FloorCoveringNews

by Matthew Spieler

While every flooring category has been hit hard by the recession, perhaps none more so than wood—in the five years following its high water mark in 2006, the segment is down 40%. So it should come as no surprise as the economy shows signs of steady improvement manufacturers feel the slide is finally over.

Armstrong Commercial Flooring, manufacture of floor products with a focus on innovation, design and environmental sustainability, has been awarded NSF/ASNI 332 Gold Level certification for its Linoleum product line from NSF International, an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides standards development, product certification, auditing, education and risk management for public health and the environment.

Smart features and eye-catching designs won Armstrong’s Duality sheet vinyl flooring a coveted spot as one of 2012’s “30 Most Innovative Products,” selected by the editors of Better Homes & Gardens-Kitchen & Bath Ideas.

Lancaster, Pa. – The results are in.  Building industry professionals have selected Armstrong Residential Floor Products as the top-rated vinyl flooring manufacturer in the Peninsula Publishing 2011 Brand Preference Survey and as the ‘Greenest Floor Company’ by readers of Green Builder magazine.

Armstrong Commercial Flooring launches Striations, its next generation of non-PVC, Biobased Tile, along with two new premium tiles with enhanced environmental and performance features – Raffia and Chromaspin in beautiful designs that combine aesthetics, function and value.

Armstrong Commercial Flooring has been honored with a coveted 2011 GOOD DESIGN Award for its newly refreshed Marmorette linoleum flooring line with Continuum.

Calhoun, Ga. — Mohawk Industries announced today that effective January 2, 2012, Brian Carson will be appointed president of the Mohawk Flooring Business Unit and John “J.T.” Turner Jr. will be named president of the Dal-Tile Business Unit.

Carson joined Mohawk in 2006 after a 16-year career at Armstrong World Industries, where he held a number of senior leadership roles. Carson joined the Mohawk Flooring Business Unit as president of Hard Surfaces and was later promoted to vice president of operations for the division. In early 2011 he assumed his current role as the business unit’s COO.

Turner began his career with Dal-Tile in 1990, progressing through a series of leadership roles in sales, operations and general management throughout the business. In 2005, Turner was promoted to senior vice president of sales and served in that role until being appointed senior vice president of operations in 2008.

Armstrong Commercial Flooring’s Rejuvenations sheet vinyl was named an honoree in Interior Design magazine’s sixth annual 2011 Best of Year (BoY) Awards. The preeminent design competition recognizes superior interior design projects and products in more than 50 categories.

Brand new and exciting, the much-admired Rejuvenations Ambigu patterns bring elegance and finesse to functional resilient flooring. The collection answers customer demand for high design that also meets maintenance, cost and durability requirements.

By Matthew Spieler

While 2011 seemed to mirror 2010 for the wood industry, manufacturing executives say it was expected and, considering the losses that mounted up since the recession started, not so bad. Though the overall economy doesn’t appear much brighter in 2012, many feel there will be some upward movement due to pent-up demand as well as other indicators that favor their products.

By Matthew Spieler

With the massive slide laminate had been on continuing to level off in 2011, officials remain upbeat the category will soon see better days—albeit not to the degree they once were, but compared to where they have been recently, any improvement is a welcome sight.

Executives admit there are still tremendous challenges even beyond the economy but feel laminate’s realism, performance and overall value will win back the post-recession consumer.

By Ken Ryan

The shift toward resilient products in the flooring industry away from other hard surface offerings has created market opportunities for leading suppliers, as well as increased competition globally, particularly from China.

On the plus side, the soft economy has favored lower cost, performance value options like vinyl flooring in both residential and commercial segments; however, skyrocketing raw material costs have prompted some major manufacturers to pass along the increases, making for a rather volatile market as 2011 comes to a close.

Lancaster, Pa.—Armstrong World Industries is pleased to announce the winners of the first i2r (ideas 2 reality) professional design competition showcasing Armstrong Commercial Ceiling & Flooring products in either an “idea” or a “reality” stage.  Four winners were selected from almost 140 projects submitted from throughout the United States.

LANCASTER, PENN.—Armstrong announced it will initiate a 4% to six 6% price increase in the United States and Canada on residential luxury vinyl tile, laminate, residential sheet and tile, and select commercial sheet products. In addition, a 2.5% increase on commercial vinyl composition tile, and a 3% to 10% increase on installation, maintenance and accessories (IMA) products, beginning with shipments on January 23, 2012.

NEW YORK—The commercial arm of Armstrong officially introduced Rejuvenations recently, a new sheet collection with a versatile range of designs, merging commercial and residential aesthetics, cross pollinating colors and textures for choices to fit any environment, from healthcare to retail.

“Our customers need solutions,” said Julianne Pierce, director, marketing and design. “We strive to be the first flooring resource designers and architects consider, and the flooring brand they request because they know Armstrong can provide the right floor for their needs.”

Rejuvenations is part of the Armstrong Continuum, an exclusive design system created to help architects and designers imagine what is possible. Rejuvenations features cross-coordination of color and design to Armstrong’s Natural Creations luxury vinyl tile, Medintone sheet vinyl, Marmorette linoleum and Stonetex vinyl composition tile, as well as other interior finishes.

