Armstrong: NFA`s first wood group buy option Shaw`s Insight 2013

Transcription

Vol. 62
No. 3
A Hearst Business Publication
February 11, 2013
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*Surfaces coverage
begins on page 4
Shaw’s Insight 2013: Armstrong: NFA’s first
Building a better future wood group buy option
By Mallory Cruise and Amy Joyce Rush
Continued on page 12
P e r i o d i c a l
[O] Shaw Flooring Network convention — Insight 2013 — put a spotlight on the
company’s ability to create targeted, laser sharp
business plans while expressing its deep concern for its dealers, their families and the causes
it believes in.
Vance Bell told the crowd of more than
1,000 dealers (some 3,800 attendees), “Shaw
has put the pieces together to insure future
growth and success. We have been focused
on you. Our product quality and service
have improved and we’ve made major capital
investments — over $1 billion. The time is
right for you to invest in your business.”
Both Bell and president Randy Merritt
said that 2013 will definitively be a better
year. “It starts right here for all of us,” offered
Bell. “Your growth and success is our number
one priority.”
Explained Merritt, “Every year in January,
everybody says it’s going to be a better year
but we didn’t have the statistics to support that
intention. This year we have concrete information to support it. It’s going to be progressively
better for the next three to four years.”
Warren Buffet, chairman and CEO of
Shaw’s parent company Berkshire Hatha-
For breaking news updated each business day, visit us online at www.fcw1.com
2-11-13pages.indd 1
said Ian Newton, Flooring
101, who put the program
together for the group.
[L V] The National
“However, we see this as a
Floorcovering
Alliance
margin enhancement oppor(NFA), a collective of more
tunity,” Newton added, not
than 40 of the nation’s
as a market disrupter. He
largest retailers, met prior
also said that if the program
to Surfaces 2013 for a midgets good support, the group
convention meeting and
would pursue additions.
vendor review. The positive
Phil Koufidakis, incommomentum reported at last
ing NFA president, said that
fall’s meeting continues.
the Armstrong program was
And while the group disespecially significant because
cussed some potential proit represented the first group
grams behind closed doors, NFA members examine a new
one it is publicly embracing wood program from Armstrong. buy outside of carpet.
Koufidakis officiated his
is a new wood group buy
first meeting as the new president. “My job
opportunity from Armstrong.
American Scrape Hardwood, introduced to with leadership is to bring the best opporthe NFA at the fall convention, is a collection tunities to the group,” he told FCW during
of high-end scraped products available in 3/8 the vendor meeting. “Then they can choose
and ½-inch thicknesses. Available in 10 colors individually what is best for them. So far, we
total, the NFA program is starting with four: have had success in getting mass participaEagles Nest, Autumn Blaze, Amber Grain and tion in carpet,” Koufidakis said, adding that
Smokehouse. The program is a direct-ship he believed the group can spread that success
into hardwood and beyond. His goal as presithat offers members competitive pricing.
“The price advantage is considerable,”
Continued on page 7
By Kimberly Gavin
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News 3
Domotex brings fewer
but pioneering products
breaking product introductions, Domotex
Hannover, held here Jan. 12 to 15, was still all
[Hannover, Germany] While the slug- about innovation, bringing real cost saving
gish global economy caused fewer ground- and performance enhancing innovations to
the audience.
Belgium-based Balterio spent
more than $3.3 million in research
and development to launch Integro,
a commercially rated 4mm waterproof 49.7” X 7.5” plank composed
of carpet waste obtained from its
parent company Balta. While selling for a premium ($5 to $6 per
Välinge chairman Darko Pervan unveils digital water/
square foot) compared to traditional
powder printing technology.
By Raymond Pina
Mannington’s Sheehan
appointed VP commercial LVT
[Salem, N.J.] Mannington Commercial
announced that David Sheehan has been named
vice president of the company’s commercial
luxury vinyl tile (LVT) business. According to
the company, Sheehan will be responsible for
the growth of all Mannington Commercial
LVT, including the Amtico Collection.
“With the acquisition of Amtico International by Mannington, we have become the
market leader in LVT,” said Tyrone Johnson,
senior vice president of commercial hard
surfaces, Mannington. “The category is a
tremendous growth opportunity for Mannington, and we are delighted that David
brings his deep experience at management,
competitive intelligence, product development and leading teams to the task ahead.”
Sheehan is a 17-year veteran of the floor cov-
laminate and vinyl planks,
Integro is waterproof, quiet,
flexible, free of chlorine and
features non-repeating digitally printed decors as well as
embossed-in-registration
(EIR) and real V-grooves.
Balterio has invested in a
new Belgian production facility Balterio’s Franky Terrijn and Henk Van Acker reveal
exclusively for Integro, which Integro, a waterproof plank composed of carpet waste.
was also introduced in the U.S.
repeats of laminate.”
at Surfaces last month.
Likewise, Switzerland-based Floover dis“There is not a single wood fiber in this
product, it is completely plastic and made played SplasH2O, a new waterproof 5mm
from carpet waste,” said Franky Terrijn, and 8mm commercial floor composed of
marketing director, Balterio. “There’s a virgin PVC composite cores and woven vinyl
great environmental and waterproof story surfaces with commercial carpet visuals.
that goes along with this floor. It’s perfect
for bathrooms and kitchens. It has a higher
visual resolution than luxury vinyl tile and
it doesn’t have the hollow sound or pattern
Centiva changes leadership
ering industry. For the
past 10 years, he has led
Mannington’s residential
division into a leadership
position in LVT.
“Working on the
residential business, I
was part of a very talented team that brought David Sheehan
Mannington into LVT,
and in less than nine years we took it from zero
to becoming a market leader in the category,”
said Sheehan. “I am excited about the next
challenge, helping Mannington Commercial
extend its leadership position.” FCW
IVC expands into laminate with Balterio acquisition
[Avelgem, Belgium] IVC Group, a leading European producer of fiberglass-backed
sheet vinyl and luxury vinyl tile (LVT)
based here, recently acquired Balterio, the
Belgium-based fiberboard and laminate
floor divisions of Balta Industries.
Balterio sold $244.7 million of laminate
flooring in 2012 and has 375 employees. Terms
of the agreement have not been made public.
IVC Group executive chairman Filip
Balcaen calls the acquisition a “diversification but complementary” extension of
IVC’s hard surface business.
“It is our intention to commit additional
investments to further increase Balterio’s
competitiveness,” said Balcaen.
IVC Group will include Balterio laminate
flooring with its existing shipments of Mod-
Mannington granted LVT click patent
[Munich, Germany] The European Patent
Office (EPO), headquartered here, granted
Mannington European Patent No. 2,248,665
covering the intellectual property associated
with mechanically locking tongue-andgroove vinyl planks and tiles.
The patented technology dates back to
1999 when Mannington launched iCore, a
waterproof laminate floor alternative consisting of a PVC core, printed visual surface
layer and a mechanical tongue-and-groove
February 11, 2013
2-11-13pages.indd 3
WWW.FCW1.COM
connection. While iCore’s extruded core
proved too expensive to effectively compete,
its locking technology has become invaluable
to the luxury vinyl tile (LVT) market.
“We are very pleased as this patent further
strengthens our existing portfolio of locking
LVT patents,” said Kim Holm, president of
Mannington’s residential business. “LVT is
the fastest growing category in floor covering and locking technology is a driving force
behind much of this growth.”
•
uleo LVT to Dalton-based sister company
IVC US. IVC Group invested $60 million in
a new Belgium-based LVT facility in 2011,
according to IVC US co-CEO Xavier Stayaert.
“We can warehouse and service the laminate right into our existing customer base,”
he said. “We know Balterio very well. At one
time we were all under the Balta company
umbrella.” FCW
Sweden-based Välinge entered into a
cross-licensing agreement with Mannington on Jan. 25, 2012 to sub-license Mannington’s intellectual property pertaining to
click LVT. On Jan. 14, 2012, Välinge entered
into a similar cross-licensing agreement
with Germany-based Classen, which holds
intellectual property for fold down click
LVT systems.
“The combination of Välinge’s patents,
Mannington patents and Välinge’s exclusive
rights to other third party locking patents
creates a unique IP strength,” said Välinge
CEO Niclas Håkansson. FCW
Tarkett, based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, announced that Tandus president Glen Hussman will serve as president of both Centiva and Tandus beginning March 31. The
change is meant to support the companies’
efforts in the commercial luxury vinyl tile
(LVT) business.
Tarkett acquired Centiva in 2010 and Tandus in 2012. Centiva president Thomas Trissl
will leave the position March 31 but will continue to work with Tarkett on growing domestic and international business, sustainability
and new products.
“The 2012 acquisition of Tandus was
completed with the vision of delivering a full
portfolio of products and services across soft
and hard surface to commercial specifiers
and end-users,” said Jeff Buttitta, president,
Tarkett North America.
In addition, Centiva has promoted Doug
Young to vice president of sales effective immediately. Young joined Centiva in 2008 as Midwest regional sales manager and later became
responsible for the northern United States.
“Doug has been a tremendous player in
the Centiva organization over the last four
years,” said Trissl.
Doug will report to Hussmann, who will
assume leadership of Centiva April 1.
By joining these two brands, Tarkett will
create a design-driven product portfolio, elevate service to its customers and build on
its existing commitment to sustainability, according to Hussmann. FCW
Mohawk, Unilin
announce wood increase
[Dallas] On January 21, Mohawk announced
a price increase of up to 10 percent on all
Mohawk brand solid hardwood products
shipped on or after March 1, 2013.
“Unfortunately, the sustained rise in raw
material costs in hardwood continues to outpace our productivity initiatives,” said Jamie
Byrne, senior vice president of hard surfaces,
Mohawk Flooring.
Unilin also announced a price increase of up
to 10 percent on its solid hardwood products in
the Columbia and Century hardwood lines, effective with shipments beginning March 4. FCW
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY •
2/8/13 10:11 AM
[L V] Surfaces 2013 boasted a certain optimism among the 699 exhibitors here as well as attendees. And according to Hanley Wood Exhibitions, the
show posted a 4.3 percent increase in attendance this year over last year.
POST
SURFACES 2013
A giant red pump pointed the way to Quick-Step.
Pictured here and on the cover are just some of the events that created
excitement on the showroom floor.
Daltile president John Turner, Jr., presents a
$10,000 scholarship to Lauren Henrie.
An artist paints attendee requests at QEP.
Attendees are encouraged to “Spin and Win” at
FCW’s booth for a chance to win $50.
Scott Carothers of Ceramic Tile Educational
Foundation presents advanced certifications.
Feizy celebrated its 40th anniversary at the
World Market Center.
Mannington closes the show, as it does every
year, with “Show me the way to go home.”
Diablo Flooring: Determination makes it happen
By Janet Herlihy
Established in 2008 in the San Francisco Bay
area, Diablo Flooring Inc. has succeeded
against the odds — not only surviving, but
thriving and growing to three locations in
five years. Brian and his wife Aurora DeOliveira brought a willingness to take risks and
work hard that, along with a healthy dose of
good luck, enabled them to build a successful
business even as others closed their doors.
Founder DeOliveira was about 15 years
old when he started working at his stepfather’s flooring store in San Leandro, Calif.
on weekends and vacations. “I started with
cleaning carpet. Back then, I never would have
imagined I’d someday open my own business
during one of the worst economical disasters
in modern history,” DeOliveira recalled.
In December 2007, DeOliveira’s stepfather
died and the store, which had been struggling,
was closed. He said, “I lost my stepfather to
cancer, lost my job and had a wife and two small
children at home. I needed to make a decision.
Do I go out to find a job and hope someone
hires me, or take everything that I learned from
my stepfather and open a flooring store?”
The DeOliveiras decided to take a leap of
faith and start their own store. “I did a lot of
research and read about why small businesses
often fail to avoid problems,” he said.
They chose Pleasanton, Calif. for their store great job leads, but some were,” he reported.
“At first, I was by myself in the office but
because it seemed a place of opportunity. The
Census Bureau ranked it as the wealthiest then Aurora quit her job and came into the
middle-sized city in the U.S. in 2005 and 2007. business. It was just the two of us for another
“We rented a space on a busy street and were nine months and then we hired our first
able to get the name Diablo Flooring. Mount estimator,” he added. “We were using subDiablo is a local mountain peak and many contractors for installation. We still use subs
well-established businesses use the name,” for carpet, but now have four staff installers
DeOliveira explained. “There was a Diablo for hardwood projects.”
Pleasanton is a small town and word of
Floors but that business wasn’t incorporated.
By incorporating and opening a store, we were mouth worked well for Diablo. “A man came
able to get the name. I also got a contractor’s in and asked for a carpet remnant, so I just
gave him one. A few months later, he asked
license and insurance,” he stressed.
