Today we visited one of the bestselling carpet stores in Botswana. “Persian carpets “. We had a chat with Mr. Javad the owner of the store who gave us an insight on how Persian carpets can be home transforming.
Mr. Javad who has been in the carpet selling industry for the past 3 years shares with us his amazing journey.
-
Give us a brief insight on the shop
Gaborone Persian carpets is a shop that actually sells Persian carpets. The Persian carpets are originally from Iran. Countries around Iran also have carpets, however the quality of these carpets differ from the carpets made in Iran. Iran was previously known as Persia hence the carpets being called Persian.
I started selling carpets in 2017, I had no base shop hence me selling them from my house. I started with 10 carpets, however the demand was very high so I increased stock. I then decided to rent a shop to help me distribute the carpets properly.
-
Why did you choose to sell carpets?
Persian carpets are one of the most famous and in demand products from Iran. Most people want to own Persian carpets because of their good quality. I then realized that many distributors are taking advantage thus selling them at extremely high prices hence me deciding to step in and sell the original Persian carpets at affordable prices.
-
How do you price your carpets?
It depends on the size and design of the carpet. We have 1m * 1.5m ranging from p3500
- Your carpets have a bit of a vintage touch to them. Tell us about that.
Our carpets are truly influenced by our culture, every village in Iran has its own unique carpet design. Each village respectively uses different methods and dyes. Despite the difference in design all carpets are made of sheep wool.
- What distinguishes Persian carpets from other carpets?
Persian carpets are made out of natural or organic products. For instance, it is made from wool as mentioned and sometimes coloring is done out of the skin of red onion. They basically boil the onion until its color pops on the water then put the wool inside for coloring.
- How is the market for you in Botswana?
When we first started Batswana where somehow shocked by the prices but we had to explain to them that our carpets are very high quality and are not machine made. As time went they started appreciating our carpets because they saw and realized that they are of commendable quality.
- What is your target market?
Basically everyone that is interested and can afford our carpets. We however get more sales from government entities, hotels, lodges, décor shops and a few private individuals.
- Do you give any consultancy to clients before selling them your carpets?
Yes! Most definitely we have even uploaded a video on how to install our carpets on our Facebook page. We also look at our client’s house and wall color before giving a recommendation.
- How long is the life span of the carpet?
I consider buying Persian carpets as an investment as they last for life.
- What is your vision for your shop?
The aim is to add more décor staff like frames that are made out of carpet material. We are also looking into selling handmade modern design carpets.
- Are you behind manufacturing the carpets?
We do not make these carpets. We actually outsource them from suppliers in Iran.
