Interview with Mohammad Reza Entezari – Almas Carpet CEO
By: Behnam Ghasemi – Mena Carpet News
About Almas Carpet Holding
 Initially, the main core of Almas Kavir Holding was Almas Carpet Company, which produces and finishes machine-made carpets. The company has about 18 stores in the country that exclusively offer the company’s products.
Moreover, we have been involved in the tourism complex of this holding in an area of ​​32,000 square meters in the “Haft Bagh” region, Kerman -Iran. This complex includes an equestrian centre and a luxurious restaurant called Almas Kavir. In the field of mining, we also have activities such as extracting building stone and producing calcium carbonate.
What range of products does Almas Carpet offer to the market?
Almas Carpet has been trying to offer various machine-made carpets to the market. Due to the direct relationship with the consumer through stores, a variety of machine-made carpets are produced and offered in the company collection. In addition, sometimes some of the products are supplied by our active partners in order to offer a full range of goods to customers. At present, the company’s products include 500, 700, 1200, and 1500 reeds carpets with different fibers like Acrylic, polyester, polypropylene, wool and … in different densities.
Almas Carpet brand has achieved growth and prosperity in the last decade and has taken substantial steps in domestic sales and the export sector. What was the reason for this success, and what policies did you pursue?
Since Almas Kavir Company has been active in the trade and sale of machine-made carpets in about five branches in Kerman province from the beginning, it has had good experiences in this field. We were also aware of customer’s tastes and the quality they liked. By starting the production process, we have tried to produce products that meet customers’ needs. Therefore, we were able to produce high-quality products, and our products were well received. In this way, we could follow a growth path in the shortest time.
In the field of exports, we have been continuously present in international exhibitions since 1990, including Domotex held in Germany, Turkey, China, and various exhibitions in Iraq. Fortunately, in the last two or three years, our brand has shown its complete shape and special customers from different countries come to us to prepare their products. We hope that this growing trend continues.
How did you expand your capillary distribution network throughout Iran? How many branches do you have?
We have been active in the production of machine-made carpets in Kerman and Yazd provinces since 1973. At that time, we were working in line with prominent brands of machine-made carpets such as Setareh Kavir, Qali Soleiman, and Bastan Yazd, and several stores were exclusively offering our products.
The experiences we gained before the establishment of the factory enabled us to develop these branches. We continued this activity in a capillary manner in most cities around Kerman and neighbouring provinces. At present, about 16 branches operate directly and under the supervision of Almas Kavir Company throughout the country.
Almas Carpet has always been famous for presenting unique traditional Kerman designs and other stunning patterns. Why is the carpet design so important for this brand?
It could be said that Almas Kavir was initially able to present itself in the market due to the presentation of Kerman designs and to have good activity in those bad economic conditions.
Before establishing the Almas Kavir factory, we had given Kerman designs to companies such as Setareh Kavir Carpet, Bastan, and Solomon Carpet, and they produced machine-made carpets for us. This gave us hope that we could get into the production process ourselves, and fortunately, that happened. I remember the time that more than 30, 40 famous and old factories were copying the Kerman designs. The market needed these products at that time, and they were called Kerman carpets or rugs, sometimes associated with the name of Almas Carpet.
In addition to maintaining quality, production units must also have eye-catching designs. To this end, we have always tried to present new and unique products in terms of design and color. This has been a feature of our company and the difference between our competitors and us.
How do you evaluate the general situation of producing and selling machine-made carpets in Iran?
Fortunately, in the last 4 or 5 years, exporting machine-made carpets has flourished due to the currency’s situation. Although the rise in currency prices damaged the market, it helped producers to export their products. Thus, we could finally have good activity in this area with the welcome that came to Iran from foreign customers.
If the currency trend balances and stabilizes at a low rate in the future, it will definitely affect the market, and the industry will face challenges and problems. Small units and units that cannot get a good domestic market will undoubtedly face difficulties.
 What are your plans for developing export markets? What kind of carpets do you export? And to which countries are they exported?
We have set our export plans since 1990. For research and development in the export and marketing of foreign countries, we have an active unit that continuously monitors different regions.
Most of our exported products are 1200 and 1500 reeds carpets and, in fact, fine woven products. Other countries, such as Turkey, Iran’s main rival, have not been very successful in offering fine products and classic designs. That is why we have been successful in exporting these products. Fortunately, all our colleagues are working well in this field, and recently produced modern designs considered vintage, which has been well received in domestic and foreign markets.
Our products are mainly exported to China, Russia, the Persian Gulf, and some African countries, and I hope we can expand our exports further, at least in these areas.
 How do you evaluate the global market of machine-made carpets, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic? Do you have any plans to attend Domotex 2022?
Coronavirus has had a significant impact on the world economy. The carpet industry is no exception, and Coronavirus caused a total recession in this sector. However, we should overcome these crises and move forward.
We will definitely attend international exhibitions, especially Domotex, both in Turkey and in Germany. I hope that the obstacles ahead will be removed as soon as possible to participate in international exhibitions more frequently.
Anything else to add?
I would like to thank the perfect team of Kohan Textile journal. Thank you for your efforts, which always bring the latest textile industry news to the textile activists.
