Cork flooring is finally easing away from its well established reputation as a dependable but uniform-looking floor covering used mainly in commercial environments.
While carpet remains entrenched as the largest category in the flooring business, it is also a product segment that has lately been challenged by the steady growth of hard surface flooring.
For years, carpet makers didn't have to give much thought when asked to name the No. 1 color choice for residential settings. It was beige, more beige and various shades of beige.
National Floor Trends invited a number of leading computer software vendors to respond to questions raised by retailers participating in the on-going B2B Study conducted by the World Floor Covering Association and National Floor Trends.
The growing importance of laminate flooring was readily apparent last month when Mohawk Industries agreed to spend $2.6 billion to acquire the parent company of Quick-Step, a top laminate maker in the U.S. Although the deal has a number of elements that go beyond laminate flooring, Mohawk's decision to buy Belgium-based Unilin Holding NV was largely based on the category's past performance and future potential.
Judging from the responses we received from some of the industry's leading manufacturers, the floor covering business these days is simultaneously blessed and bedeviled.
Carpet One's president Evan Hackel says he has a highly detailed road map for where Carpet One is headed over the next few years -- and it is all neatly collated into a bulging three ring binder that he keeps tucked away in his office.
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