Carlisle Shifts Marketing Strategy

Carlisle Wide Plank Floors has introduced Carlisle Collections, 12 collections that represent the best of the brand’s 48 years of innovation and tradition in the luxury flooring market, according to the company. The launch marks a major shift from custom flooring to prefinished collections for Carlisle, in a strategic move to increase its market share within the wood flooring industry.

Carlisle Collections offer a variety of wood types, vibrant colors, unique textures and price points ranging from $8.99 to $24.99 per square foot, plus delivery in just two to four weeks for most collections, according to the company.

Now available for direct purchase online, Carlisle’s newly redesigned website also offers innovative design tools to better help homeowners and trade professionals select a wood floor that suits their design needs.

“With almost 50 years of experience, we’re in a unique position to cater to the market’s changing demands," said Michael Stanek, Carlisle’s president and CEO. "We believe our new strategy and focus on collections is going to fuel substantial growth for Carlisle in 2015—and will also have a significant impact on the marketplace at large. We expect both production per square foot and revenue to increase by more than 20% next year as a result. We also expect to increase our sales staff by 30% in 2015.”

According to Stanek, Carlisle’s three-tier merchandising strategy will target each of its specific customer segments and new marketing tools for Carlisle Collections will be introduced to increase conversion—particularly on the web. In addition to offering all 12 collections for convenient online purchase, the company’s website offers more than 100 images for inspiration, plus design tools like a free Design Portfolio and a color specifier for members of the trade. The color specifier includes over 60 pages of wood flooring color choices and easy-to-use, perforated color chips to tear off and attach to a client presentation or inspiration board. Members of the trade can also access Carlisle’s new Preferred Pricing Program on the website, offering 10% off retail pricing on a wide range of wood species, textures and finishes.

“We’re further differentiating Carlisle from the competition with a variety of really powerful and unique tools designed to drive sales among homeowners and to grow our trade program,” said Dean Marcarelli, Carlisle's vice president and CMO. “This new strategy is going to create big opportunities—and potentially new distribution channels—for Carlisle moving forward.”

For more information, visit wideplankflooring.com.

KEYWORDS: flooring industry news