of his time traveling, as opposed to making
just a few trips a year before the online expansion.
No sales are transacted entirely over the
website, however, because consultation is always necessary,
explains Winitz, to make sure the pieces work well with the
décor and to make arrangements for installation, no
matter where the client lives.
Superb service
And for those who want real-world experience,
customers get the red carpet treatment when they come into
Claremont's two-building main store. Winitz often attends
to customers personally, three men open carpets for viewing,
an assistant helps with the sales process, and two staff members
bring drinks, call the client's architect, supply photos,
or e-mail images to a designer during the discussion.
Winitz emphasizes the importance of excellent
long-term customer service. In fact, the company offers a
Lifetime Full Exchange Policy, so a customer can trade in
a rug if their house, or tastes, change.
The main store holds room size (6'X9' to
10'X14') and oversize pieces (11'X15' to 17'X32') that are
typically priced between $25,000 and $275,000. Some of the
extremely rare rugs run as high as $500,000 apiece. Of course,
because these kinds of carpets have not been created this
way for at least 70 years, there is great investment potential.
A 9'X12' 19th-century Serapi carpet purchased in 1980 for
$7,500 might be worth $60,000 to $70,000 today, with prices
going up because of the growing lack of availability coupled
with an increase in the number of avid collectors.
The company doesn't cut corners to showcase
its wares. Claremont's current offerings are published in
a lavish catalog printed on the finest paper three times a
year and mailed to 150,000 people. It's a major expense, which
pays for itself both in return business and in introducing
Claremont to prospective clients, who shell out hundreds of
thousands of dollars for the rugs.
Even the global economic downturn of the
past two years has not caused the firm to skip a beat in its
growth. Their list of clients includes a great many CEOs and
chairpersons of Fortune 500 companies, along with many
on the Forbes World's Billionaires list.
"Our desire has always been to provide
our clients with carpets that will have a magical effect on
their home environments and will bring deep satisfaction on
a daily basis," Winitz says. "These are solid art
investments that often become cherished family treasures."
-- Scott S. Smith is a business writer
from the Los Angeles area. He interviews leading business
and social figures for the in-flight magazines of American
Airlines and United Airlines.
Also see:
FINANCIAL TIMES - "Treasures You Purchase to Hold on to" (3/29/08)
Download printable version 
MARKET WATCH / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - "Global Leap in Best Antique Rugs as Major Works of Art " (7/14/08)
Download printable version
MARKET WATCH / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - "Domestic and International Connoisseurs Embrace Antique Rug Sales Event in “Next Frontier of Art Investing” " (6/2/08)
Download printable version
THE MERCURY NEWS - "Rare rugs" (5/30/08)
Download printable version
YAHOO FINANCE - "Claremont Rug Company Announces Additional Hudson River Valley Collection " (4/30/08)
Download printable version
REUTERS.COM - "Claremont Rug Company Holds Globally Significant Exhibition… Rare, 19th Century Caucasus Rugs" (12/17/07)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Claremont Rug Company Acquires “Mother Lode” Collection of 19th Century Art Carpets" (2/12/08)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Increasingly Savvy Clients and Decreasing Availability Combine with Internet To Create Perfect Storm in Rare Rug Market" (10/24/07)
Download printable version
MORNINGSTAR.COM - "Demand for Antique Carpets and Rugs Expands While Availability is Reduced" (9/16/07)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Leading Antique Carpet Dealer Cites Boom in Internet Sales" (9/5/07)
Download printable version
WORTH MAGAZINE - "Masterpieces Underfoot "
Download printable version
CIO Magazine
- "Carpetbaggers: The Claremont Rug Co., purveyor of antique carpets
made centuries ago by Southwest Asian nomads, has benefited doubly from
the great leap forward to the Internet."
FINANCIAL TIMES - "How
To Spend It: East bay passions. The sit-ins are long since over, says
Holly Finn, but Berkeley has plenty to shout about...The Claremont Rug
Company - one of the world's best sources of antique carpets - is here."
Download printable version
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - "Art At Your Feet: Antique or copied oriental rugs express their weavers' inspirations"
Download printable version
OAKLAND TRIBUNE - "Web Helps Rug Store Clinch Sales"
BEL AIR ARTICLE - "What Hotel Bel Air (Beverly Hills, CA) says about Claremont Rug" |