When it came to furnishing his store and me to measure and install wool carpet in his
finding customers, DeOliveira got creative. house. Then he came back again and had us
He called industry reps he knew and asked install hardwood throughout,” DeOliveira
for product displays that were being pulled said. “I was handing out cards everywhere.
from defunct flooring stores and many gave We used social media like Twitter and Facehim free samples and displays. He called old book because that was free.”
accounts from the San Leandro
business and enough agreed to give
the young entrepreneur a chance
for the first Diablo flooring store to
open in January 2008.
“We also found opportunity in
taking over the business (phone)
numbers of flooring stores that went
out of business. At one time, we had
as many as 10 numbers being transferred to our new number. The phone
was ringing. Not all the calls were The showroom in Diablo’s Danville store offers a wide variety in hardwood.
• FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY •
2-11-13pages.indd 4
“After 18 months, a friend who was working at another carpet store, decided to join us.
We used all our savings to open our second
location in Walnut Creek,” he said.
DeOliveira soon learned two hard lessons
— hiring friends is not always a good idea and
out-of-the-way locations aren’t good for retail.
When the Walnut Creek lease expired in 2010,
DeOliveira found a better location and Roy
Sanger, a flooring veteran, to manage the new
store. “Roy had been laid off during the recession and eventually came to work for us. He’s
a key person and the Walnut Creek store has
been successful ever since.”
He wasn’t looking for another store, but in
late 2011, DeOliveira heard from a floor storeowner who was looking to sell his operation
in Danville, another affluent Bay Area suburb.
“I declined his offer, but I saw opportunity,”
he said. “Danville is a tight knit community
with a lot of interior designers and only a few
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 1:21 PM
5
From problems to profits
2013 molding and trim guide
M
oldings and trims have long been a
step child to the main flooring sale.
The category has required retailers
to inventory a wide range of SKUs to matchup with purchased flooring and different
installation needs. But suppliers are changing
that by offering flexible 5-in-1 options and
exact match products, for example, to help
create a profit center for dealers.
Burke Industries
www.burkeflooring.com
such as rolls of rubber moldings, which help to
set it apart, according to Carrie Berger, national
specifications manager Burke Flooring.
“Our formula is more flexible than competitors so we can offer moldings in a roll,”
she said. “That allows you to get around corners easier. Also, because it’s one piece there
are no seams.”
Also from Burke is the Equalizer, which
allows for easy installation transitions between
floor surfaces of different elevations.
Cal-Flor
www.cal-flor.com
Burke’s Equalizer makes transitioning between
different floor heights easy.
Burke Industries, headquartered in San
Jose, Calif., uses advanced domestic rubber
manufacturing to offer a diverse range of stair
systems, wall base, moldings and nosing. The
company can manufacture unique solutions,
(LVT). It differs from other multiple-use moldings because its flexibility allows it to act as a
variable-height T-molding in addition to traditional cover cap, end cap, stair nose, reducer
and T-molding applications. TotalTrim also
features two anchor legs instead of one.
“Because TotalTrim is flexible, you get more
uses out of it and can thus further reduce more
SKUs from your inventory,” said Todd Hall, coowner and director of R&D at Oroville, Calif.based Cal-Flor. “Also, having two legs allows
TotalTrim to perform better in more situations.
You can remove one for stair nose applications
but anchor both legs for better support between
floors on each side of the transition.”
TotalTrim has recently updated its existing wood grain offering with solid colors,
according to Hall.
Custom Building Products
Essential web metrics are the key performance
indicators that help retailers and manufacturers determine if their websites are generating
a return on their investment (ROI), according
to John Simonson, president and owner of
Webstream Dynamics, LLC.
The first step is a website. Before you start
tracking web metrics, “You need that awesome website that is functional, informative,
and engaging,” explained Bobby Glennon,
CEO with Floor Force.
Once you think your site is ready, you
will want to look at a variety of indicators
that will show whether it is indeed operating
effectively and how you might improve it.
Google Analytics can put a code on a site
that will then generate metric information,
according to Jay Flynn, vice president of sales
and marketing, Creating Your Space. “Or
the data can be built into a website to gather
information,” Flynn said.
some minor seasonality factors.”
1. Local Targeted Visitors: This is the percentage of your monthly website visitors that
are from your selling area. Simonson noted,
“Lots of traffic outside of your selling area has
little or no value to your business.”
2. Unique Visitors: This metric will allow
you to determine how many first time prospects have come to your site versus total visitors, added Glennon.
Time on Site — The time a visitor spends on
your site. “Time will increase when visitors
get what they want — product or education,”
Flynn said.
Repeat Visits — Glennon said, “The more
visitors that return to your site, the better
your website most likely is.”
Sales Leads — “A session on your site
becomes a lead if the visitor gives you their
name, contact information and what they
are looking for,” Flynn said. “The visitor goes
from anonymous to real.”
Simonson warned, “If you aren’t generating
any sales leads then you better re-think your
web marketing strategies and your investment.”
Monthly Traffic — The number of times your
site is visited. Knowing how many times a visitor lands on your site is not enough, said Flynn.
“You might have 200 sessions, or times someone lands on your site, but if the average time
spent is 22 seconds that is not good,” he said.
Conversion Rate — The number of people
Added Glennon, “This number (monthly who visit a website and take action beyond just
traffic) should grow steadily and will have viewing the website, according to Glennon. It is
February 11, 2013
2-11-13pages.indd 5
WWW.FCW1.COM
ucts. “Profiles and Transitions add polish and
beauty to any project, while enhancing safety
and extending the life of the installation by
protecting the edges.”
Profiles and Transitions are available in a
variety of configurations and materials including aluminum, stainless steel, brass and PVC.
Heartland Wood Products
www.heartlandwoodproducts.com
www.custombuildingproducts.com
Based in Seal Beach, Calif., Custom has
launched Profiles and Transitions, a system
designed to protect the edges of ceramic
tile and natural stone between rooms and
other flooring.
“These new components are an essential, Heartland Wood Products provides an assortment of custom offerings.
Cal-Flor’s TotalTrim is a flexible 5-in-1 LVT molding. functional and aesthetic enhancement to
professional, residential and commercial tile
With headquarters in Bloomington, Minn.
Cal-Flor’s TotalTrim is a patented flex- and stone installations,” said Thomas Carroll, and a manufacturing/distribution center in
ible 5-in-1 PVC molding for luxury vinyl tile marketing manager, Custom Building ProdContinued on page 14
Web metrics for meaningful results
By Janet Herlihy
Custom Building’s Profiles and Transitions
•
traffic report will show you how many clicks
come from their website to yours.”
Page Views Per Visit — The number of views
your website pages are getting. Glennon
explained, “A page view counts when a page
is loaded. The increase in online video means
fewer page views are counted, even though the
same amount of content is being looked at; it’s
not as good an indicator of website popularBounce Rate — The percentage of visitors ity as it used to be. A good website will entice
who enter a website and “bounce” (leave the prospects to dig deeper and view more pages.
A poor site will convince them to leave.”
site) instead of viewing any other pages.
Simonson said, “Pages with over 50 percent
bounce rate means the majority of visitors left Total Monthly Page Views — The times
your web page quickly. If it is a store location specific pages are viewed. These are ranked
details page, high bounce rate may be okay, by importance to your business, according
because they got what they came for — store to Simonson. Home page and store location
hours, map, address. But if it is your home page, pages should be very high. “Let’s say carpet is
re-think your SEO strategies and page content.” your biggest selling product group, then your
carpet page(s) should be getting very high page
Mobile/Tablet Traffic — “The number of visits views versus other product pages,” he said.
from mobile devices is increasing sharply.
Therefore it is essential that your website be a Top Keywords — Tells you the top keywords
that someone types into a search bar that brings
mobile formatted site,” Flynn said.
them to your website, Glennon explained.
You can test this by going to Google and
Traffic Sources/Referring Sites — Supplies
you with the origin of your traffic. “This is typing in what you think your targeted audia strong signal indicator used for analyz- ence would use when conducting a search for
ing your website’s ‘link popularity’ versus your products and services: [cities you sercompetitor’s websites, which Google uses to vice] + [product keywords]. Eighty percent of
help determine search engine ranking place- the clicks come from the first page of the
ments,” Simonson said. “If you are doing search engine results, so if you aren’t there
Pay-Per-Click advertising with AT&T, Yel- you are losing potential sales leads, according
lowPages, Google, etc. online, the referring to Simonson. FCW
important to know when they “converted.” This
can be done within a shopping cart, form submission page, landing page. “A dealer can make
informed decisions about the effectiveness of its
website and of its marketing, advertising and
Internet strategies,” Glennon said.
2/8/13 10:59 AM
6 Laminate
Laminate comes out swinging
multiple species and colors as if distressed by
the sun, sea and wind in random widths and
with extensive but intelligently applied EIR.
“This design offers multiple species of
wood, all in a unique place in time. It may be
raw, it may have remnants of paint, it may
be touched by hand with random chatter.
We just love the random character — visually, texturally and with the random width,”
said Sara Babinski, principal designer, Armstrong hardwood and laminate.
By Raymond Pina
[Las Vegas] Laminate suppliers have accelerated the evolution of surface and structural
design in an effort to keep the category
relevant amid mounting pressure from the
growing luxury vinyl tile (LVT) segment.
Designers are no longer content with
emulating nature and are now looking to
improve upon it with deeper, more sophisticated texturing. In addition, laminate planks
are getting longer, wider and being offered in
random variable sizes. Digital print is now Classen goes long with digital printing
Classen’s new Long Plank is seven feet
a reality. And merchandise displays have
long by 10 inches wide and, because of digital
become more user friendly.
printing, you won’t find the same knot, nick
or cathedral no matter how vast the installaArmstrong paves the way
Armstrong has historically been at the fore- tion. The collection is available in both 8mm
front of laminate innovation and design. In and 10mm formats.
“Digital printing is a design play for us. It
2007, it paved the way for the high-gloss trend
that catapulted the category to new heights. allows infinite patterns without repeat and
Late last year, it introduced multi-width lami- doesn’t increase cost,” said Derek Welbourn,
nate planks. This year, the company launched CEO of Canada-based inhaus, the North
perhaps its most unique laminate collection to American division of Germany-based Classen.”
date — Architectural Remnants.
Shown as a single prototype and due out in Eternity Flooring’s entrepreneurial spirit
Pacoima, Calif.-based Eternity Flooring
the spring, Architectural Remnants combines
has carved out a niche, and territory, without
the roar of mainstream brands.
Its new 12mm Frontier collection features
five-inch wide antiquated rustic planks with
French Bleed blackened bevels and is priced
competitively at $1.50 to specialty retail.
“We have our own trucks that pull containers from the Long Beach port 20 hours a day,”
said Eternity CEO Doran Gal. “We also train
our own people in China on quality control,
sampling, labeling; our displays are made by
us in China.” Eternity also featured new coordinating laminate stair nosing with its displays.
Formica Flooring leverages American made
Formica Flooring introduced its new
Coastal Classics and Tradewinds collection
with a simple premise: deliver American-made
laminate with high styling, embossed-in-registration (EIR) and four-sided bevels to specialty
retail for under $2 per square foot.
“We have the same beautiful styling and
design sold to retail for $1.79. Laminate is all
we do and we’re passionate about it. And it’s
all made and inventoried here in the U.S.A.,”
said Fred Giuggio, vice president of sales and
marketing, Formica Flooring.
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2-11-13pages.indd 6
Mannington design in plain sight
Mannington went off in a unique direction
exhibiting its new Elmhurst, the latest addition to its best selling Restoration Collection.
“It’s very difficult and expensive to find
elm in hardwood flooring,” said Dan Natkin,
Mannington’s director of wood and laminate
flooring. “Dutch elm disease (DED) has
killed off the species but we found an antique
board that we emulate perfectly.”
Also being shown in the American-made,
12mm Restoration collection were new
walnut, hickory and oak variations each with
their own unique gloss level and EIR.
“We don’t have the scale of a Krono or
Quick-Step so we live or die at the upper end
with our designs,” said Natkin.
Mohawk makes multi-widths at home
Mohawk’s new Timberloft collection
emulates the growing multiple width hardwood trend by offering EIR laminate in
three various widths — 4 7/8 inch, 6 1/8 inch,
and 7 1/2 inch — in a single box. Made in
Thomasville, N.C., the collection features
micro-bevels, an AC4 commercial rating and
a lifetime residential and 5-year light commercial warranty.
“Timberloft was a big hit at our convention and it’s creating a lot of excitement here
at Surfaces too,” said Jeff Madsen, laminate
product manager, Unilin. “The muliple widths
set it apart and adds another level of realism.”
Quick-Step “talks” to consumer
Quick-Step’s new Prestige Display utilizes
striking visual cues such as toppled wine glasses,
high heels and markers to educate consumers
on the durability of Quick-Step product.
