Hardwood remains an
area of flooring where creativity abounds and boundaries are continually
toppled. How else to explain the bumper crop of flooring creations vying this
year for the National Wood Flooring Association’s coveted Wood Floor of the
Year Awards? At the trade group’s annual meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, 232 entries
were offered for consideration-the most seen in the competition’s 18-year history.
Retailers in the
flooring business can be forgiven if they cringe a bit when they hear Green
these days. They are not opposed to being environmentally responsible; it’s
just that they keep hearing it over and over. It seems everyone touts it,
embraces it and tries to leverage it to their advantage. Companies are bending
over backwards to out-green each other and consumers love the concept-as long
as it doesn’t cost extra. Meanwhile, with sales slumping, many dealers wonder
if the whole saving-the-planet thing can wait until business picks up.
Faced
with a sharp increase in the cost of petrochemicals and other raw material,
carpet fiber makers are turning to Plan B: Mother Nature. By including natural
materials or recycled content, manufacturers are finding that the payoff
reflects on their image and their bottom line. Still, suppliers note that,
while “Green” is still mostly a commercial concern, the consumer mindset is
beginning to shift to environmentally friendly products.
Armstrong is set to more than double the number of SKUs in its StrataMax line of loose-lay resilient flooring this month, and based on the favorable response to the product by retailers and showgoers at Surfaces, it’s not hard to see why. The company won the first place NFT Styling Excellence Award in the resilient category for its StrataMax floor.
Looking to expand
its presence in the Chinese market, Anderson has signed a licensing and
manufacturing deal with PowerDekor, the largest manufacturer of laminate
flooring in China and a former Anderson supplier. Plans call for Anderson to
create a hardwood flooring assortment of about 45 SKUs for China’s domestic
market. The floors will be available in up to 2,000 retail stores owned by
PowerDekor.
Say goodbye to the big red flying “B.” As Beaulieu reinvents itself as Bliss by Beaulieu, the old logo of Beaulieu of America is going by the wayside. The new logo, the word “Bliss” in a soft script, is part of an effort that stems from Beaulieu’s desire to become more female-friendly, according to Patricia Flavin, the company’s senior vp marketing.
Mannington Mills garnered five
first place nods (and one runner up mention) to emerge as the big winner in
this year’s NFT Styling Excellence Awards. Voted on by showgoers
at Surfaces and online, the awards honor the best high-style products in
flooring.
Mannington took top honors in areas including: Ceramic
(Serengeti Slate), Laminate Floors (Time Crafted Maple), LVT (Ashford Walnut),
Merchandising (Adura Elements display) and Wood (Stonehenge Walnut). “It’s an
honor to know that we are making products that resonate with our customers,”
said Ed Duncan, Mannington’s sr. vp residential marketing. “We believe that our
continued success in this area is due to Mannington’s commitment to styling and
design, in every category.”
While
design innovation has long been a top priority for laminate makers, they agree
that the focus on fashion is changing the complexion of the category. In a
trend some manufacturers call “negative growth,” they note that interest in
high-end product has been rising, though it has not been enough to offset
sluggish market conditions in the overall laminate business.
Almost everyone uses the Internet
nowadays. In a consumer study conducted by Clear Seas Research for the World
Floor Covering Association last year, most participants noted they use the
Internet to research flooring options and get an idea of the prices before
heading out to the store.
The Internet also remains important to retailers.
Increasingly, retailers are putting their store information online and
corresponding with colleagues through e-mail.
Tarkett Wood recently sold the
assets of its hardwood plants in Johnson City, Tenn., and an additional plant
in Indiana to New Stream Capital, a private equity firm based in Ridgefield,
Conn. With this move, Tarkett has bowed out of the hardwood flooring business
in the United States. Additionally, a new company called ArborCraft has been
formed and is set to relaunch the Harris brand of hardwood flooring at
Surfaces.
