Meet Ibrahim and Esam Halawa of Oriental Rug Factory Outlet

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ibrahim and Esam Halawa.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ibrahim and Esam. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My Father (Jay) started this business back in 1995 as the first rug store on Harwin. He started with a showroom of only 625 sq.ft and quickly expanded to 2500 sq.ft.

Throughout the years, many competitors would come back and over time this drove more business to our area. Our experience in this business in regards to a unique inventory, affordable prices, and top-notch customer service has enabled us to stay in business and remain a step ahead of our competition.

Now, we are turning to more digital marketing and social media outreach to bring in new clientele and put our name out there even more.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The fierce competition paired with the bargain mentality of the customers that Harwin gets has been the biggest obstacle. However, we have managed to cater to the needs of whoever walks into our doors by treating each customer according to what they need.

Also, many suppliers of our product may breach promises that we would remain exclusive on certain collections, which upfront would cause competition to rise, but would ultimately kill off their collection once price wars begin. The challenge we face today is the internet and convincing people why rug shopping is more of an in-person, personal experience.

Younger generations of college graduates are also looking straight to the internet for where to find a rug for their new place, so we are trying our best to make our internet presence strong and stellar. Also, the fact that most department stores now carry rugs, as taken a large part of our market share.

More recently, a new landlord has taken management over our location and this has caused some worries, but we have managed to negotiate with them successfully.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Oriental Rug Factory Outlet story. Tell us more about the business.
Our business offers an array of affordable machine-made and handmade rugs. Our collections are unique and not something you would see at your typical department store. We also offer designer collections and name brand collections at prices lower than the internet and pretty much everywhere else in Houston.

Our customers know us for offering them the best reputable quality in rugs at a price they can afford. We keep our overhead low by being self-employed and doing most of the work ourselves. Our operation is small but efficient and we have access to almost any rug that a customer may prefer.

Our business is set apart from others in that we maintain a personal connection with our clients. Most of our business is repeat or referred, and we see our customers once or twice a year, and even after 10 years, it is common that they come back for another rug: not because the rug wore out, but because they just grew tired of looking at it! This means we have become trusted for high quality yet affordable rugs that everyone can enjoy.

More recently, Ibrahim has been doing Facebook videos for marketing and showing our showroom to everyone in Houston and Surrounding. On average we reach an audience of 50,000+ views and it seems people love the energy and laid-back attitude of how we run our business.

We are proud that we have been able to survive the recession when many other businesses were closing down. We are currently weathering the retail apocalypse as well by sticking to affordability and making our presence strong online.

We are mostly proud that we can carry on the legacy of our father who started this with no idea that we would be open 20+ years later. We are proud when customers tell us, ” I came back in 1998 when this store did not have AC yet, Then they come and see that we have taken over and are constantly bringing out this store’s full potential.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Facebook video advertising has been a “good luck” thing for us. Abe (Ibrahim) naturally knows how to be on camera and has no shyness when it comes to videos: people love his personality and when paired with Sam we make a good balanced duo. Also, getting into this business before rugs became a commodity also was a chance of good luck to establish ourselves.

Bad luck came when my father tried getting into the furniture business. An unfortunate car accident happened that had a car launch into our furniture store, busted a water pipe and flooded the store. We lost over $250,000 in one night and took years to further liquidate and sell off the business. It was a challenging time, but in 2012, Ibrahim managed to liquidate the remaining furniture and auction off what was left, at least saving the rent we were paying on that 5000 sq.ft showroom.

After that, we got back on the good luck train, we had a competitor open up next to us, and Sam and Abe went all out to defeat this new competitor and caused him to go out of business within 8 months. Once this happened, the role of Facebook video marketing would go on make us slightly famous in the Houston area. There have been times where Abe would be sitting at a restaurant and people would come up and exclaim, “OMG I SAW YOU ON FACEBOOK YOU SELL RUGS” This was good luck.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9809 Harwin Drive Ste. B
  Houston, Texas 77036
• Phone: 713-789-RUGS (7847)
• Email: rugoriental@yahoo.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/orientalrugfactory
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/orientalrugfactoryoutlet
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oriental-rug-factory-outlet-houston

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