“Women gloss over when they hear about
AC ratings. They want to know if the floor
can handle a Big Wheel careening around
the dining room table,” said Erinn Valencich,
Quick-Step’s celebrity design partner.
The display also contains bar codes that
can be scanned by smart phones leading the
consumers to a video where Valencich acts as
a personal design consultant.
Quick-Step also launched a simplified laminate repair kit, InstaMatch, that
reduces the number of required pigments
from 36 to three.
Shaw’s intros show diversity
The new 10mm Avenues collection features popular 5-inch wide hand-sculpted
visuals with beveled edges in Natural Acacia,
Rich Acacia, Lime Oak and Warm Hickory.
Meanwhile, the new Canterbury and
Breton collections are being featured with
low-gloss finishes on 8mm planks. Canterbury portrays oil-rubbed white oak in five
distinct finishes while Breton focus on urbanized hickories in three colors.
Shaw highlights that its laminates are
made in the U.S.A., composed of recycled
content and utilize the LocNPlace singleaction installation system. FCW
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February 11, 2013
2/8/13 10:55 AM
7
NFA
Continued from page 1
dent is to bring the group closer together,
“members to members and vendors to members,” he said.
Koufidakis said that at the membership
meeting last fall, every member in the room
was ahead of the prior year. That momentum
continues, according to reports given at this
meeting. Furthermore, he believes that it will
continue through 2013. “This year will be a
big year for us.”
For his own company, Baker Bros. in
Phoenix, business is as good as it’s been over
the past four years, Koufidakis said. “Last year
was up substantially. We were down in May,
but up in double digits by year’s end,” he said.
“From September 1 on, it was awesome.”
Other members also feel good about
business and good about the position of the
NFA. Sam Roberts, president, Roberts Carpets and Fine Floors, Houston, and a past
NFA president, told FCW that his business
was up 13 percent last year versus the year
before. “But that’s coming off bad numbers,”
he said. “If I can show a 10 percent increase
for 2013 over 2012, I’ll feel good about the
floor covering business.”
Roberts relishes his membership in the
NFA. “This is not only the single best group,
but it’s the best entity in this industry, period,”
he said. And the group has naturally evolved
from its early days, taking on more active
buying and programming for the members.
“Twenty years ago, we were a bunch of fiercely
independent dealers. We are still fiercely independent, but we are better at communicating,”
and collectively taking advantage of opportunities, Roberts said.
Jeff Macco, CEO, Maccos’ Floorcovering,
Madison, Wis., recently added a store in
Naples, Fla., and is up to nine total stores.
“We had a good year,” Macco said. “Sales
were up double digits and expenses stayed
the same. That made a dramatic increase in
the bottom line.” Overall, Macco, who also
has served as NFA president, said the NFA
members are optimistic about what’s going
on. “There are still some pockets that are
slow around the country, but the group as a
whole is as strong as it’s ever been.”
“Joining this group is the best move I ever
made,” said George Coles, principal, Coles
of San Diego. “It’s such a strong group. I
think we don’t realize sometimes how powerful we really are. But it’s also nice to hear
that the mills enjoy working with us.” Coles
just opened its eighth store, a 3,500-squarefoot boutique in Jerome’s Furniture, a
100,000-square-foot store in the Chula
Vista, Calif., area.
2 Vendor event, this meeting showcases
the vendors who haven’t yet graduated to
attending NFA conventions. Those spots
are hard to get because of time. So this
meeting gives members a chance to see
these vendors one-on-one in a closed environment. “It’s important to visit them all,”
Koufidakis said.
Incoming treasurer, Jason McSwain,
McSwain Carpet and Floors, Cincinnati,
reported that the group was in good financial
shape with a positive balance sheet year over
year. He also thanked outgoing treasurer,
Tom Hadinger, Hadinger’s of Naples, Fla.,
for his six years of service in the position.
“Thanks to Tom, it was a very smooth transition,” McSwain said.
Vendor committee chairs reported that
the NFA produced strong increases in
purchases with all key vendors. Many of
the increases were in double digits, which
reflects both on good business conditions
as well as member support for key vendors,
Koufidakis said.
The NFA welcomed a special guest at
the meeting. Steve Pulsipher, former vice
president of flooring for Utah-based R.C.
Wiley, received a standing ovation from
the members. In true form, Pulsipher — a
shrewd buyer — raised his hand and asked
for a “three-peat” buying opportunity on the
Armstrong wood program, which brought
another round of applause from members.
The NFA also hosted ICC Floors from
Indianapolis as a prospective member.
The group convenes April 3 to 7 for its
annual spring meeting in Beaver Creek,
Colo. The fall event is planned for September in Boston. FCW
Other meeting news
Koufidakis called the meeting to order
with the request that all the members visit
the vendors. Internally known as the Tier
February 11, 2013
2-11-13pages.indd 7
WWW.FCW1.COM
•
2/8/13 1:04 PM
8 Resilient
Breaking from the growing crowd
crowded market, LVT manufacturers exhibited larger format planks and tiles at Surfaces
2013. The largest of which was FreeFit’s 36 X
36 loose lay Massimo prototype tile.
“We wanted to show that we have this
unique capability,” said Keith Pocock, COO,
FreeFit. “It matches the large marble and stone
formats you’ll find in upscale projects. That’s
one of the things we wanted to feel out while
Size matters
In an effort to standout in an increasingly here amongst the industry.”
Congoleum also introduced Structure,
a new larger format 18 X 36 rectangular tile
while Karndean Design Flooring showed
off the latest addition to its Opus collection:
coordinating 6 X 36 planks and 18 X 36 tiles in
rustic metallic designs.
“We launched the new Opus SKUs
with the intention that they’d be installed
together,” said Michael Lang, senior marketing manager, Karndean Design Flooring. “By
coming out with both 6 X 36 and larger 18 X
36 in the same design, we’re trying to provide
customization options within the line itself.”
IVC US, known as a leader in fiberglassbacked sheet vinyl, distinguished itself upon
FreeFit’s Keith Pocock shows off the
entering the LVT market with its massive
massive 36 X 36 Massimo loose lay tile.
5-foot long, 9 1/2-inch wide Moduleo.
[Las Vegas] Leading luxury vinyl tile (LVT)
suppliers have taken dramatic action to distinguish their products from the increasing
number of companies seeking a foothold in
the double-digit growth category. Products
are getting larger, installing easier and incorporating differentiators like grout.
“It’s a great high-end long plank visual that
is more realistic than anything else out there,”
said Bart Rich, senior marketing manager, IVC
US. “We didn’t want to just enter the LVT category. We wanted to redefine it.”
Other suppliers focused on matching popular real ceramic and stone sizes such as 12 X 12,
12 X 24 and 16 X 16. For example, Armstrong’s
Alterna Reserve was exhibited in 8 X 8, 8 X 16
and 12 X 24 coordinating formats. Mannington
highlighted that its 12 X 12, 12 X 24 and 16 X 16
Adura line can be installed with glue or with its
LockSolid click installation system.
“Consumers are going to larger scale
formats because they make the room look
bigger but it’s crucial to focus on the direction real porcelain and ceramic are going,”
said Ed Duncan, senior vice president of
residential business, Mannington.
Loose lay here to stay
When FreeFit introduced loose lay LVT at
Surfaces 2010, it was greeted as a novel idea
but with some skepticism. Today, the concept
of vinyl tiles and planks adhering themselves
to subfloors with nothing but their weight and
self-grip backers has caught on. Several suppli-
Surfaces attendees were drawn
to EarthWerks loose lay Aurora.
ers such as EarthWerks, Metroflor, Karndean
Design Flooring and Raskin Industries are all
marketing their own loose lay technology.
For Metroflor, the 2013 launch of iNTACT
loose lay LVT rounds out an offering that
already included products with grip-strip, click
and glue down installation options. Available
in 6 X 48 planks and 12 X 24 tiles, iNTACT
features a patented WaveTrac backer.
“Loose lay LVT represented the last leg of
the installation stool for us. We believe we
now have the broadest offering out there,”
said Russell Rogg, CEO, Metroflor. “When
you lay iNTACT down it remains intact. It’s
not going to slide.”
After successfully selling loose-lay LVT in
WE Cork’s Serenity creates
installation opportunities
08
ATOR- .com
888-wwGw.garagegator
[Exeter, N.H.] WE Cork’s new Serenity and even marble using digital printing while
cork/HDF hybrid is creating opportunities maintaining all the benefits of cork,” said Ann
for installations that require popular wood Wicander, president, WE Cork. “Cork was the
and stone visuals but the sound dampen- original resilient floor because it offers a lot
ing, comfort and insulation benefits of cork, of beneficial properties. There are more than
according to Jeff Garber, vice
200 million air cells per cubic
president and general maninch in cork. That makes the
ager of Ohio Valley Flooring.
product light, but also quiet
“Serenity really hits a need
and comfortable.”
for us,” he said. “People like
WE Cork also introduced
their existing wood floors but
Silently-LVT, a specially
they don’t want to deal with
designed 2mm cork and
the sound of neighbors and
rubber underlayment for use
their TVs and toilets. Cork
with luxury vinyl tile (LVT),
has always tested the best for
linoleum and marmoleum
sound but traditionally no one
composition tiles (MCT).
liked the visual. Now Serenity
While initially created
gives us all the attributes of
for its thermal and soundcork while providing the visudampening qualities, the
WE
Cork’s
Serenity
printed
cork
als consumers really want.”
natural weight of SilentlyComposed of a UnilinLVT’s rubber components
locking high density fiberboard (HDF) sand- allow it to be floated or adhered to the
wiched between a cork underlayment and subfloor. Likewise, products being installed
cork surface, Serenity offers the latest in wood, above Silently-LVT can be floated or adhered
stone and slate visuals using advanced digital to the underlayment.
print technology. The 11mm, 12 X 48 col“Silently-LVT goes right over irregularities
lection was launched at Surfaces in 16 SKUs in the subfloor making installations faster,” said
but can be customized to meet personal or Wicander. “The weight of the rubber keeps it
down without glue so it can also be easily
regional preferences.
“We’re able to deliver realistic woods, slates removed.” FCW
2-11-13pages.indd 8
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 10:58 AM
w e
a re
t h e
m a rk e t
l e a d er
i n
re a l ism
b ec ause
residential & commercial
the broadest line
most styling awards
more installation Options
One retail display system
unlimited looks
mannington. com 1.8 0 0. 3 5 6.678 7
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2/5/13 4:15 PM
2/6/13 4:43 PM
10 Resilient
Technology takes lead at Surfaces
company Beaulieu International, entered
the U.S. LVT market here with the launch of
Dream Click, a line of 6 X 36 LVT planks featuring the Super-Click locking system.
The Super-Click system is comprised of
a honeycombed polystyrene and PVC core
featuring protruding tabs on all four sides of
Alloc enters LVT market with Dream Click the plank. Dream Click LVTs can simply be
Alloc, in conjunction with its Belgian parent slid together, even with one’s feet, on both
Players in the LVT market, new and old,
launched innovative installation methods and
unique constructions. Suppliers such as Home
Legend and Alloc made their first big push here
while veterans like Armstrong and Metroflor
extended their lines using new technology.
tions and is Impact Insulation Class (IIC) rated.
“Our new floating system is priced competitively with other underlayments but of
course you don’t need adhesives or a trowel,”
the planks’ long and short sides allowing for said Allen Cubell, vice president, residential
product management, Armstrong Floor
unique installation configurations.
Products. “With click systems, you’re literally
locked in to how you can install a product.
Armstrong’s new floating system
Armstrong introduced a pre-adhered float- This system offers flexibility and works well
ing underlayment system onto which its LVT with our multiple-sized Alterna products.”
tiles and planks can be installed. Also available
is an upgrade featuring a flocked fiber backing USFloors launches engineered vinyl planks
USFloors has combined bamboo dust,
that absorbs sound for multi-family installavirgin PVC and limestone to produce a waterproof dimensionally stable composite core
with an attached 1mm cork underlay and LVT
surface visuals. Available in 5 X 48, 7 X 48 and
12 X 24 planks, COREtec Plus features a Unilin
floating drop lock glueless installation system
and lifetime waterproof warranty.
“It really is the best of laminate and LVT
combined plus more. The cork underlayment makes it quiet but it’s waterproof, not
floppy like LVT and easy to install,” said Gary
Keeble, marketing manager, US Floors.
Metroflor’s groutable floating floor
Metroflor has taken the floating gripstrip technology it introduced with Konecto
in 2008 to a new level with Aspire, the first
groutable floating LVT.
Aspire’s 5mm 16 X 16 tiles feature a patented
peel-and-stick grip strip that allows for one
of 16 coordinating acrylic-based grouts. New
Crescent Edge technology also creates deeper,
more authentic bevels. It carries a 25-year residential and 8-year commercial warranty.