Rob Menefee, CEO of Flooring America of Woodbridge, Va., has found that the online customer who is directed to Flooring America stores via the Armstrong’s website spends more money than other customers.

“I don’t know why that is, but the average sale of their online customer is larger,” Menefee said.

Web presence is part of today’s new normal, identified as an essential component of the cost of doing business. In this industry, a website can be considered a landing page for the consumer to learn about products, programs and ways to improve her home, though that paradigm is shifting with the proliferation of social media platforms; particularly Facebook with its more than 750 million active users.

Today’s websites favored by Google and Yahoo search engines have fresh and unique content, so many companies are focused on updating and differentiating what draws consumers to their sites. Additionally, search engines filter duplicate content, so the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) was careful to add features that made it one-of-a-kind when its spiders crawl through site content.

Even though overall prices within the laminate category have dropped in recent years and more products fall into the low and mid range price points, there is still a market for high end goods.

As such, there are still laminate companies promoting high end products as they recognize it not only separates dealers from the pack, it allows retailers to earn higher profits as the margins on these goods are better.

While the concept of installing a floor without the use of adhesives is no longer new to the industry, the idea of “floating” the floor has become all the rage in the resilient category. Thanks to advances in technology, as well as the acceptance of floating floors by retailers, installers and consumers, manufacturers continue to bring out innovative installation systems to help make the overall process of selling and buying a resilient floor easier and less stressful.

Since the economic downturn began the resilient category has been just that—resilient. Not only has the segment picked up market share it lost the previous decade, it has done so with technologically advanced products in an array of high end offerings.

Consumers may have become more cost conscious in recent years, but what they are most interested in is a product that provides great performance for the price. And manufacturers say this is a key ingredient as to why resilient has seen a surge in consumer acceptance.

No category has suffered through the building market’s sag quite as much as hardwood, particularly in new construction. But consumers are still buying and certain parties want what they want—those who demand luxury still expect nothing less. To meet her needs, mills are producing unique products that transform her home into something exceptional.

As one of the strongest categories across the flooring industry, resilient producers are introducing a number of new collections and updates this fall. Focusing on a strong value proposition, stone and wood looks are the popular visuals, while easy installation features seem to be en vogue from a technical perspective.

Many companies are also introducing goods for the commercial side, or warranting performance with light commercial guarantees. With the residential market scraping along the bottom, suppliers are providing retailers with products that can yield the greatest profit at all points along the channel.

Of all the flooring segments, the wood category has been hit the hardest since the housing market crash and subsequent economic decline. While the sector is no longer falling off a cliff, sales continue to struggle as consumers become ever more vigilant with their spending.

The difficulties, however, have not stopped manufacturers from bringing out new products and technology for the fall selling season. While the handscraped, rustic look continues to be popular, companies are introducing a wide range of designs and features as they try to help retailers grab consumer interest.

LANCASTER, PA.—Armstrong has introduced the next generation of its highly successful Alterna LVT.

Alterna Reserve pushes design and value to even greater possibilities, said Yon Hinkle, product manager, adding those who sell Alterna quickly discover the enthusiasm their customers feel for this warmer, softer, more versatile alternative to ceramic and stone tiles.

The philosopher Aristotle once said, “If one way be better than another, that you may be sure it is nature’s way.” A widespread embrace of sustainability initiatives brought the resilient flooring industry to a realization that nature’s way is the best, and the market was flooded with third-party certification programs proving so. Simplifying that process is the ANSI standard NSF 332, in its early stages of implementation.

Whether you chalk it up to the economy, stricter environmental and logging laws, changing consumer preferences in both style and where a product comes from, or something else, one thing is clear: The use of non-traditional North American wood species to make flooring has risen dramatically over the last five years.

Generally referred to as domestic exotics, these are wood species that go beyond the traditional oak, maple and pine. While oak has been the king of wood flooring for decades, the latter two have, historically, been more widely used than any other domestically grown specie.

Brands are considered an interface between the company that makes the product and the end user. People can more easily identify a range of offerings if they have recognized labels, which, in turn, boosts sales for retailers, experts say. In addition, branded products can command premiums since they are considered a step above commodities in the consumer’s eyes.

There are pretty much two ways to look at the laminate flooring category in 2010. The optimists will focus on the fact that for the second consecutive year, and in a very tough economic climate, laminate manufacturers moved more square feet of the product than the year prior. Unfortunately, it is happening at the expense of the product’s average selling price. Thus, the category suffered its fourth straight year of declining sales in terms of dollars, although similar to 2009, the dip was only in the 2% range.

Driving trade-ups is one of retail’s biggest challenges, but one that the industry overall has actually had more success with in the last couple of years than in the past, noted Yon Hinkle, product manager, Armstrong laminate and residential resilient tile. According to Hinkle, retailers who sell laminate flooring need to clarify the segment’s trade-up story. To this end, he noted, many mills have gone to a very clear product hierarchy. “Clearly call-out the key attributes for your customers that drive value while showing her how true, realistic looks differ at varying price points.”

Lancaster, Pa.—Armstrong has appointed Mara Villanueva-Heras vice president of Residential Marketing. In this position, she will be responsible for setting strategic direction, and managing marketing and branding efforts. Villanueva-Heras reports to Kevin Biedermann, senior vice president of residential floor products, North America.