FloorCoveringNews

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.

ROSLYN, N.Y.—Following a two-year hiatus, Shaw Industries was voted the industry’s Best Overall Manufacturer in the 15th Award of Excellence competition. This was the third time in the award’s history that Shaw took top honors, which it last held in 2008. Shaw also repeated its performance from last year by taking home the Award of Excellence for Environmental Leadership, which was first awarded in 2010.

Within the commercial market, wood flooring represents about 5% of the total sector and about 9% of hard surface sales. Unofficially, executives say because many of the jobs are sold and installed through residential channels business has not been so bad through the first five months of the year and the prospects for the remainder of 2011 are relatively positive.

Lancaster, Pa.—Armstrong has received two 2010-2011 ADEX (Award for Design Excellence) awards from Design Journal magazine. The mill was awarded the premier Platinum Award for the New England Long Plank Laminate, and a Gold Award for Luxe Plank luxury resilient flooring.

LANCASTER, PA.—Armstrong announced it will initiate a 6% to 8% price increase in the United States and Canada on vinyl composition tile, commercial and residential luxury vinyl tile and residential sheet and tile, as well as an 8% to 10% increase on wall base and installation, maintenance, and accessories (IMA) beginning with shipments on June 27.

It wasn’t so long ago that Jim Walters, president and co-owner of Macco’s Floor Covering in Green Bay, Wis., viewed the vinyl category with disdain. “It was a non-issue residentially; it didn’t exist in our market,” he said.

Then grouted luxury vinyl tile hit the market, and products like Armstrong’s Alterna LVT completely transformed the category for Macco and many other flooring retailers and distributors. “We classify LVT as a separate category from other vinyl products, and it is now the second-largest hard surface category for us,” Walters said. “It has gone from zero to No. 2 in a very short period of time, and it keeps growing.”

While every category has been hit hard by the recession and the new attitudes of the consumer as the country slowly recovers from the economic downturn, it seems like laminate has been taking some low blows lately and executives are fighting back, telling FCNews there is plenty of life left in the category going forward. “Low end continues to attract the most volume,” noted Travis Bass, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Kronotex, parent company of Formica. “However, there has definitely been a trend back toward the higher price points with consumer confidence growing.”

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is the hottest new product in flooring, with growth of 22.5% in residential product sales when the resilient category was down by 14.2% (FCNews, June 28). Most recently, it captured the fancy of exhibitors and attendees alike at the recent Domotex asia/ChinaFloor as the product du jour in the exhibit halls (FCNews, April 4/11).

LANCASTER, PA-Armstrong and Bruce brands were voted leaders in Builder magazine’s 2011 Brand Use Study in multiple categories including vinyl flooring, laminate flooring and wood flooring.

Much of the U.S. may still be struggling to escape winter temperatures but the calendar says it’s officially spring. A time of rebirth and hope, not just in nature, spring is when consumers air out their homes and take a look at how to get the glum out of the house. One historical way has been to redecorate, with new floors and furniture and a fresh coat of paint. Spring traditionally marks one of the industry’s busiest selling times.

When Harry Harles, owner of Brentwood Carpets & Flooring, Raleigh, N.C., had the opportunity to provide the flooring for a Habitat for Humanity effort in his county, he did not want to disappoint. After all, his work would be seen on the season premiere of “George to the Rescue” on NBC.

His task: lay 600 feet of hardwood flooring in four hours. To meet that objective, Harles said he needed a company he could rely on, one that would give him the right product on schedule, a product he could count on.”

Las Vegas—In years past, it was easy to define the top design and technological trends in the laminate category as most introductions included one or both. But with the recession taking a major toll on the category, manufacturers at Surfaces were all over the board as they focused on rounding out their offerings in anticipation of more consumers opening up their purse strings as the year progresses.

Hardwood has been a flooring category generating plenty of buzz recently. The Lacey Act revisions two years ago sent ripples from Washington, and the recent anti-dumping case brought many manufacturers flocking back to government agencies in an effort to understand just what is at stake. While hardwood has long enjoyed a strong domestic manufacturing presence, recent shifts in the trade balance have shed a light of uncertainty on the category’s future. Coupled with the troubled economy and a struggling building sector, this last year is one that is best left behind in the books.

Although hardwood is one of the oldest categories of flooring, it never fails to evolve with consumer tastes and innovate to meet her needs. Her tastes gravitate toward softer character looks and texturing for unique and authentic visuals, while her needs are for a floor that will withstand a busy, often demanding lifestyle without the need for refinishing or touch-ups. Mills came forward this year to meet both those needs simultaneously with fashion-forward styling and finishes that promise to look as good as on the day of install through its life.