“Float the floor, grout it, wipe it and
you’re done. Real grout provides an entirely
higher level of realism,” said Russell Rogg,
CEO, Metroflor.
Tarkett displays click LVT better
Samples of Tarkett’s new clickable Transcend LVT are displayed with affixed matching moldings to stimulate the requisite sale of
add-on accessories.
“Putting the transitions on the display
keep the moldings, which are necessary, fresh
in the mind of the consumer,” said Bruce
Ziegler, director of residential product, Tarkett. “It’s an easy tool to help make that additional sale.” FCW
Breaking
Europe the past four years, including an 8,000
square foot installation at London’s Heathrow
Airport, EarthWerks launched its new loose
lay 8 X 40 Aurora plank collection to the U.S.
market at Surfaces. EarthWerks is so confident
in its loose lay system, Aurora carries a lifetime
residential and 10 year commercial warranty.
“It goes down easy and comes up just as
easy,” said Jerry Gerson, marketing manager,
EarthWerks. FCW
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 10:59 AM
Patent #: 8,298,650 B2
The Category Creator….
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2/7/13 2:37 PM
12
Shaw
marking tool insured that the store
was doing things right. “The coaching
— how to advertise, who the customers
are, networking with other dealers. The
best part for me was meeting Shaw’s
upper management team. That’s the
difference. They have a personal concern for us to succeed and prosper.”
Ian Newton of Flooring 101 in
Oxnard, Calif., noted, “Shaw is good
at making product and backing it up
with service.”
way, delivered a message as well. “The
beauty of America is we grow. Flooring
is a part of the American scene and was
affected as much, if not more, than any
other industry. We will have a recovery
that is real and sustained — the shenanigans in Washington won’t have Shaw created excitement with its many marketing tools.
a negative effect on housing,” assured
Tyler, Texas. She attended convention with
Buffet.
Late in 2011, Shaw changed its mission state- husband Jerry Jones of Home Plus Floors, Tools for success
ment to fully reflect company goals and culture. an NFA member.
“The mission of Shaw Flooring Network is
Steve Boardman of MMM Carpets in to help provide tools and business knowledge
“Shaw’s vision is to create a better future — for
our customer, our people, our company and Santa Clara, Calif., was one of eight SFN we know they need in ways that are easy
our communities,” stated Merritt. “We want dealers that participated in the Total Business for them,” said Merritt. “We have a lot of
to help our customer be prepared. The upturn Transformation (TBT) program designed to merchandising, marketing and advertising
help Shaw dealers grow. Its four essential ini- — critical parts of managing in the upturn.”
requires a different strategy than survival.”
Programs at Insight 2013 resonated with tiatives are: Understanding your market and
Kathy Young, director of marketing, said
the attending dealers. Caress, the new soft customer expectations; creating a vision and Shaw is on all the paths the consumer is on
Anso nylon carpet, for example, was a clear plan; putting tools offered by the company with focused and targeted efforts. “It’s about
hit. “It’s an awesome product and it will do into action; and, measuring success with the creating preference. I want them to really
well with the consumer,” said Lisa Jones, Financial Benchmark tool.
know who Shaw is and sharpen the tools to
Boardman said that the Financial Bench- reach her,” said Young.
president of Business Direct Marketing in
The company is an avid user of social
media. And in 2013, Shaw will sponsor the
inaugural HGTV Smart Home (it has sponsored the HGTV Green Home in previous
Shaw is the exclusive flooring sponsor of the St. Jude Dream Home giveaway providing
years) as well as the House Beautiful Kitchen
floors for nearly 30 homes each year. The company first signed on for the Dream Homes
of the Year and Southern Living Idea House.
in 2012.
“[Shaw] values how they approach their
“They are building homes literally from the ground up,” said Merritt. “I’m so proud to be a part of
dealer relationships — we’re not just customthis.” Seventy-five percent of money raised for St. Jude is private money, Merritt added.
“St. Jude changed my life. I’ve always been proud to work for Shaw but this shows the heart of
ers, they look at us as partners. And, their whole
what we are,” noted Mollie Surratt, director of marketing at Anderson Hardwood Floors.
social media approach and their realization of
In addition, 1 percent of sales of Anso ClearTouch and Epic at convention up to $100,000
how invaluable it us to us as dealers. They offer
went to St. Jude and roughly 2 percent to 3 percent of St. Jude Carpet Pad sales will go to the
us the technical assistance for increasing our
research hospital. In addition, St. Jude will be the theme of fall promotions this year.
social media presence,” explained Greg Besteman of Advanced Interiors in Jenison, Mich.
All of the company’s efforts are further
supported by Shaw Web Studio, Shaw Ad
Studio and Shaw Consumer Connect and
Smart Targeting designed to give stores
demographic information and shopping tendencies of the customers near them.
St. Jude: The heart of Shaw
Anso, is both “comprehensive and balanced,”
according to Mike Sanderson, product marketing manager. It has 27 styles, 50 colors,
is Cradle to Cradle certified and features the
R2X patented stain and soil resistance.
Area Rugs
A robust Shaw Living area rug offering
included more than 200 new designs — five
handmade collections and indoor/outdoor
rugs in 16 different designs including a hand
hooked rug.
Tuftex has 19 new products including
Bling, a 65 ounce nylon with a polyester
accent for luster. The Tuftex sales force will
now also carry the Shaw Living line.
Caress is the new soft surface product launch.
Hard surface
Scott Sandlin, vice president of hard
surface, is excited about Shaw’s hard surface
product line-up, noting that Shaw gave the
division “everything we’ve asked for including
capital, people and added logistics.”
All hardwood flooring is Cradle to Cradle
Silver Certified. “We created a brand new subcategory of hardwood with Epic,” said Kevin
Thompson, hardwood and laminate category
manager. Shaw’s Epic Hardwood is also Greenguard Children & Schools Certified. Two new
Epic products were launched at convention.
The company is also working hard to
enhance its laminate line, according to Thompson. “We’ve brought a significant amount of
excitement back to laminate,” he said.
New resilient products include additions
Carpet
Caress, Shaw’s new soft nylon carpet with to the Array resilient collection which fea-
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 12:49 PM
13
tures a direct glue installation and a good,
better, best or superior structure. Resort Tile
has been expanded while Sumter LS has been
upgraded and renamed to Sumter Plus.
“This is our third year in resilient. It’s an
exciting time to get in — so many changes,” said
Clark Hodgkins, resilient category manager.
Tile & Stone
Shaw is introducing 165 SKUs of tile and
stone in 2013, according to Vance Hunsucker, tile and stone sales manager at Shaw,
that include natural stone and travertines.
Porcelain and ceramic introductions feature
Clarity Digital Imaging Technology, allowing
for realistic designs.
number of value-oriented products that will
give the company “velocity,” according to vice
president of national accounts Rick Knowles.
Urban Loft, for example, is an engineered
product that appeals to consumer preferences
for wide planks and long boards. Urban Loft
is an Epic produced product.
“We wanted the collection to be streamlined but also impactful. It is a great looking,
domestically produced product,” Knowles
said. Anderson also has robust marketing
efforts surrounding the new product.
Jason Emmert of Advanced Interiors in
Jenison, Mich., predicted, “Urban Loft will do of the industry’s capacity in nylon staple and
well, customers love anything Epic. And, it is that was our big stick. Today, there is virtually
well designed at an affordable price point.”
no staple left in the industry and we had to
change in a hurry. We had to prepare to service this growing filament polyester market,
Ready for market demands
Merritt said that in order to grow, a com- the nylon filament market. We invested a bilpany needs to have the working capital to lion dollars in the last six years. A lot of that
prepare itself and Shaw, he added, is prepared. was to improve our service and provide the
“We pride ourselves on being able to be customer with what the customer wants.”
Added Sandlin, “We are poised for the
flexible and to change,” Merritt said.
Proof, he said, is the company’s investment builder comeback in our capacities. And
in changing from nylon staple to nylon fila- that’s a big deal. You better be ready. The
ment. “In 2006, we were probably 50 percent builder community gives you one shot.” FCW
Anderson
The Anderson brand combines the
strength of Shaw with a name that is synonymous with American-made, quality
hardwood floors. Completely separate from
Shaw, Anderson is offering a number of new
streamlined collections of its own.
While maintaining its signature high-end
look in Bastille, Anderson brought out a
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Full families attend Insight so kid-friendly attractions were built into the week from toys,
games and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
to a private run at Universal Studio’s Islands of
Adventure. “This is a family event,” said president
Randy Merritt. “Kids that were coming here when
they were 10 are now buying product.”
TA
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A mock St. Jude
Dream Home was
erected right on
the convention floor
and parents of St.
Jude’s
patients
bravely shared their
stories with attendees. The ABC wall of
art by children with
cancer was recreated at convention.
Tools and programs were at the ready for
aligned retailers from Smart Targeting to advertising, web design and so much more. “These
programs are designed specifically for you to
succeed in the economic upturn,” Merritt said.
Hard surfaces has hit its stride at Shaw.
“We are proud of where we are,” noted Scott
Sandlin, vice president of hard surface, adding that the company raised the level of the
teams internally to match the strength of
what was on the soft side of the company.
There was a lot of excitement around Caress.
Trey Thames, vice president of residential marketing and product management, noted, “Soft
is huge. What is different about ours is that our
color story is tied to nature.” FCW
February 11, 2013
WWW.FCW1.COM
•
2/8/13 1:02 PM
14
Profits
Redwood Falls, Heartland Wood Products
provides custom hardwood millwork ranging
from trims and moldings to stair treads, rises,
caps, dual posts, banisters and handrails.
While working primarily with domestic
hardwood out of Michigan and Wisconsin,
Heartland Wood Products also provides
custom work in exotics and is expanding
into bamboo, according to Mike Preuss,
general manager.
Pedross USA
www.pedrossusa.com
Pedross USA has a full line of wood,
cork, laminate, veneer and LVT moldings
housed at its 20,000 square foot Springdale,
Ark.-based headquarters and warehouse.
Its parent company, based in Italy, utilizes
the latest in milling technology to supply
competitively priced moldings and custom
digital printing options. CCA is one key
account that the company serves.
“Our great advantage is that we produce
the whole package of moldings,” said Bas Van
Genderen, CEO, Pedross USA. “Not only do
we have a volume-based price advantage, we
digitally print college logos on wood veneer,
cork and most recently aluminum.”
While wood moldings continue to
account for the majority of sales, a boom in
LVT and a recent partnership with IVC US
is quickly making vinyl moldings a major
priority, according to Van Genderen.
“In dollar amounts wood is still the leader
but LVT molding sales are now actually
larger than laminate,” he said.
Johnsonite
Pedross USA offers a full multi-category molding package but reported LVT is on the rise.
www.Johnsonite.com
Johnsonite’s Ecolibrium Bio-based Wall
Base is composed of discarded walnut and
oyster shells. It is FloorScore certified and
free of phthalates, halogens and chlorine. It is
available in 32 colors that match Johnsonite’s
rubber tiles, treads and finishing accessories.
“We are committed to making products
Johnsonite’s Ecolibrium Bio-Based Wall Base
that are as sustainable as possible,” said
Diane Martel, vice president of environmental planning and strategy, Tarkett
North America. “These products are the
result of our recycling efforts and the great
energy and expense that goes into developing new chemistry.”
Johnsonite is based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Versatrim
www.versatrim.com
Henderson, N.C.-based Versatrim is
applying the latest in digital print technology to provide stocking retailers and distributors exact-match moldings of even the
rarest laminate visuals.
Versatrim makes it possible to select
unproven but tempting visuals without
the worry of being left with a warehouse of
unwanted moldings, according to Thilo Hessler, president.
“Laminate floor suppliers are starting to
branch out more into unique and exotic
visuals and you have to have matching
moldings but you don’t need to warehouse
them. You don’t need to buy them in bulk,
sit on them and tie up cash,” said Hessler.
“We can match any design and get it to you
whether it’s two sticks or dozens.”
Versatrim has also launched Lily Trim, a
line of 50 unique large-format colorful laminate base moldings designed specifically for
children’s rooms. Lily Trim base moldings
are nearly five inches tall and feature polka
dot, striped, animal and cartoon visuals.
“The large format covers the imperfections left behind when you remove the older
moldings,” said Hessler. “The colors and
playful designs of Lily Trim brighten up a
room at a minimal cost.” FCW
Versatrim can match even the rarest, exotic
laminate visuals with digital printing.
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 10:59 AM
Wood 15
More than aesthetics
By Mallory Cruise
[L V] In addition to introducing stunning, yet durable, hardwood products, suppliers here at Surfaces tapped into a number
of important attributes, including sustainability, domestic production, strengthening
relationships and value-oriented price points
to better meet consumer needs.
They also reported that there are signs of
recovery for a positive 2013.
“We’ve been seeing a surge in the builder,
multi-family and new construction segments.
