In an effort to cultivate a fresh crop of sales managers for distributors and manufacturers in the flooring industry, the National Wood Flooring Association is offering a Sales Management Training school June 15 - 16 at the trade group's International Training Center in St. Louis. The two-day session is designed to improve sales team performance by training management teams to "identify, recruit, and retain an A-player sales force."
The Dixie Group, Inc. reported solid increases in sales and revenue in both its residential and commercial product lines. Income from continuing operations was $1,872,000, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the quarter ending March 26, 2005, compared with income from continuing operations of $1,976,000, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter were $72 million, up 12 percent from $64.4 million last year.
In an effort to "attract, inform and inspire" more consumers, Armstrong said it has designed its web site, Armstrong.com. The new design places an emphasis on drawing shoppers to a specific Armstrong store by letting retailers offer access to Armstrong design tools on the store's own web site
Shaw said it plans to extend its Spring Savings Month for an additional month. The promotion, which begins May 1 and is centered on the new line "Couture - Elegant Floors by Shaw," will continue until June 30, 2005. The company had previously said the promo would end May 30
In a move that it hopes "will ultimately shorten the time it will take to get the asbestos problem completely behind us," Congoleum said it has agreed to modify its original settlement.
Mohawk Industries, Inc. said it has been able to navigate its way though "weaker industry conditions and rising raw material and energy costs" to post solid first quarter gains in sales and earnings. The company said it saw first quarter net sales of $1.49 billion billion this year compared to $1.38 billion in 2004 for an increase of 7 percent. Quarterly net earnings, meanwhile, where pegged at $70 million, a 6 percent advance from $66.3 million last year. Earning per share rose to $1.03 from $0.98
Invista said it has developed "new level of stain resistance" for its Antron carpet fiber that will make the flooring material ideal for a range of commercial applications. The new patented technology, Antron with StainResist, was unveiled in Chicago at the TFM Show which is expected to attract 10,000 professionals involved in facilities management.
Pergo's senior vice president, Tony Sturrus, has been named CEO and president of the company. An executive at Pergo since 2003 who had previously served as president of Baldwin Hardware for nine years, Sturrus will also retain his svp position overseeing the North American region. As he assumed the top position in the company, Sturrus confirmed that Pergo remained committed to expanding its product selection beyond laminate.