One you absolutely have to listen to is a roundtable featuring three very diverse and successful retailers from across North America. On the panel were Fred Reinhart, owner of Reinhart Carpet Outlet, a fifth-generation retailer in Philadelphia; Cynthia Dean, general Manager for Nufloors of Coquitlam, British Columbia, a multi store operation; and Paul Johnson, the owner of Carpet One Tulsa, Oklahoma, another growing, multi-store operation. 

A number of topics were discussed – Paul does a quick riff on “ankle biters” – but an absolute must-hear segment deals with margins, with each participant describing how they go about ensuring that they’re doing everything in their power to put consistently high margin numbers up on the board. Industry-specific retail management software is front and center as well; if you’re contemplating making the jump into this technology, this is something you need to hear.

A video interview more than worth your time features Elise Demboski, vice president of creative services at Mohawk. Now, I’ve always been somewhat skeptical about the ROI marketing floor coverings via social media, but this conversation changed my mind. Elise breaks down how the company is using social media to attract new potential customers for some of the very effective events they have been sponsoring, and she also shares the goals she’s set that derive from the efforts the company is directing toward social media. 

Also worth a listen – and a regular monthly feature on TalkFloor – is an update on the economy and what things will likely look like next month, next year and even further down the road. John McDevitt, the former 3M corporate economist who’s known for discussing the economy in plain, everyday English, assesses the progress of the recovery looking at the housing sector as he shares his expectations for housing going into 2014 and beyond. He also helps make sense of the most recent jobs report and talks about his expectation for the next 12 months.

John also helps demystify the “fiscal cliff” situation the country’s facing at the end of the year and what happens if it’s not diverted, simplifying the discussion about the budget deficit and the total U.S. debt, and sharing his forecast for consumer spending, retail sales and GDP.

Last but not least, if you’re a techno-type, you should listen to a conversation recorded at the Floor Covering Business to Business Association’s (FCB2B) annual meeting. The top brass discuss what the next generation of breakthroughs in the B2B arena will look like, and how they will make it easier for retailers, distributors and manufactures to conduct industry electronically.

TalkFloor is your daily dose of the floor covering industry, and I’d love to hear you thoughts and suggestions for future interviews; email me at davefoster@talkfloor.com and let me know what peaks your interest. Keep in touch, and thanks for listening.

From a PR post at the CRI to communications director of the Atlanta Mart, Dave Foster launched two of the top industry websites and currently hosts his own Dalton, Ga.-based radio program, FloorRadio. davefoster@talkfloor.com.