I see more confidence in retail and new construction,” said Jamann Stepp, vice president
of sales and marketing at Home Legend.
The hardwood category, specifically, is
seeing a lift in the recession, according to
Dan Natkin, director of wood and laminate
business, Mannington. “We have positive
momentum going into this year. Wood is a lot
better. As the housing market rebounds, we
are seeing some new trends.”
advancements in performance capabilities at
Surfaces along with a Made in America story.
The company highlighted its popular Performance Plus hardwood and new American
Scrape collection. Performance Plus is indent
resistant due to its micro-veneer, HDF core
and ceramic coating, explained Milton Goodwin, vice president of product management,
hardwood at Armstrong. American Scrape
collection is a domestically made solid. “Buying
American puts jobs in American plants.
Ninety-five percent of Armstrong’s hardwood
is domestically produced,” Goodwin said.
Armstrong also has a tie in with Homes for
our Troops with its American Scrape product
— a portion of its proceeds goes toward the
non-profit company aiding returning soldiers.
Strengthening distributor relationships
was another focus at the show and will
continue to be key for HomerWood, according to Paul Walker, general manager. The
company, in fact, invited members from its
distribution network to visit the company in
Titusville and pick 35 products for their own
custom merchandising displays.
Walker added the company will continue to
push it’s Made in America brand recognition.
Du Chateu, known for manufacturing premium, oil finished floors, has been making
significant investments and is planning on
opening a 1,500 square foot domestic plant,
said Scott Petersen, director of operations at
Du Chateau. “We’re currently custom producing floors in Holland but will soon open
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HILLSHIRE
Homegrown and eco-friendly
Domestic production was indeed a focus
here at Surfaces. A number of companies introduced products newly being made in the States
or revealed plans to ramp up production here.
Brian Greenwell, vice president of sales and
marketing at Mullican, expects the company’s
new Johnson City, Tenn. engineered plant to
make the company prosperous this year. The
company made significant investments over
the past few years to bring engineered production stateside. Its newest collection, Lincolnshire, is produced at the new plant.
“Our Johnson City plant is doing well. We
have 250 new jobs, with 120 new jobs in the
Johnson City plant,” he explained, adding that
the company is planning to add a second shift.
Mannington, which has historically been
a champion of domestically produced products, was on hand at Surfaces with a host of
Made in the U.S.A. products.
Noted Zack Zehner, senior vice president
of distribution network and customer service at Mannington, “We’re responding to
customers’ needs and solidifying product in
order to service customers better.”
Suppliers, such as Armstrong, focused on
in the
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February 11, 2013
WWW.FCW1.COM
•
2/8/13 1:29 PM
16 Wood
Aesthetics
a production facility in San Diego,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indus Parquet matched
unique visuals with an environmental
responsibility story when it came to its wall
mosaics in the Coterie collection.
Indus Parquet uses all leftover material to
create additional product, explained Mark
Harold Bayuk, western regional sales manager at IndusParquet.
According to Jason Strong, vice president Peter Spirer, director of sales and marketing at
of sales, the company is delving into the mid- Max Windsor. “DuraMax is used on wide oak
products, and was designed with the intention
price range with its handscraped offerings.
of reducing any special maintenance procedures associated with oil based finishes.”
A finishing story
Mohawk too focused its energy on improvA number of suppliers introduced finishes
that are eco-friendly but don’t sacrifice dent ing its already popular ArmorMax finish.
ArmorMax contains aluminum oxide that
resistance and durability.
Max Windsor’s new DuraMax finish fea- keeps the finish from wearing and dulling, and
tures a seven layer, water-based process that carries a 50-year warranty. ArmorMax comes
emits zero levels of formaldehyde and repli- complete with Scotchgard, allowing for easy
Dan Natkin with Mannington’s Maison
cates the look of oil finished products. “A big maintenance and cleaning of products.
ArmorMax is now available on more species for a wider breadth of product, explained
trend at Surfaces is the oil rubbed look,” said
Richard Quinlan, senior director of hardwood
at Mohawk. “We won best new product at the
International Builders Show with ArmorMax.”
Shaw, which showed its new offerings across
the country at regional shows and its convention in Orlando, launched one of its largest new
product portfolios. American Restoration is a
new hardwood offering that features the company’s ScufResist Platinum finish. The finish
offers low-luster sheen and the look of an oil
rubbed finish, according to Shaw.
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Alternative advancements
Cork and bamboo makers have also utilized new technology to provide product
enhancements. One is direct digital printing
on cork resulting in a wider variety of visuals.
Advancements in bamboo constructions offer
better performing, more durable products.
Through its Wicanders brand, Amorim
prints digital images directly onto a cork floor.
This allows the company to deliver a floor
with all of the inherent benefits of a cork floor
— warmth, natural insulation, comfort under
foot — with design visuals that replicate those
found in nature. Amorim also launched a cork
recyling program called ReCork.
WE Cork is also diving deep into direct
printing on cork core boards offering products with a class AC5 rating and commercial
finish. Ann Wicander, president of WE Cork,
explained that of the many benefits of digital
printing on cork, it also results in less repeating of design patterns on the product.
CFS is continually improving upon its
strand woven product offerings. Here, it
showcased new strand woven engineered
products on an HDF core board with glueless
locking system. According to the company,
this blends an environmental story with
durability and performance.
Also touting bamboo’s inherent environmentally friendly qualities, Bamboo Hardwoods highlighted its Suite collection, a solid
strand woven bamboo product with a 2mm
wear layer and HDF core.
Gary Keeble, product and marketing manager, USFloors, said the company is keeping
consumer preferences in mind when it comes
to looking for a value-oriented floor. “The
consumer paradigm is changing, it’s all about
pricing,” he said.
USFloors restructured the profile of its Cork
Reflections collection to 10 1/2mm and is also
expanding upon its printed cork offering. FCW
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 1:27 PM
17
Carpet bounces back on soft styling
By Janet Herlihy
[L V] Some carpet suppliers thought
traffic was up a little and some thought it was
down a tad, but all agreed that dealers at Surfaces 2013 were serious shoppers who were
ready to write orders.
“The recovery is real,” said Danny Freeman, president of Engineered Floors. “January is better than expected.”
Added Melvin Silvers, president of
Dream Weaver, “Traffic at Surfaces, hasn’t
slowed down.”
Ed Williams, president of Lexmark,
agreed that the show was good and some
orders were being written. “People are reasonably optimistic,” he said.
Mohawk was holding its Western Regional
Market outside the Surfaces show area. David
Duncan, senior vice president of Marketing
Mohawk Flooring, reported, “The activity
level is high and our showroom is crowded.”
While noting that attendance seemed a
little down, Jonathan Cohen, president and
COO of Stanton, said, “Stanton is having a
good show so far.” With introductions across
its brands — Antrim, Rosecore, Royal Dutch
and Stanton — the company was getting a
good reception. “Dealers are optimistic,”
Cohen said. “Very positive.”
Soft is new standard
A much asked question at the show was
“Does the carpet market have room for more
soft and/or polyester styles?” The resounding
to use as an end cap. Beaulieu expects to ship
the displays by the end of April.”
Wear-Dated Embrace, Mohawk’s new soft
branded nylon line, was also enjoying a posibest way to reach Gen X and Y,” tive dealer response, according to Duncan.
“Dealers like (Wear-Dated) Embrace as
he said.
The new Stainmaster selling well as (SmartStrand) Silk. Embrace is for
system has now rolled out in consumers who want softness but also want
150 Stainmaster Flooring Cen- nylon,” Duncan explained.
Mohawk’s luxury carpet brand, Karasters, according to Michelle Rice,
Invista vice president, retail tan was also stressing soft with seven new
channel. “The RSAs say it works. SmartStrand Silk products and six new
It’s efficient and they are closing products in Wear-Dated Kashmere nylon.
Shaw introduced Caress, a new soft nylon
more sales,” Rice added.
Dan Phelan, Dixie Group’s product with a color palette based on nature,
to rave reviews at winter markets.
Dream Weaver, the specialty retail
division of Engineered Floors, introduced PureSoft Cashmere carpet,
a collection made of solution dyed,
Beaulieu’s new Bliss Indulgence was a
hit at Surfaces.
soft polyester in eight styles including tonal solids/flecks. The subtle
two-tone styles are “so forgiving,”
answer was “Yes!”
according to James Lesslie, assistant
Invista, the source of the first soft The Engineered Floors/Dream Weaver team (l-r) James Lesslie,
Gary
Hallowell,
Melvin
Silvers
and
Danny
Freeman,
at
Surfaces
to the chairman, Engineered Floors.
nylon products — Stainmaster LuxerLexmark’s introductions, all LCL
ell and Stainmaster Tactesse — is bullish on TruSoft, its latest, softest brand exten- vice president of marketing said that Dixie and styles tufted in the company’s proprietary 100
sion. With 20 to 30 additional Stainmaster its brands Fabrica, Masland and Dixie Home percent solution dyed Primus PET DuraSoft
TruSoft introductions in 2013 and TruSoft are committed to the premiere route and fiber, were true to the company’s roots. “We
placements at more than 2,400 individual brought a wide assortment of new products are taking Lexmark’s core strength in comretail locations, as well as Lowes home cen- to market. “Dixie has great positioning with mercial hospitality and moving it into residential,” said Williams. “We’re happy with
ters, Invista is committed to supporting and Stainmaster TruSoft and SolarMax,” he said.
Added Al Frink, co-founder of Fabrica, the progress.”
growing its Stainmaster brand, according
PET products introduced in 2012, exceeded
to Dan Haycook, executive vice president, “There are riches in niches. It’s about imagiexpectations, prompting Godfrey Hirst to
nation and product development.”
Invista Surfaces.
Beaulieu was having a great show, especially expand its easyliving@home collection of Spec“It’s important to invest in the brand,”
Haycook stressed. “Invista is shifting invest- with its new Bliss Indulgence Collection of tral Solution Dyed PET that is made in the U.S.,
ment from television to digital advertising soft, solution dyed nylon products, according according to Laurie Bray, marketing manager,
because, based on market research, that is the to Mike McAllister, director of marketing for North America, at Godfrey Hirst Carpets USA.
Stanton proved that PET can take on many
the company. “More than 400 Indulgence displays were sold on the first day (of Surfaces),” forms with introductions ranging from hand
he said. “It answers the retailer demand for a woven Tibetan looks to selection of shags that
small display with large samples and it’s easy are available as rugs or broadloom. FCW
Phenix ready for growth
[D] Phenix, the flagship brand of Dobbs and three products with “color-shift optics,”
Mills, LLC, introduced a wider range of carpet according to Curtis. The multi-color styles
styles along with new leadership that plans to combine SureSoft construction with Microtake the brand to the next level in 2013.
flek, a trademarked Pharr yarn that incorpoMark Clayton, named Dobbs
rates reflective fibers.
president and CEO last June, and
“We are working on new ways
Susan Curtis, who recently joined
to merchandise Phenix products
the company as vice president
and developing a display that
product and marketing developwill communicate with the conment, are working to reposition
sumer,” Curtis noted.
the Phenix brand by expanding
While primarily a polyester
into a wider range of fashioncarpet manufacturer, Phenix will
oriented styles, textures and colors Mark Clayton
also continue to offer Stainmasand launching the SureSoft Collecter carpet styles. Curtis stressed,
tion targeted at the popular soft carpet market. “Ultimately, we want the industry and the
“We want the industry to see a mark- public alike to perceive Phenix as the design
edly different side of Phenix,” Curtis added. leader in every carpet market segment where
“We’ve concluded that now is the time to take we participate. To that end, we’ve been
that solid foundation and build a future for investing heavily in technology, talent and
Phenix that adds distinctive styles, textures, corporate assets, which we believe will deliver
patterns and colors to the brand’s overall compelling products to the market.”
identity,” she added.
Clayton has more than 25 years in the floor
The SureSoft Collection of PET includes covering industry, including marketing and
three solid styles in 45-, 55-, and 65-ounce management jobs. FCW
February 11, 2013
WWW.FCW1.COM
•
Diablo
stores. We set it up as a designer showroom. It’s
a good size. Big enough to have everything we
need but not overwhelming. It’s been the easiest
store to get started because clientele just walked
in and word of mouth has worked as well.”
Diablo is a lean organization, with only nine
full-time staff covering all the stores, including
the installers. It’s been essential to find the right
people, according to DeOliveira. He handles
management and motivation out of the Danville store where Jeff Ernst is the scheduler for all
three locations. Aurora DeOliveira is in charge
of all the bookkeeping from the Pleasanton
location, where she also helps Cliff McClurley,
the store manager, on the showroom floor. Roy
Sander manages the Walnut Creek store with a
part time sales associate.
“We model our customer service on Nordstrom’s,” DeOliveira said. “Our goal is to
provide clients the best experience they have
ever had from any flooring company.”
