Surfaces and the Super Bowl

As a native New Yorker who grew up a short hop from Giants Stadium, I anticipated this year’s Super Bowl with mixed emotions. I was thrilled that the Giants made the big game but I also knew the Patriots were a powerhouse. I feared the game would be a depressing experience; equal measures boredom and frustration. Like many of you, I had similar concerns going into Surfaces this year. I knew the show has never been more important, but attending is a business decision. Given the market conditions and recession fears that have gripped our industry, I thought it possible that attendance would be way down and that the people who did show up would be about as effervescent as high school kids in detention.

On both counts, it gives me great joy to say my concerns were unfounded. The Super Bowl was exciting and the outcome, for me, glorious. And our big game, Surfaces 2008, is being hailed by some industry vets as the best ever. On the show floor, it became clear that the winners were those who traveled to Las Vegas. Exhibitor after exhibitor made the same observation: the people visiting them were in a growth mode. They were not there to kick tires or scarf up free goodies. While some retailers griped about current conditions, they often added that there was plenty of exciting things to see at Surfaces.

We had a unique perspective on the new products. Our main exhibit was situated in the New Product Pavilion, which we sponsored along with our sister publications Floor Covering Installer and TILE magazine. We saw, and chatted with, a steady steam of wide-eyed showgoers visiting the newly added exhibit. Some could not identify a few of the new-fangled gadgets they saw. “This looks like something you cook steaks on,” said a retailer eyeing a huge mortar mixer. “What’s this do?” asked a designer pointing to Laticrete’s new hardwood floor warming system. One storeowner told me he visited the Pavilion only after walking the show floor. “I should have gone there first,” he said. “I ended up going back to a booth I had just visited to find out about something I saw in the new product area.”

Attendees visited the New Product Pavilion mainly for the same reason: In many ways it’s a microcosm of the show itself. Every new product represents opportunity. It may be an opportunity to offer something your competition does not or introduce efficiencies that give you an edge. Even if you don’t sign a purchase order it is essential that you know what is shaping the future of flooring. Surfaces ’08 was a perfect venue for that.

Naturally, the organizers of any trade show want a packed house. It adds excitement and its good business. But as one big retailer told me, this was the first Surfaces where he could sit and have a conversation with supplier execs. “Usually their eyes are darting all around,” he said. “They’re distracted. Always glancing at their schedule. Not this time.” An exhibitor told me, “I love it! The people we want to see are all here. We don’t have nearly as many people just wandering through.”

In other words, more wheat less chaff. Or in retail terms, more Tiffany’s than Wal-Mart-which is an apt way to look at flooring these days. The buzz on the show floor made it clear that the high-end is the best place to be in this economy. The focus on premium product could be seen all over. In the carpet segment, new fibers and technology are redefining the category. Hardwood exhibitors, with their eye-catching array of exotics, were among the busiest on the show floor. Many laminate makers, meanwhile, are offering hand-scraped looks visually indistinguishable from the real thing. I heard over and over that the market for high-end rugs has never been more brisk.

Attendees at Surfaces knew that product alone is not enough to offset the weight of the ongoing housing slump. There are many factors outside their control that will challenge them in the coming months. There may be more rough spots ahead and the climb may be steep at times. But as fans of a certain New York football team will tell you, formidable opposition just makes the victory that much sweeter.