When Amir Loloi immigrated to the United States from Iran at the age of 16 in 1976, he planned to receive an education abroad and return to his home country. However, Loloi’s life took a completely different turn: he stayed in the USA and founded his carpet company, Loika anultimately turning the company into an industry darling with many high-profile collaborations.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Loloi. Amir Loloi and his sons, Steven and Cyrus (left to right).
Loloi’s journey into entrepreneurship began with a strong desire to work in his teenage years. He asked his parents to stop supporting him so he could gain experience and pay his own way. So, as Loloi continued his education in the US, he took up various jobs. He worked at Burger King, waited on tables, sold ice cream and barmonded.
“I thought I would start a very small company with the dream of creating the best product.”
Loloi also had a part-time job at a carpet company while in college. On weekends, he helped with the company’s traveling road shows by loading carpets into a truck. “I got a job offer to become a full-time employee while I went to school,” Loloi recalled, “and the rest was history.”
For the next 25 years, Loloi stayed with the company, rising through the ranks from sales manager to sales manager, VP roles, and ultimately president. At this point, Loloi decided it was time to strike out himself; He wanted to start out a carpet company (B2B).
“I thought, Perhaps it’s time for me to have something as a legacy for my children down the road“Loloi says.” But I thought that I started a very small company with the dream of creating the best product, introducing new fashion and ideas that I have always had a passion for, and I just do it myself.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Loloi. Heritage Collection.
Despite being told that he was the highest paid person in his industry at the time, Loloi was determined to turn out to be a business owner and had the full support of his family. Loloi officially launched in 2004. The founder claims that the decision was the best he ever made.
Considered the “young darling of the industry” at the time, Loloi enjoyed widespread support after the leap. Of course, that did not stop his business from experiencing the “growing pains” that so many latest ventures do; In Loloi’s case, the problem was never the product itself, but some of the logistics. Loloi recalls attending trade shows where customers expressed enthusiasm for the brand – and frustration with delayed shipping and deliveries.
Fueled by the undeniable fact that customers loved his product, Loloi vowed to do whatever was needed to supply a high level of customer support. Ultimately, this meant bringing in more talent; Expanding his team was the only solution to keep pace with the company’s rapid growth. Today, Loloi employs over 500 people.
“You have to [consider]what value can they bring to a photo? “
The investment in the Loloi team paid off; The company’s star grew over the a long time. In 2023, Loloi sold roughly 2.3 million rugs, and the brand still sells roughly 6,000 units per day, with prices ranging from $250 to $25,000. To date, Loloi has created over 800 collections, which include collaborations with designers comparable to Joanna Gaines and Amber Lewis.
When it involves running a business and establishing successful partnerships, Loloi says trust is at all times paramount. “You can hurt someone or you can be hurt by someone else’s decisions because you’re already in it together,” he explains. “So you have to be very careful. You have to [consider]what value can they carry to a photo? How are they related to the industry? Do they matter in terms of our customer base? “
Image Credit: Courtesy of Loloi. Loloi x Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines Winter 2024 Collection.
Additionally, any potential partner must connect well with Loloi’s culture. Even though the company has grown significantly over the last 20 years, it retains “that little touch of family business” that has defined it from the starting. In Loloi’s opinion, this implies caring for your employees.
The company has almost no layoffs in its history, even during difficult years. During the holidays, Loloi hosts All-Company lunches in which the founder thanks employees for their service and gives special rewards for tenure; It also invests in charitable initiatives with the endorsing of its staff. Some other niceties include a free artisan coffee cart that visits the premises almost day by day and free manicures and massages.
The founder says that Loloi’s support for its employees comes back in the type of their passion and commitment to work.
Loloi will remain a family business in the years to come back as Loloi’s sons, Cyrus and Steven Loloi, take the helm. “Generally speaking, the home improvement industry is not the sexiest industry,” Loloi says. “It doesn’t excite the younger generation.” But the Loloi brothers are embracing the industry – and the opportunity to build a broader audience for the brand.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Loloi. Heritage Collection.
While Loloi stays a major player in the B2B space, Loloi Brothers co-founded the direct-to-consumer (DTC) company, Joon Loloiin December 2024; Its offerings include furniture, rugs and decor.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” says Cyrus Loloi, director and CMO at Loloi Rugs. “We strive to succeed in a consumer who values their life at home and sees home as a tool to shape the life they wish to live. Joon Loloi is for people, but we approach each product as design experts – so we know that our collections can even delight the designer trade audience for this reason, and for this reason we have a trade program.
As the Loloi family business enters its next era, it is well beyond the small operation the founder first envisioned. The company’s success offers invaluable lessons for any aspiring entrepreneur seeking to launch their very own enterprise.
“If you dream big and work hard, no one can stop you,” says Loloi. “It’s not about the color of your skin. It’s not about your background. It’s not about your religion. It’s not about anything but you personally: what do you need to do? When you have a task, how much more are you Want so as to add a lot more to it?