Diablo can now afford advertising in local
home magazines as well as the Internet,
where it also has an active Facebook page.
Serving affluent communities from small,
boutique flooring showrooms was inspired.
A majority, 60 to 70 percent of sales, are hard
surface orders, mostly hardwood. Diablo has
built a reputation for sand and finish services
through high profile projects such as the
Lesher Art Center in Walnut Creek.”
A veteran retailer now at 38, DeOliveira is
ready to focus on nurturing his three stores.
“I never would have wanted more than one
store, except I watched a friend, who owned a
single dealership, open three more during the
recession. Now, I just want all of my stores to
run well and grow.”
But he still has big dreams. “My goal this year
is to get on the Inc. 5000 (www.inc.com) list for
the fastest growing small companies in America. I’m on track to do it,” he promised. FCW
2/8/13 1:22 PM
18 Tile & Stone
Suppliers create tools for success
Lori Kirk-Rolley, senior marketing director appeal. White marbles, detailed mosaics, faux
at Dal-Tile also sees forward movement: “We stone with tons of variation, and wood looks
are beginning to see some really with lots of texture dominated the aisles.
[Las Vegas] Tile and stone
“We are finding that people are looking
positive indicators in building
companies brought their “A
for
new and exotics, we offer some of those
and home construction. Projecgame” to Surfaces 2013, delivtions are pretty good going into things, and the number one thing is value,”
ering merchandising tools and
2013 from NAHB [National said Coe of NCC Tiles.
sure-fire new products that will
Sizes continue to increase, with manufacAssociation of Home Builders],
prepare dealers for the housing
and most importantly, our cus- turers rolling out super-sized porcelains that
rebound that the industry is
tomers are experiencing some can be used on the walls, stair treads and
eagerly anticipating.
countertops. Bedrosian’s Tile & Stone, for
good things.”
“The show has been specFarrell Gerber, owner of Tile example, showcased 5 x 10 marble-look portacular,” said Bob Baldocchi, Tim Perdieu, owner, Tile
Redi, reported improvement on celain that Bedrosian said they plan to use as
director of marketing at Emser & Stone Warehouse
the commercial end of the busi- exterior cladding on a new showroom soon.
Tile. “We are all about showing new products and merchandising and ness. “On our end, hospitality renovation has The company revamped its entire product
design concepts, and we’ve had great reac- really been on an uptick,” he said. “On the line over the past year, which included more
than 3,000 SKUs, and
tions. I think the traffic for the show has residential side, people
introduced a dozen new
been a little bit down, but we’ve had very are staying in their homes
glass lines at Surfaces.
targeted, meaningful appointments with and they want to remodel
Surfaces
provided
our key contacts. People we want to see, their bathrooms, put
Crossville
with
an
something
in
there
that
we’ve seen.”
opportunity
to
get
feedAdded Glen Bush, operations and sales is upscale and nice — and
back from retailers on a
manager at EmilAmerica, “We’ve gotten a lot they can do themselves.”
prototype merchandisShow
attendees
of newer leads over last year, and we have a lot
ing system for high-end
of business to follow up on and hopefully close.” reported that the new
showrooms that the
There was a lot of optimism across the format, which separated
company is developing
tile and stone from soft
show floors.
for launch at the Cov“Business has been fantastic,” said Sean surfaces, also made a
erings Show in April.
Cilona, marketing director for Florida Tile. positive difference.
“It’s much more com“It has been a lot
“Last year was one of our best years, and we
prehensive, taking some
are definitely seeing growth year over year.” more upbeat than most
of the best of our disThe Florida Tile team opted for a low-key shows in the past,” said
tributor showrooms, like
meeting room on the show floor instead of Shaun Coe, sales repreour grouted panels and
a booth so that it could hold one-on-one sentative for NCC Tiles,
color wall, with some
meetings with customers. Cilona said the a manufacturer and
of the more functional
company aims to expand its distribution on distributor in Anaheim, Design Made Easy is a new merchanattributes of a flooring
Calif. “I think that the dising concept by Emser Tile.
the West Coast and in the Southwest.
showroom, like a wing
“Our main business before the downturn separation from the
rack,
and
blending
them all together,” said
was new construction and we lost that when carpet and hard surface is definitely helpLindsey Waldrep, vice president of marthe market went down,” said Eddie Bedro- ing to keep the concentration.”
Tim Perdieu, owner of Tile & Stone keting for Crossville. “From a marketing
sian, marketing director at Bedrosian’s Tile
& Stone. “Then remodels and foreclosures Warehouse in Merriam, Kan., also noted standpoint, our strategy for commercial and
were big for us. Now, we’re seeing move- that the show layout worked well. “We are residential is to be more in touch with our
here looking for new product, and I am retailers and our designers and putting ourment in the business.”
looking for some new selves in positions where we can do that.”
Emser Tile revealed a new merchandisstuff that my vendors
don’t have. If we can ing concept, called “Design Made Easy,”
find things that are that simplifies the selection process for
unique that they don’t the homeowner. “We built a system that
have, then my custom- can bring together coordinated looks and
ers won’t be shopping lifestyles by pointing you in the direction
around. We picked up of the types of products you want or edita bunch of stuff from ing out looks or concepts that you don’t
MarMe [Tile & Stone]. want so that you can narrow your search,”
Their
price
point Baldocchi said.
MSI International also exhibited meris inexpensive and
that’s the price point chandising displays aimed at helping floorI am looking at — the ing retailers get into the stone business.
$60,000 house to the “MSI is experienced at working with retail$1.4 million house — so ers on dye lots, variation, and we can prothey can give me a little vide retailers with photos, samples and the
right merchandising and product mix for
bit of everything.”
New products seen on their market,” said Manny Llerena, direcA prototype display system for Crossville dealers
the show floor had mass tor of sales and marketing for MSI. FCW
By Tanja Kern
Daltile gives Interior
Design Scholarships
[Las Vegas] Daltile, in conjunction with the
American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
Foundation, named Lauren Henrie, a junior at
Utah State University, the winner of the 2013
Daltile Interior Design Scholarship scholarship
at Surfaces. Henrie won $10,000 to continue
her education in the field of interior design.
Students participating in the design competition were asked to use Daltile products
in a way that addressed the needs of multigenerational users. Their design could span
commercial or residential interior design.
Henrie’s winning design was on display
at Surfaces, where she was present as
Daltile’s guest of honor. First-, second- and
third-prize winners each received a $2,500
scholarship, and 10 merit winners received
$1,000 in scholarships, for a total of
$27,500 in scholarships awarded. Daltile
turned to its Facebook fans and followers to
help determine the winners. FCW
Lauren Henrie is winner of the 2013 Daltile
Interior Design Scholarship.
Concept Flooring wins
Daltile promotion
[Las Vegas] Don and Jennifer Farley, owners
of Concept Flooring in Murfreesboro, Tenn.,
won a 2013 Camaro 2LS, the grand prize of
Daltile’s Dealers Driving Success promotion.
Throughout the promotion period (Sept. 2
to Dec. 31, 2012), eligible dealers were asked
to visit the Daltile promotion website to register
for the Daltile Camaro grand prize giveaway. For
every 2,000 square feet of qualifying product
shipped during the promotion, the dealer received an additional entry. Daily entries during
the promotion averaged at more than 1,200
square feet of qualifying Daltile product.
In addition to the grand-prize winner, five
first-prize winners received a $1,000 Quantum Rewards prepaid MasterCard and 10
second-prize winners received a $500 Quantum Rewards prepaid MasterCard. FCW
Don and Jennifer Farley, owners of Concept
Flooring in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
WWW.FCW1.COM
February 11, 2013
2/8/13 10:20 AM
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pacific-solutions.com 800.400.4927
We are listening!
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See new features based on customer feedback:
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2/8/13 9:14 AM
Next up in FCW, March 11 Issue
• LVT - New Products
• Wood - Brand Power
• The Essentials of Stone I
Business Opportunities
WE HELP DEALERS
Private labels, specialty mills & etc.
Call us now at 800-228-4632
www.carpetbroker.com
1 CENT/SF FLOORING
ESTIMATING
Fast & Accurate - Callidus Takeoffs
www.commercialflooringestimating.com
NEED CASH FAST??
I will buy your Oriental Rug inventory
for CASH anywhere in the country.
Call Maurice Kaoud at 860-836-9559.
SANDFREE WOOD
FLOOR REFINISHING
Be Part of a growing segment of the
Flooring business – no sanding, wood
Floor refinishing and recoloring. A perfect
additional service for a flooring company
to offer. Low initial fees. Use your own
customer base to get additional sales.
One west coast carpet company joined and
Did a $7500 job, before they were trained.
They had sold bamboo to a group of stores,
and immediately refinished one store, with
promises for the rest of the chain.
• Ceramic Tile - Boosting Your
Bottom Line Through Add-ons
• Dealers’ Choice Awards
Career Opportunities
Agents Wanted
Dodd's Carpet, Inc.
Calhoun, Georgia
Seeking Agents to Sell
Promotional Goods & Specials
Submit information via e-mail to
[email protected] or
call [706] 625-1811
Established carpet company in
Baltimore, MD
Is looking to grow their team. Several
positions Needed.
Experienced Carpet Sales Person to handle
all Showroom sales. Salary + commission.
Project Manager and Outside Sales Person.
Salary + Commission.
Warehouse Manager. Must have installation
Experience and the ability to install when
Needed. Salary plus yardage.
Fax resume to Kim Canatella JD Carpets
410-668-7279
Why Isn’t this you?
www.SandFree.com
Call 888-202-3794
Business for Sale
Sacramento, CA FLOOR COVERING &
LIGHT FIXTURE STORE. Ready to retire
after 65 years in business.
Please call
(916)248-2766 or (916)453-1118
TIRED OF SLOW FREIGHT?
Affordable and quick transportation of
rolled broadloom and carpet tiles from any
of the DALTON AREA Carpet Mills to the
Metro Areas of Baltimore, Washington and
Philadelphia. Standard 3 day transit times.
Northern Virginia “CONTRACT RATES”
Broadloom as LOW as 30 cents per SY
plus FSC on any order with a minimum
200SY. Next day expedites available for
small upcharge.
Visit our web site at
www.carpetlogistics.com
or contact [email protected]
or Call 410-604-3330 and ask for Ed.
For Sale/ Long Island NY
Carpet storage and Pallet racks Like new
condition/Local set up and delivery available.
516-532-2710
FLOORING INVENTORY
SALE
WI Commercial Flooring Company
SELLING ENTIRE INVENTORY
LIQUIDATION PRICES!
Shipping costs by the buyer.
Loading dock access/loading included.
- 61 carpet remnants/rolls (2,500 yards)
- 10,000 sf almond color 4x4 wall tile
- 315 cartons VCT
- 23 rolls sheet vinyl
- 100 cartons vinyl wall base
- pallets of excess small lot porcelain
and ceramic tile
Call 262-893-5425 for info
Career Opportunities
Ads Close Feb. 27, 2013
Mohawk’s National Dealer
of the Year is expanding!
We are looking for highly motivated Store
Managers with strong leadership skills
and professional Sales Associates in the
San Francisco Bay Area.
Prior flooring sales experience is a plus.
We offer a highly Competitive Salary and
an attractive benefits package.
Please fax resume to 510-439-2727
www.floorstores.com
Outside Sales Representatives
FERMA FLOORING a NJ based
national flooring importer & distributor
for hardwood, bamboo, laminate & vinyl
products. We are looking for various FT
Sales Reps. Territories are NY Metropolitan
area, Eastern & Western PA, MD & Northern
VA, New England, & Eastern OH. Related
knowledge and experiences required.
Please email to [email protected].
US Floors, Inc Territory
Managers Needed
This fast growing and leading Manufacturer
of Cork, Bamboo, LVT, and Hardwood
Flooring has immediate openings for Territory
Managers in the Midwest, Heartland (OK/KS/
MO), West Coast, and the Northeast. Our
compensation plan includes base salary,
commission, travel expenses, 401K, and a
competitive benefits package.
Please Email your resume to
Sam Ruble at [email protected] or
fax to (206) 350-6563
www.usfloorsllc.com
Large National Flooring Company Hiring for Multiple Management,
Sales, and Operations Positions
America’s Floor Source, one of the nation’s largest flooring retailers, is looking to fill two
management roles for its new Atlanta location, as well as various sales and operations
positions for its store locations in Atlanta, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Fort Wayne,
Indianapolis, and Louisville. All applicants MUST have flooring experience.
For its Atlanta store opening, AFS is seeking an experienced full-time Regional Manager and
a full-time Operations and Installation Manager. The Regional Manager’s responsibilities will
include sales performance of all divisions in the region, acquisition of new customer accounts,
and supervision and training of all staff. Applicant should have a minimum of 5 years of
flooring sales experience, be a skilled user of the Microsoft Office Suite and a CRM database,
and have strong teaching and training abilities. The Operations and Installation Manager will
be responsible for recruiting and managing installers, cutting and receiving flooring material,
loading and unloading trucks, as well as managing installers, warehouse, and field techs.
