As the flooring industry anticipates a rebound in 2025, The Dixie Group is making a bold strategic bet on color customization— positioning its unique dyeing capabilities as a key market differentiator across all price points. This move comes as industry leaders express optimism about market recovery after several challenging years.

"I think there's a lot of optimism and expectation that '25 is going to be a rebound year, a better year. We're going to see the turnaround finally come," said TM Nuckols, president of residential business at The Dixie Group.

While the broader market focuses on potential recovery, The Dixie Group is seizing the moment to highlight a unique capability to boost sales for flooring retailers and satisfy consumers' demand for customization. At the core of its "Step Into Color" campaign is an often-overlooked technical advantage: Dixie's piece-dyed nylon expertise.

"We're trying to differentiate ourselves with style, design, color. We're trying to do things that others either can't do or don't want to do," Nuckols explained. This differentiation is particularly striking in what he describes as "a sea of sameness" in solution-dyed polyester products, where color options typically remain limited to "beige, gray, or something in between."

Perhaps most significantly, The Dixie Group is expanding its custom color capability—traditionally reserved for its high-end Masland and Fabrica brands—to include its DH Floors line. This move effectively democratizes custom color across price points. "Color's a big deal for the consumer who's redecorating and renovating the home," Nuckols said. 

For retailers, this capability offers a powerful differentiation tool, and the process is remarkably straightforward, as Nuckols detailed: "If they want a particular red or a particular blue or green... they would send in a color swatch. It could be a piece of fabric from one of their pieces of furniture, for example, or window treatment." The company maintains inventory of white carpet that can be custom-dyed to match customer specifications. This consultative approach transforms the standard carpet selection process into a premium, personalized experience.

Perhaps most significantly, this isn't restricted to the ultra-luxury market. Breaking down the economics for a typical 50-yard order, Nuckols demonstrates the accessibility: "If we want a custom color, we're going to charge a $400 set fee... across 50 yards is another $8 a yard. So instead of $60, they're paying $68. That's not crazy—it's the color you want."

The Dixie Group is taking an innovative approach to embedding its color story within its sales culture. Nuckols said that at the company's national sales meeting, each region has a color that the team wears on awards night. At The International Sales Event in Las Vegas, the Dixie team wore a unified color theme for each day of the event.  This creative internal engagement strategy extends beyond mere dress code—it's part of a larger initiative to get the sales team thinking and talking about color opportunities.

"If we can get them talking about it more and taking that to the market, that's going to help," Nuckols said. 

Jared Coffin, SVP of product and marketing, noted that color plays a significant role in the luxury market, and that the market is changing: "The high end used to be about wool; it's more about being decorative now. So it can be a woven polyester, it can be wool, it can be handtufted, it can be machine made. It's just about having a really beautiful high-end aesthetic."

The combination of technical capability, market accessibility, and comprehensive support creates a compelling opportunity for retailers to transform their carpet business from a commodity sale into a premium design service—all while maintaining competitive price points and healthy margins.