2169 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee
Neighborhood: East Side
Founded: 1910
Owner: Robert Kashou
Employees: 10
Product: Carpets, rugs and flooring
How has the changing nature of brick-and-mortar retail impacted the business?
Robert Kashou: “We remain old school. To enter the e-commerce business is quite a challenging task in and of itself. I don’t know that anybody in this town has done well in e-commerce. You have to do it on a large scale. A good portion of the rugs that are ordered online are returned. It’s very difficult for people to judge color and texture and quality online. We have pricing guarantees – you won’t find it cheaper online.”
Robert Kashou: “Some of the other stores just carry traditional oriental rugs. We carry traditional and transitional rugs. Any of the broadloom carpeting can be made into area rugs in any size you like, or they can be installed wall-to-wall. We have a very large designer clientele that sources their rugs through us. Our inventory does skew to the quality, high-end stuff. ”
