This month’s issue is chock full of great ideas and products to build and strengthen your top line sales and profitability. We have business-building ideas for flooring retailers/contractors, designer, architectural specifiers and installers.

Sam Allman’s column “Cease Being a Price Merchant; Become a Value Creator,” outlines important steps in creating value. See story starting on page 10.

Beginning on page 14, associate editor Michael Chmielecki reports on the cork flooring segment with a vision of future trends.

We are providing a glimpse of the 2011 HGTV Green Home in Stapleton, Colo., featuring products from exclusive flooring sponsor Shaw Floors. Begins on page 18.

From smartphones to tablets to room visualization software, retail technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Check out the preview of the fcB2B September meeting. See story starting on page 20.

Commercial Possibilities columnist Dave Stafford shares steps in building a successful niche market. Begins on page 22.

Just in time for the Atlanta Area Rug Market, July 14-17, is a special area rug new product preview on page 28.

Our annual CEO Letter Series begins on page 29 with top industry executives talking about the changing economy, innovation in products and manufacturing, customers and business partners.

Focus on Resilient columnist Ray Thompson, Jr., responds to more questions from his successful Troubleshooting Installations Over Concrete Subfloors webinar, beginning on page 41.

Check out the latest green product news on page 43.

Payment comes only following successful completion of the flooring installation. Make sure the correct products are specified and installed so that you get your payment, rather than a callback request. Check out the latest in mouldings and cove base products to give the installation a finishing touch, on page 48.


BNP Media Partners with Bird Dog Career Centers for Job/Career Center Resource
Have a job opening or know someone looking for a job? National Floor Trends and our parent company BNP Media have formed a new partnership with BirdDog Career Centers to provide a job/career center resource focused on this market. National Floor Trends’ sister publications Floor Covering Installer, TILE, Stone World and Contemporary Stone & Tile Design are also part of the partnership.

“We are excited to partner with BirdDog to provide job placement and career counseling solutions for our markets,” said BNP Media Publishing Director Tim Fausch. “Many of our markets are rebounding from hard times. This new career center allows us to help strengthen the flooring/tile/stone markets by matching employers with ideal employees.”

Companies seeking employees or job seekers can access the Career Center by clicking on the BNP/BirdDog widget found on the home pages of www.ntlfloortrends.com, www.tilemagonline.com, www.fcimag.com, www.stoneworld.com and www.cstdmag.com.

During its 14-year history, BirdDog has helped more than 3,500 employers in specialized industries move to a strategy of planned hiring. In addition, the combined BirdDog family of sites and solutions has attracted more than 100,000 job seekers.

Tailored to business owners and hiring managers searching for uniquely qualified tradesmen, the industry-specific career center will be powered by BirdDog’s Candidate Acquisition & Management System (CAMS). A web-enabled recruitment program customized for construction, mechanical and engineering companies, CAMS allows employers to post an open position. CAMS then distributes the opening across the BirdDog family of niche job sites, including BirdDogJobs.com, MEPjobs.com and ASHRAEjobs.com.

For more information on the benefits of using the BNP Media/BirdDog Career Center, contact Doug Mitchell at dmitchell@birddogjobs.com; (515) 473-9206.