Anderson Tuftex Showcases at Surfaces

LAS VEGAS—Anderson Tuftex debuted its combined brand at Surfaces, marking the first time Shaw has exhibited at the show in nearly 12 years (outside of USFloors, which it acquired in 2016).  The two-story booth had the feeling of a home, encouraging visitors to explore products in a residential setting. 

“We wanted the space to feel warm, inviting and comfortable and showcase all of our new introductions for 2018,” said Katie Ford, director of brand strategy, Anderson Tuftex. 

The strategic merger of Anderson Hardwood Floors and Tuftex Carpets of California took place January 1, 2018, with a brand message “designed with intention and crafted with care.” The brand is taking a holistic and consumer-centric approach to marketing and product development, according to Carrie Edwards Isaac, vice president, Anderson Tuftex. Today’s consumer demands a simplified shopping experience both in-store and online and Anderson Tuftex is listening to the expectations of consumers, designing timeless products and providing exceptional service that addresses the needs of today’s premium flooring market.

“The entire consumer journey is changing and has been for quite some time,” Edwards Isaac said. “Consumers are finding inspiration everywhere and are more directly connected with brands than ever before.”

Anderson Tuftex unveiled a number of hardwood, carpet and rug collections that are intended to make design and coordinating of different surfaces easier.

“There is this trend in our culture right now to find things that have authenticity and story,” Ford said. “Like distressed jeans. I don’t want a pair of brand new or starched jeans; I want a pair that has the wear spots in them and has been washed, or at least look that way. You see the holes and rips and you see things that make them look like they have a time-worn appearance. Partly because we live in a shiny, new modern world and we want something that feels like it is lived in. People especially crave this in flooring.”

For more information, visit andersontuftex.com.

Novalis Introduces Nova Floor Us!

TORONTO—Novalis Innovative Flooring, maker of NovaFloor luxury vinyl tile (LVT), launched a social media campaign, “Nova Floor Us!”, intended to engage consumers by encouraging them to register their new NovaFloor and uploading a photo. Selected projects will be posted on the NovaFloor LVT Facebook page. At the end of each month, the company will select a favorite photo and reward the winning NovaFloor owner with a $100 Amazon gift card.

“It’s a way for us to connect with our consumers, help drive traffic, increase our followers and promote the brand,” said Julie Foster, marketing and product manager, Novalis. “We have great relationship with our distributors, but they don’t always get to connect with the end consumers, and consumers want to show off what they’ve done.”

For more information, visit Novafloor.us.

American OEM Honors Herregan Distributors

BURNS, TENN.—American OEM Wood Floors awarded Herregan Distributors the 2017 American Spirit Award, which represents the company’s top selling distributor from the previous year. Eagan, Minn.-based Herregan is one of the company’s founding distributors, carrying the American OEM engineered wood floors under their private label program “Canoe Bay” since 2015. The award is custom made by employees in the American OEM plant outside of Nashville, Tenn., to celebrate the success of hand-crafted, American-made products in the industry.

“The Herregan team and field representatives are among the finest in the industry, and we are fortunate to call them business partners and friends,” said Randy Schrecengost, vice president of sales, American OEM. “It is a strong relationship that we look forward to growing in 2018.”

 For more information, visit americanoem.com.

HPS Schönox Announces Winners of Fourth Worst Subfloor Contest

LAS VEGAS—HPS Schönox returned to Surfaces with the announcement of its annual Worst Subfloor Contest winners. Now in its fourth year, the contest seeks to answer the question, “What lies beneath?” and invites installers to partner with Schönox materials to tackle extreme subflooring challenges. They are then encouraged to take photos during the process and submit these photos along with description of Schönox products.

“We are always interested to see how our customers use our product line in their projects,” said Doug Young, executive vice president. “It is a great feeling knowing that our systems can be solutions to rough and ugly scenarios.”

This year’s contest judges were Kimberly Oderkirk, executive vice president of The Flooring Contractor Association; Dean Thompson, president of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute; and Peter Craig, concrete floor specialist and consultant with Concrete Construction.