Applicant should have strong relationships with carpet, vinyl, hardwood, laminate, ceramic,
LVT, bamboo, cork, and rubber installers in the area. Applicant must have experience
with flooring installation, warehouse and inventory management, and should have strong
computer, phone, and customer service skills.
AFS is also hiring for sales and operations positions at its Atlanta, Columbus, Cincinnati,
Cleveland, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and Louisville locations. Applicants must be experienced
flooring professionals with exceptional communication and computer skills and an ability to
function in a fast-paced environment.
Salaries commensurate with experience. 401K and health benefits are included in all
compensation packages. Interested applicants should email their resumes to
[email protected].
COMMISION SALES AGENT’S
WANTED
Alexandria International
USA Saudi Arabia
Selective territories available threw out the US.
Residental / Main Street Commercial & Specials
Send Resume To Brian Lewis VP of U.S. Sales
[email protected]
Fax-706 624 4500
Domotex
“The idea is to provide an alternative solution that is waterproof, antibacterial, slip resistant and guaranteed not to swell,” said Rolf
Wilhelm, sales manager, Floover. “You won’t
find those properties in carpet or laminate.”
Germany-based Classen extended its
position as a leading vertically integrated
global supplier of cost competitive laminate
flooring by exhibiting the latest in digital
print technology. The company’s new Liquid
Laminate Technology (LLT) allows it to
print small, custom runs while maintaining
low prices, according to managing director
Jürgen Resch.
“We are focused on cost and volume and
our new digital printing is a major advantage,” he said. “It’s cheaper to produce than
traditional laminate but without pattern
repeats. We can also do small, custom patterns without losing efficiencies.”
Meanwhile, Välinge chairman Darko
Pervan said the Swedish company has found
a way to reduce digital printing expenses by
replacing expensive inks and clogged printer
heads with water and pigmented recycled
wood dust; the latest evolution of its Wood
Powder technology.
The new method, Binder and Powder
Printing (BAP), works by digitally printing
water onto coreboards featuring a basecoat
of wood powder. The water then acts as a
binder for subsequent layers of pigmented
Hit
your target audience
with Floor Covering
Weekly’s Classifieds
Call
1.516.227.1407
powder that creates wood, stone or custom
designs. Powder from areas not bound by
water are then vacuumed up and recycled
back into the process.
“This may be our greatest invention,” said
Pervan. “Powder is a tremendous improvement. Not only can it create equal designs to
what’s available in traditional laminate, it is
much more cost efficient than paper and inks.
It’s 10 times cheaper. It sounds simple. But all
of our success has been inventing something
easier, cheaper and better.”
Despite these innovations into alternative
floor formats, many exhibitors and attendees
walking the show expressed disappointment
that fewer aggressive product differentiations
were displayed than are typically shown here.
Past years have brought seven foot LVT
planks, magnetic floors, 20 foot plus wood
boards and other unique platforms to market.
“We’re not seeing the wide variation in
products because nobody wants to take risks
with the economy being the way it is,” said
Rick Barrett, general manager of Minnesotabased Midwest Hardwood. “There are wider
boards but everybody has the same oak visuals in the same colors. There are also fewer
exotics because everyone wants to appear
eco-friendly. Overall, all I see are small variations within the same look.”
Tom Van Poyer, global commercial manager for ChinaFloors said, “It’s real strange.
There’s not the same level of innovation as
past years. That’s one of the main reasons
people come to this show. It’s a bit disappointing.” FCW
2/8/13 10:12 AM
22 Laminate
Time to believe
E
very year for the past several,
we’ve gone into January
saying, “This is it. This is the
year when we turn things around.”
I’m not sure if it was optimism or
simply trying to convince ourselves
that it was so. But it wasn’t. While we have officially been
out of recession for a while now, it certainly hasn’t felt that
way. Many businesses are just barely holding on even today.
But there is a change in the air. We saw it at the regional
shows and at Surfaces where retailers were — many of them
only half believing it still — starting to see more customers
walking into their stores and making a purchase.
I’m counting that this year’s businesses — ours and
yours — will improve practically every day. Slowly, maybe
even painfully slowly at times, but consistently and increasingly more stable improvement.
At the Shaw convention recently, it was hammered
home by CEO Vance Bell who shared with us some very
compelling data, projections and advice, including some
words of wisdom from Warren Buffet. Simply put: all of the
pieces of the puzzle required for growth and an economic
comeback are in place. We are already seeing housing starts
coming back. Builder confidence is rising. Unemployment
is dropping. Population growth and household formation
has not stopped. Sales of existing homes are on the rise even
as levels of existing inventory drops. After years of pent-up
demand, finally remodel activity is projected to be strong.
Commercial markets remain fairly stable. Main Street
commercial should see an explosion of remodel activity as
neighborhood stores and businesses make their comeback.
Whether you believe it or not, my question is: What are
you doing to prepare your business for this future?
I don’t pretend to have the answers, but I think that in
times of change sometimes the questions we ask ourselves are
just as important as the answers themselves. Are we looking
for growth opportunities and, if so, where? Are we attuned
to the changes around us and what do they tell us? Are we
thinking about the future of our business and what kind of
changes we need to make in order to create that future?
The time is now to think about what you’ll be doing
tomorrow, who your customers are going to be, what they
want and what changes are ahead for them that are going to
affect how you conduct your business. Knowing that media
is undergoing a profound paradigm shift, you’re going to
have to come up with new answers to advertising, promotion
and marketing. In the face of new and emerging competition, you’re going to have to redefine and refine your value
proposition. You should definitely look at how you deliver
your services — in-home sales and next day delivery are two
examples that are driving consumers to shop (and pay more)
at Empire Carpet. Is it time for you to consider the same?
OK, so maybe we don’t have answers. But we do have
questions. And that alone can make a difference.
— Santiago Montero
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
The Industry’s Business News & Information Resource
FCW Editorial and Sales Headquarters
50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100, Uniondale, NY 11553
(516) 229-3600 • FAX (516) 227-1342
Editorial (516) 229-3600 Fax (516) 227-1342
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Editorial
Santiago Montero Publisher & Editor in Chief (516) 229-3617 [email protected]
Amy Joyce Rush Managing Editor (516) 227-1421 [email protected]
Kimberly Gavin Editor at Large (706) 278-3690 [email protected]
Raymond Pina Senior Editor (787) 467-1181 [email protected]
Mallory Cruise Assistant Editor (516) 227-1359 [email protected]
Janet Herlihy (361) 906-1117 [email protected]
Tanja Kern (417) 522-9722 [email protected]
Maya Avrasin (917) 750-3146 [email protected]
Columnists
Jon Trivers I take the floor (530) 876-8454 [email protected]
Chris Ramey Strategic insights (561) 876-8077 cpr@affluentinsights.com
Kermit Baker Beyond the numbers [email protected]
Ed Korczak As I see it [email protected]
Marge Redmond Heard on Main Street marge@oldtownflooring.com
Christine Whittemore Flooring the customer [email protected]
Tom Jennings First things first (785) 843-1678 [email protected]
Advertising
Southeast, Midwest, West Coast U.S. & Canada
Charlton Calhoun (770) 919-7747 Fax (770) 919-1348 [email protected]
Northeast U.S.
Cal Calhoun (770) 919-7747 Fax (770) 919-1348 [email protected]
The show must go on
Classified Ads
Stacey Iaccino (516) 227-1407 Fax (516) 227-1342 [email protected]
S
urfaces, like most trade shows and conventions,
brings with it a whole lot of excitement and enthusiasm that can leave attendees pretty pumped for the
selling season and year to come.
But when you hit the ground in your hometown, what
happens to the energy that was so highly charged in Las
Vegas or in Dallas or Orlando? Hopefully it comes home
with you and is shared with those in your organization that
were left behind to run the store. It’s important to keep the
momentum going, keep that show mentality.
I come away enthused and with a renewed sense of purpose.
The editors at FCW will spend a lot of time sharing with each
other what was seen and heard while on the road and then
work to deliver it all in a meaningful way in upcoming issues.
Early in January, at Shaw’s Insights convention, there were
a slew of meaningful messages — ideas, products and tools all
developed with the dealer’s success in mind. Caress came to
market fully developed and quite comprehensive. The company’s hard surface story combines the strength of Shaw with
good old fashioned elbow grease. Scott Sandlin openly talked
about the challenges the company has had developing this side
of the business. But things are different now. Technology came
into play as the company brought ScufResist Platinum to its
hardwood and expanded its resilient and laminate offerings.
And one more thing, though there is much to talk about
here. Shaw’s commitment to and sponsorship of St. Judes is
both moving and meaningful. The company has genuinely
A Hearst
Business
Vol. 61
Publication
January
FLOOR
COVERIN
28, 2013
WEEKLY
A Hearst
Business
Publication
December
✓
SURFACES
G
No. 24
$4
FLOOR
Winter ma
rkets heat
up
By Janet Herlihy
2013
$4
4
G WEEK
LY
— Amy Joyce Rush
Commercial
Vol. 61
Outlook
NAHB to DC:
By Mallory
Cruise
2013
Don’t derail
recovery
Rush
year looks
Supplement
to Floor Covering
Continued
Retail plan
ning
good
By Taryn Baum
tile
Dye Lab carpet
Shaw Contract’sGold award this year
won the NeoCon
carpet category.
for the modular
P e r i
o d i c
a l
P e r i
o d i c
a l
$4
and Michael
s
Interior Surface
award
earns Retail
PT2012.indd
11
solves
FloorFolio
sound issues
latest
Carpet tile’s ns
design directio
Bank of
Centiva gives
nia flair
India Califor
PM
9/18/12 2:07
Thomas Young Group Production Manager (516) 227-1369 [email protected]
Matthew Lippl Production Artist (516) 227-1354 [email protected]
Administration
Sherridan Basdeo Advertising Administrator (516) 227-1307 [email protected]
Carolyn Giroux Audience Development Director (516) 227-1376 [email protected]
Adriana Marzovilla Financial Manager (516) 227-1364 [email protected]
George R. Hearst Jr. Chairman
Frank A. Bennack Jr. Vice Chairman
Richard P. Malloch Group Head & President
Steven A. Hobbs Executive VP & Deputy Group Head
Robert D. Wilbanks Group Controller
Sales Headquarters
50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100,
Uniondale, NY 11553
(516) 229-3600 • FAX (516) 227-1342
Floor Covering Weekly (ISSN-0015-3761) is published bi-monthly by Hearst Business Communications, Inc./FCW Division, 50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd Suite 100, Uniondale, NY 11553. Periodicals
postage paid at Uniondale, NY and additional mailing offices.
Subscription rates: Domestic: $25 per year, $48 two years; Canada: $60 per year, $110 two years.
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY, PO Box 3012, Northbrook, IL 60065.
FCW Inside
Sorenson
r:
Xavier Steyae
talks IVC
expansion
18
CFI inaugurate
Davis Award s
annual conve at
ntion
It’s been
roughly
two decades
World Wide
since
Web opened
public. When
its universe the
to the
By Kimberly
pany’s websiteconsumers click
Gavin
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and because
is
of possibilities second nature,
nological
[Nashville
made by
advancemen
]
techThe
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ts, the expectations
Internationa
l
The first website
Floor CoveringCertified
Installfrom the
was created
ers (CFI)
flooring industry
in
held its 19th
the company. 1994 by Laticrete,
annual convention
according
Very simplistic,
to
was to provide
at
the Sheraton
its main purpose
Hotel and
nical bulletins, material safety data
Convention
sheets, techstraightforwa contact information,
where several Center
and
rd pieces of
hundred
information. other
Websites
installers
today
Bernie Madden
attended
purpose. “Eight are serving a vastly
seminars,
gets first
different
workshops
out of ten
award.
a company
consumers
and listened
on their website
check out
to keynote
the store.
speakers.
before they
to Jane Walker,
It’s not really
CFI principal, According
business,
an appointmentgo into
was bigger
and
“Everything
based
this year.”
where people the website is our
Walker said
new lobby
make a judgment
that from
are and what
workshops,
supplier events
about who
we’re
all events
we
Garcia, advertising all about,” explained
to
during the
convention
three-day
Gary
were
and marketing
Coles Fine
tant, she pointed full. But even more
Flooring
manager,
out, the number imporTodd Calloway,in San Diego.
ers under
of
40
installwas impressive.
interactive
manager
kept asking
at Shaw,
marketing
“Everyone
where we
“It’s important echoes these
people,”
sentiments. By Raymond
Walker said. got all these young
for us to
mation and
Pina
under 40s
Not only
provide
inspiration
infor- [Manchest
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were the
research
for people
ers in their
“The retail
there were
their
er, N.H.]
who dealers
20s and 30s.
shopping
installThat research flooring purchases
kept pace
Flooring
experience
ing,” she
“That’s encouragare using
America
online.
with technology,
is more common
said.
has not
ever,” he
hand
best to teach “It’s because we’ve
said.
