Looking for a new profit center? Ever wondered what it would take to operate a successful rug division in a furniture store? Then plan to attend “Everything You Wanted To Know About the Rug Business, But Were Afraid to Ask,” a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, April 9, at 9 a.m. in the newly expanded Rizzy Rugs showroom on the third floor of SHOWPLACE, Space 3515, and wonder no more.

Panelists include area rug veterans Mark Ferullo, vice president of sales at Rizzy Rugs, and Western Sales Manager Roger Stringer, a former department store rug buyer. Doug Ernewein, the company’s newly named vice president of product development and training, will moderate the discussion. Ernewein most recently served as rug buyer for Minneapolis-based Top 100 home furnishings retailer Hom Furniture, where he sourced rugs both domestically and from around the world, and was instrumental in the development of Hom’s 17,000-square-foot freestanding area rug store, World Rugs.

“During my years with Hom, I gained an understanding of what furniture stores need to operate a successful rug division within the larger home furnishings environment,” Ernewein says. “I hope to use that knowledge to help other furniture stores develop rug departments in their respective markets.”