Rolling out the carpets

Inspiration squared. Walk into the office of TCS, HLL,Infosys or Dell, the last thing you'd imagine to be thus named is...the flooring. Software, perhaps, but carpets?

Yet, 'inspiration squared' (I²) is inspired enough "" a brave new line, if you like, seeking to redefine the concept of flooring solutions in a country where carpets are, well, just carpets: homogenous, fine Persian or Mirzapur weaves if you are buying for the house; nondescript reds and blues unworthy of a second glance within the office space.

I² is ambitious. It looks to break the stereotype, at least within the Indian office or commercial sphere. A new product line by Interface, the world's largest manufacturer of modular commercial carpets, this is a range inspired by the "science of biomimicry".

That, explains Bower Blake, vice president - sustainability, Interface Europe, is "emulating life's genius", learning from nature, to put it simply.

The new line is inspired by the way grass grows or pebbles lie or "leaves cover the forest floor" "" Interface designers spent a day in a forest behind their studio studying such nature trails, we're told "" and Blake and his colleagues are on a day's jampacked visit to the capital to sell the idea in India, "our biggest market in Asia".

For Interface, the Indian market presents peculiar challenges. The company itself is bullish enough to envisage a 300-400 per cent annual growth in the market. But for this to happen, mindsets need to be reached.

Fifty years ago, the company pioneered the concept of 'carpet tiles' which could be assembled to fit a given space, more convenient and less wasteful than the conventional broadweaves.

Throughout the world today carpets are sold in tiles "" Interface sells four out of every 10 in 110 countries. The new I² range goes a little beyond in that tiles need to be assembled in no particular order but can be mixed and matched in a random design.

It means that not only can you create your own unique interior but also do not have to depend on the original stock when a tile needs to be replaced. Yet, it is a concept alien to India "" even in the commercial workspace "" where homogenous carpeting rules.

The global company has tied-up with BP Ergo, leaders in India's office interiors business, who'd brought home the concept of modular office furniture riding on the IT boom.

The two together are pitching to give integrated solutions for office interiors in the country; a bulk of their existing client base being IT companies in Bangalore and Delhi.

But as Blake and his Indian counterparts admit, "most of our business, 90 per cent, comes from international companies setting up offices in India".

The good news is there's hardly any local "" thus substantially cheaper "" competition. All the other companies doing similar stuff are international ones, and if their pricing is a little too competitive in the price-sensitive Indian market, Interface honchos point to their own customer-friendly approach.

With a manufacturing facility in Thailand, the product lines can be reasonably tweaked to local tastes: "Indians in general prefer brighter colours and bolder patterns; in Europe, tastes are more subdued; in Germany they only want grey..."

Blake says. That apart, it also spells speed of delivery "" 20,000 sq feet in six week's time. Roll out the carpet.