” said
today than devices to help increase held electronic “We’ve developed
done our
them what
an application Chiera. they
floors.com, “Through websites
customer
person can
sales and
their costs
don’t give
like Shawrelations
they browse
use in the
manage
the salesare so
labor away.
from their
compare
of contact
store to improve
online
money to
products,
initial point experience but
afford education.” Then they have
order samples, catalogs, installation all the way
also for
visualization
publish
the customer the
Tom Jennings,
recommend
and use
tools to see
and ultimatelythrough credit,
to vices
referral,
chairman,
ations online,
how their
to an online with before and
Inc., was
according
WFCA Serchoices
along
after photos
the keynote
Continued
to
the opening
speaker during
on page 17 president of marketingFrank Chiera, vice lation. We know
of
WFCA Leadership
people trust her instal- held
Flooring
and advertising, mendations
in honor
America.
the recomand referrals
of Chris Davis, Conference,
and friends
man and
of their
WFCA chairCEO who
10
family
a home center times more than
died earlier
Jennings
spoke of
they trust
this year.
how Davis
this weekend.” announcing they
goal as CFI:
had the same
have a sale
“to
ing installers encourage dealers
Introduced
and floorto work together
July 2012
America’s
satisfaction,”
during
for customer
summer
Flooring
he said. “He
convention
Fla., and
that this had
believed strongly
in Orlando,
available
to occur if
next month
loadable
achieve its
the
application
as
full potential.” industry was to
from iTunes a downing America’s
Maintaining
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who
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received
s is a key
ler
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For breaking
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er Davis’
news updated
iPhones and on Kindles, Android works One way
passing, Walker going
each business
CFI is
other handheld
tablets,
said.
day, visit
Davis Award, doing that is with
Celeste Carr,
us online
devises.
at www.fcw1.com
the Chris
given this
Floors Direct, owner of Ocoee,
fcw8202712-page
Madden,
year to
Fla.-based
principal
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Interiors
for Fast
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Farland
is a high-endLeawood, Kan.
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Madden
on page 4
flooring
business
who
Continued
Flooring
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goes hig
h tech
FCWCommercial-SE
3:49 PM
2012
G WEEK
LY
The Tech
nology Iss
ue
for increase
12/17/12
4:42 PM
Publication
COVERIN
Changing
of websitesrole
e for future
1/18/13
Business
August 20/27,
FLOOR
on page 4
on page 47
A Hearst
Weekly
The momentum
that built
mode for
slowly in
2013. And
2012 is expected
“Our Commercial business, said
to push the
industry
flooring industry
executives,
business
tum into
continues
2013,” said
into a stronger
to see strong will be quite good
Randy Merritt,
optimistic
growth
by 2014.
growth and
but
president,
we expect
family businessdoes expect housing
Shaw. On
to continue
demand and
the residential
this momenmarket continuesis benefiting from
price levels
side, he remains
new construction
to continue
to be weak,
well for future
cautiously
to improve.
and is starting
but is expected
“Builder
flooring activity,”
to grow. Th
to improve
e residential and multihe said.
as the new
replacement
home market
improves.
This bodes
The National
depression
for four years,
[Dallas]
Association
in Oklahoma,
(NAHB)
one facet
Th
Howard said,
of Home
is keeping
of
the showroomse atmosphere was
homa division” said Roger Voge,
and as
a close watch Builders see recovery, the economy that
election
casual,
OklaBy Janet Herlihy
is beginning
scattered
Washington
president
it shouldn’t
in Irvine
ing & Decorating
for Star
to
, D.C., and on postitself for
take
and Grapevine, in hotels located
“We’re in
Floorpotential
.
readying
very interestingany more hits.
retailers,
Jinx Yoder,
changes
Texas, and
policy that
Most retailers
large
PET carpet
in legislation/ NAHB needs to
times and
could aff
and will show
told FCW
Dallas regional and small, attending the Paris, Texas, owner of Paris Tile
be at its most
the cant
ect housing
Additionally
members
store. We
that they
& Marble,
it at the front
improvemen
said, “Business
active and
engaged as
, NAHB
the People
in
saw signifi
flooring
will still
pleased with
t in 2012
of the
all even
is aggressively 2013. soon as
much as they
the government
have the
is picking
who wanted
and are expecting- the higher end
better sales
we get
the products markets were
best offering
can be. As
up.
to wait ‘til
of the year
of the market,
in 2013,
Shaw, Mohawk,
nomic recovery. to avoid derailing asking and Congress through this lame
and optimistic.
at
that farther
after the fi
but are
are back to
duck session about how events
but will move
an ecorst
into the showroom,”
Beaulieu
distributors
buy now.”
in the economyhesitant
Susan Adair,
the biggest gets back in earnest,
Right now,
affect business.
along
Aaron
including
it will
according
infl
he added.
of Adair’s
might Carpet, Pirner, owner
and BPI drew
of NAHB,
to Jerry Howard,
Swiff-Train, with Dallas, said,
said Howard. uence on the bottom have
Fine Floors
“I was surprised
NAHB’s
By Amy Joyce
is very optimistic. and CEO of
“Winter
T&L to
CEO
in
line,” 2012
policy is
product and dealers to see a wide
market is
wants the
that
us. I think
Rush
NAHB held
very firm
CAP, a CCA CAP
was still
2001-2003
important
range of
hear
it’s better
a
— it to
Global
tax cuts extended;
up and
not want
partner, operates
that the suppliers
down, but
Constructio about the latest programs.
address the webinar on Tuesday
than Surfaces
[Salem,
change to
it does
we are
current political
n is recovering
N.J.]
Dec. 2
16 locamortgage
LVT is a
tions; and,
tions housing
region and
Chuck Moreau,are not distracted.” in
interest deduc- in post-election
sell Grizzle A year ago, Rusvery, very
environmen tunate and have fordoes not
retailers
19 business
in the
hot prodwant tax
Washington
took the
uct and we
owner of
t
The housing
units (all
reported
been
sales as well.
rates to increase. Jerry Howard,
Manningto
helm of
Brazos Valley
flooring
. Alongside ahead,” said Peter
better retail Floor & Design,
continue
industry
“The builder
Jim Tobin,
n
with
to
our
has
Messin and around related)
Mills,
NAHB,
grow
ner, president
the
been
commercia
three locations
chief lobbyist
market is
College Station,
a familyin a state
owned
and David
l and residenstrong
Wichita,
of Messnearly 100-year-ol
of
for ner
Crowe, chief
in
tial LVT
Kansas. “We
Texas area,
Carpet,
product lines.
company
economist
has been
Pittsford,
d
that was
good growth have had a
ahead of
We are
Continued
suburb of
Continued
a
grounded
projections
Rochester,
deeply
on page 3
on page 12
the market year. When
in tradition
N.Y.
point,” he
“Some of
at this
like the
our
said.
went down
and
rest of the
in ‘07 and
haven’t been competitors
Since
‘08, we started
industry,
then, he
was mired
able to invest
has invested
making
in a painfully
in their
his time
investments
recovery.
in
showrooms,
slow Russell
better people,
—
giving us
His job
integration, overseeing the
Grizzle
an advantage.”
An inviting
then and
now is to
a job made
tems, locations,better sysplot a path
For 2013,
because
easier
shoppers wood walkway guides
of careful
Messner
includes
training,”
for the future
through
Pirner said.
Carpet Town.
has
set a goal
growth in
due diligence before
that
“When
of a 6 to
new
at the same
company
things
the purchase
8 percent
started to
pursuing
values that
time to stay markets while
increase and
that by attracting
improve,
pany’s core
nington’s
aligned with and
true to the
were in
is We’ve
we
“We are
from the
a younger
values.
a great
com- help,”
Mantaken market
re-developin
start. “Th
Today, Grizzle
g our website market. And 2012
the 35 plus
share, starting position.
at’s been
he said.
For breaking
a big
was
to reach
year-olds.
points to
in 2011.
acquisition
news updated
In October,
year, it will
our wholesale great, with success
By
the Amtico
as
each business
have a young, the end of the
the company
and commercial mainly in
Manningto a strategic move
that both
day, visit
For breaking
also getting
Residential
fresh look.
us online
that
announced
n
the
news updated
at www.fcw1.com
involved
businesses.
remodel has
We are
while enablingto expand its global allows and the Amtico Mannington Commercia 12243112Pages.i
with social
changing
each business
been OK
He expects
our product
media and
too.”
reach companies’
day, visit
it to bring
sales forces
ndd 1
increases
l
mercial production
us online
Messner
across all
mix in showroom,”
mercial, new
its LVT
will carry
at www.fcw1.com
explained.
areas —
commercia
coming
both
housing and
1-28-13pages.in
onshore.
“We will
l products,
“We are
2013 will
LVT, sheet
remodeling. comdd 1
be selling
pleased with
be good
includand
more
because consumer “I think
the acquisition. current Manningto carpet tile, using
savings
the
n Commercia
Continued
l “Choices
on page 17
Continued
No. 16
September 2012
Kermit Bake
r
Housing to
increas
Publication
e
A Hearst Business
in 2013
Breakin
from the g free
downturn
Empowered
by 2012 growth
, next
By Amy Joyce
Acquisition
bring marke, product
t advantage
Mannington
’s Grizzle
sets cours
2012
COVERIN
Visit FCW
at
#S5761 & booths
#B3370
Setting the
Sta
for Recover ge
y
24/31,
Production
rt
To subscribe: call (866) 813-3752 or go to fcw1.com/subscribe
For reprints of articles: Wright’s Media (877) 652-5295
P e r i
o d i c
a l
No. 2
FCW
Vol. 62
connected to this organization and
its mission to care for and cure pediatric cancers. The culture of caring
comes from the top. The ability to
bring solid business practices into
play while making a very real effort
to better the lives of others is nothing
short of inspiring. I plan to keep that balance myself.
The following week it was on to Surfaces. We saw lots of
new players in LVT, interesting hybrid products and trendforward flooring aimed at the A&D community. Armstrong
had a new laminate collection called Architectural Remnants
that offered 26 different variations — a show standout.
American Scrape hardwood was another key offering.
But more than an abundance of new and innovative
product or any notable increase in attendance, Surfaces set a
positive tone for 2013. Just about every exhibitor and dealer
I spoke with predicted that this is the year that things will
turnaround. The indicators, they said, are there — housing
starts are up, replacement business is up, last quarter 2012
sales were up. Everything finally looks good on paper.
Now that the lights have gone out at Mandalay Bay,
the carpet rolled back up and the booths deconstructed,
work to keep the energy level high at home, the fresh ideas
coming and pass the messages on. Build on the momentum
from the winter markets and live up to the expectations we
all have for a solid 2013.
on page 6
8/22/12
3:40 PM
2/8/13 10:17 AM
Mary Bishop* worked
in her family’s
flooring business and
devoted herself to
her family. When a
Christmas Eve seizure
led to the discovery
of a grade III brain
tumor, Mary suddenly
had to focus on an
intense treatment plan which included
radiation, chemotherapy and
fighting
the tumor.
Good thing someone told
her about the Floor
Covering Industry
Foundation
g
in
lp
he
u,
o
y
c
am lp
i
f
nd
or
d
he
e.
a
h
n
e
s
p
s
a
er
op
s
eu
u
t
g
s
n
a
yo
nd
e
a
o
e
y
r
t
r
i
l
pl
t
u,
e
r
s
t
u
o
f
g
o
y
tr
n
n
r
pe
an
a
e
e
s
ry
w
’
k
t
r
h
v
t
t
a
u
n
e
I
w
s
u
M
“
n
t
t
bo
ha
yo
s
u
a
T
he
r
b
s
w
fi
,
e
ll
u
a
k
e
a
’s
yo
th
m
it
g
t
e.”
,
i
l
u
e
p
h
m
eo
r
p
Fo
ng
i
lp
e
h
l
e
fe
y
il
s
ines
Bus
ng
p*
i
o
r
h
e
s
v
rco
y Bi
lo o
Mar
F
ily
Fam
Do you know someone who could use our assistance? Let them know there’s hope.
For information or to make a donation, please call 714.634.0302 or visit FCIF.org.
*The FCIF treats all of its grant recipients confidentially. Mary wanted to share her story with the public but asked that we keep their identity veiled. Her name has been changed
FCIF_ad_2011_FCW_2.indd 3
9/26/11 2:41 PM
NEWfcw_TEMP.indt 1
2/4/13 11:06 AM

Armstrong: NFA`s first wood group buy option Shaw`s Insight 2013

Transcription

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