AnsomMag.com |

One might be surprised to learn that to successfully sell rope, the sizzle can be just as important as the steak.

“We always bring out new colors and patterns in our rope lines, since it’s part of what gives us a competitive edge over other brands,” noted Sue Atwood of Atwood Rope in Canal Winchester, Ohio.

According to Atwood, esthetics are a big part of the business, since many end users of rope require color differentiation for practical and organizational reasons, even for corporate branding purposes.

“Having a multitude of colors and patterns to choose from helps us and our customers create new uses and outlets for rope,” Atwood said.

Atwood makes all of their products in Ohio. Naturally, much of their competition comes from imported goods.

Rope as fruit

Retailers and consumers who seek cordage are faced with an apples-to-oranges comparison when deciding between domestic and imported rope products.

Most imported rope is geared towards low cost, and as such cannot match domestically made product for variety, multi-functionality and quality. It is these factors that continue to drive strong sales of domestic rope, according to Atwood.

“Imported rope makers are starting to imitate our colors and other facets of our products, but we’ve found that we can maintain our business by emphasizing quality and a broader product range over price,” she said.

“Bigger retailers for whom rope is just a commodity item usually go with price first. Our business is really geared towards the smaller, specialty retailer whose customers are more discerning about quality,” Atwood noted.

The market is still divided between synthetic and natural materials, although Atwood only produces synthetic rope.

Utility rope is constructed of polypropylene, a modern material that offers more versatility and uses. Industrial rope is usually made from polyester, which has low-stretch properties. Both of these materials have several advantages over nylon and have replaced nylon as a standard manufacturing component, although customers still ask for nylon rope almost as a generic name.

Atwood advised retailers to be sure that they are well stocked with rope that will be needed during weather emergencies and other disaster scenarios.