Norm Sweeters announced the formation of Sweeters Consulting, LLC to provide sourcing, product development and purchasing capabilities to U.S.-based and international companies. Businesses who are either already carrying rugs or wish to start programs of their own and import directly from foreign manufacturers can take advantage of almost forty years experience, a solid reputation, and outstanding long-standing relationships that span the globe.
Sweeters—a third generation rug man—began his career with family-owned Pande Cameron & Co. of N.Y., Inc., the leading importer of hand knotted rugs from India. When Pande purchased the Fritz & LaRue Co.—another leading rug importer —in 1986, Sweeters captained that company until it amalgamated with Pande in 1990. After 23 years in New York, he founded and was CEO of Mastercraft Imports, Ltd., that specialized in high-end machine made rugs from Europe and hand knotted rugs from India. In November 2003, Capel, Inc. purchased the inventory of Mastercraft and hired Sweeters as Managing Director of Imports. After more than six terrific years with Capel developing numerous rug collections, he resigned his post on March 1, 2010 to embark on this consulting venture.
“Many companies today who want to become more dominant in the rug business oftentimes remain on the fence for fear of making poor decisions on who to work with overseas—and rightly so,” says Sweeters. “They may lack the knowledge to get them where they must go to be successful soonest. It takes many years to learn these ropes. We can eliminate the guesswork and nullify many of the risks by setting people up with talented, honorable sources for product through proper procedures only gained through many years of experience and success.”
The company is based in Pinehurst, N.C. and can be contacted at 910-986-4777, email: normsweeters@gmail.com, or fax: 910-215-5548.