The judges were asked to evaluate the projects based on the severity of the original subfloor’s condition, the skill and attention to detail taken in executing the project and the quality of the finished subfloor.

Iowa Wall Sawing won first prize with a renovation of a room in a 100-year-old building, Floorz Denver took second place with a careful restoration of an oncology level at a hospital and Tim Hogan’s Carpet–Lakeland earned third place with their repair on a multilevel home.

First, second, and third place winners were chosen and awarded prizes including Schönox dollars, a trip to Las Vegas, Apple watches and YETI coolers.

Honorable mentions also went to Floor to Ceiling Carpet One for their work on an extremely unlevel residence and Vortex Commercial Flooring for their efforts overhauling two levels of a school.

“We would like to thank everyone who participated in our annual Worst Subfloor Contest,” said HPS Schönox principal Thomas Trissl. “We’re so proud that this contest was well received for the fourth year in a row. Congratulations to all of our winners.”

For more information, visit hpsubfloors.com.

Floors & More Winter Convention

HENDERSON, NEV.—The Floors & More buying group, including Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet and Floor to Ceiling, held its winter convention at Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa & Casino where 120 flooring professionals were encouraged to “excelerate” their business by focusing on their brands, profitability and customer experience. The group showcased new merchandising programs, new digital content, special core vendor opportunities and education to help dealers make the most out of their stores. The exhibit hall featured 40 vendors where retailers earned raffle tickets by visiting each vendor booth. Prizes ranged from a kitchen mixer to $3,000 cash. Members also enjoyed a night of driving high-performance vehicles.

David Elyachar, founder of Big Bob’s Flooring, offered members advice on how to successfully promote their businesses.

“The whole premise of running a business is if it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed,” he said.

He recommended that business owners use humor and consistent advertising to create a residual effect with their marketing campaigns. He also recommended that owners should empower their employees to make decisions.

“You as an owner have to be driven to make the company profitable,” Elyachar said. “You are responsible for increasing closing ratios, a healthy work environment, increasing gross profit margins, the integrity of the company, increasing morale, increasing traffic and increasing customer service. This is your job description. If you’re not doing it, it’s not getting done.”

Vinnie Virga, CEO and founder of Floors & More, provided a deeper dive on setting marketing plans. Highlights included setting an annual budget based on annual revenue, buying media annually and allocating $300 to $500 per month for Facebook ads. Pricing all items on the showroom floor is also key. “Be sure highly competitive items are tagged slightly at or below your competitors,” Virga said. “Shop them regularly.”

For more information, visit floorsandmore.org.

Emily Morrow Home Launches Online Shopping Site

DALTON, GA.—Emily Morrow Home, supplier of American hardwood flooring, is now offering customers a home decor shopping site. Featuring 12 curated flooring styles, emilymorrowhome.com also offers American-made upholstered furniture, accent pillows from Aria and lighting from Currey & Company, all selected and edited by Emily Morrow Home CEO and founder Emily Morrow Finkell.

The website speaks to four design lifestyles that Finkell, an interior designer, tastemaker and world traveler, has identified as national trends: Refined Traditions, Coastal Luxe, Raw Beauty and Rugged Industrial.

“The floor is your blank canvas and it determines every design decision you’ll make once it’s down,” Finkell said. “The four curated lifestyle furnishing collections we’ve launched augment our core business, which is American-made wood flooring.”

The common thread among the flooring and home decor products, which reflect Finkell’s global perspective and style spotter expertise, is that they facilitate more beautiful lives and homes. The website caters to the trade and to consumers working directly with a designer or professional flooring installer with the intent of simplifying and streamlining the design, order and installation process.

Notably, a portion of the profits from the décor collections are donated to the Kiker Morrow Finkell Foundation for Cancer Care, the non-profit Finkell established as a breast-cancer survivor.

For more information, visit emilymorrowhome.com.