Carpet Maker Bags
A Carpet Seller
1
96 BMW 318tia
........
..
-•
JULIE EDGAR STAFF WRITER
T
he world's biggest carpet re-
tailer has been gobbled up
by the world's largest car-
pet manufacturer.
The price tag on the Detroit-
based New York Carpet World
was not released. The company's
annual sales are estimated to be
between $400-$450 million.
After Shaw Industries of Dal-
ton, Ga., announced its purchase
of the company on May 23, its
stock price jumped by 50 cents, to
about $13.50, said Vice President
Julius Shaw. Last year, company
sales reached $2.9 billion.
The purchase of the nearly 200-
store chain, which was founded
by Abraham Nusbaum nearly 70
years ago, is part of Shaw's recent
move into the retail sector. Since
December, the company has ac-
quired $250 million worth of re-
tail concerns, Mr. Shaw said.
The buy was greeted warmly
by Wall Street.
`The investors and the analysts
view this as very- good news. They
want a good channel of distribu-
tion for our products. This was cer-
tainly the most high-profile
company in our industry," Mr.
Shaw said.
The carpet industry, he added,
is "fragmented." Most of the
25,000 or so carpet retailers in the
country are single-store, family-
owned operations, so, "to find
something the size of New York
Carpet World is very rare.
"They are an extremely well-
run company, so besides being the
largest, they also fit into what we
were looking for: not only size but
a well-managed company," Mr.
Shaw said.
Shaw Industries was founded
by Mr. Shaw's grandfather in the
late 1940s as Star Dye Company.
By the early 1970s, the company
had bought a large carpet man-
...
• The automo•ile shown has optional active package
•
•
•• •
ufacturer and become Shaw In-
dustries. Mr. Shaw's uncle, Robert
E. Shaw, is chairman and CEO of
the company.
Marvin Berlin, president and
co-owner of New York Carpet
World, said other offers to buy
have been made, but Shaw's was
the best.
"Mr. (Robert) Shaw understood
the business better than anybody
else. We'll be able to open stores
at a faster pace than we've been
opening them now," he said.
Selling the carpet chain, which
has locations in 17 states, was
about recognizing the need to
grow.
New York Carpet World plans
to add to its stable in the greater
Detroit area, where there are four
outlets, and expand in Indiana
and Florida. The company em-
ploys 4,000 individuals nation-
wide.
Mr. Berlin, a Southfield resi-
dent, will remain at the helm of
the company, which he joined
some 30 years ago. Co-owner Irv-
ing Nusbaum, the son of the
founder, has been retired for the
past five years.
"I think it's a technical kind of
a transfer. I don't think anybody
will feel the difference other than
we're accelerating what we're do-
ing," Mr. Berlin said.
Retail feasibility consultant Jeff
Green of the Green Group in Troy
speculated that Mr. Berlin and
Mr. Nusbaum sold the carpet gi-
ant because profit margins are
slim "and it (the carpet business)
is so price driven that any carpet
retailer has got to be the best
priced unless it's offering service."
Mr. Green noted that Beckwith
Evans, a carpet retailer with five
stores in the region, shut its doors
two weeks ago without much no-
tice.
❑
LEADING ISRAELI STOCKS
TRADED ON U.S. EXCHANGES
C/)
LU
LU
4
CC
UJ
CZ)
U_I
08
ER LItk 1 11
BMW
25. 1 0 3 1$W
Michigan's Largest and Most
4065 Maple
Experienced BMW Dealer
Just E. of Telegraph
Family Owned and Operated Since 1964
Bloomfield Hills
OPEN
SATURDAY
SALES
10A.M.-4P.M.
SERVICE/PARTS/SALES
9 p.m.
Mon. &
'30 month closed end lease Subject to approved credit With BMWFS. $2500 non-refundable down payment required. Tale, license, and use tax additional. A security deposit of $300 for 318tia, $450.00 for
328ia and $900.00 for 740iL. 10.000 miles per year limit $.15 cents per mile over limit. MSRP 01522,105 for 318tia, $36,020 for 328ia, and $65,000 for 740iL Option to purchase at lease end of $14,589
for 318tia, $24,494 for 328tia, and $40,300 for 740iL Total payments equal to ad price ,6% x 36. Vehicles subject to availability and may need to be ordered. The 318tia pictured has Active Package op-
tion at additional cost Scheduled Maintenance provided by BMW of Norht America for any 1996 vehicle leased through BMWRS for a period of 36 months or 36,000 miles. Offer ends June 30, 1996.
Symbol Name
SCIXF
Scitex
Exchange
May 24
May 31
Change
NASDAQ
'19.25
'26.50
'47.37
'19.50
'26.50
'45.50
+$0.25
'20.37
'19.25
+'0.00
-$1.87
5 1.12
'16.25
'14.37
'16.87
'14.12
'12.25
+'0.62
-$0.25
-$0.87
'27.00
ECILF
ECI Telecom
NASDAQ
TEVIY
I EC
Teva Pharm
PEC Israel
ELBTF
ELT
ELRNF
Elbit Computers
Elscint LTD
Elron Electronics
NASDAQ
NYSE
NASDAQ
TAD
Tadiran
CMVT
Comverse
ISL
First Israel Fund
NYSE
NASDAQ
NYSE
NASDAQ
NYSE
'13.12
'24.58
'27.75
'28.62
+$2.42
+$0.87
$12.37
$12.62
+$0.25
Source: Allen Olender, Prudential Securities,
West Bloomfield.