LAVAL, QUEBEC, CANADA—After flying under the radar for a few years, 2010 served as the reemergence of Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring. The Canadian hardwood flooring manufacturer with a reputation for quality and high style was aggressive in all facets— product, merchandising and marketing—as it positioned itself for the better days that lie ahead.
Among the company’s initiatives last year:
- new collections and visuals showcased in a new display system;
- a consumer promotion with unlimited cash back incentives to draw customers into floor covering retail stores;
- a trade ad campaign using top-view photography to maximize impact, and
- a consumer ad campaign in the U.S. and Canada utilizing magazines such as Elle Décor and Style at Home (English) and DecorMag (French).
Lauzon has always put a premium on innovation. For example, the company developed one of the clearest, most resistant hardwood flooring finishes. Designed for residential and light commercial applications, Polynium Plus with Titanium Traffic employs a cutting-edge nanotechnology to provide ex-ceptional transparency and resistance to wear, the company said. The polymerized titanium technology maintains a finish that reveals and highlights the warmth and natural beauty of the wood.
But Lauzon is not just about product. Through the years it has earned a reputation as a leader in environmental stewardship. The only vertically integrated flooring manufacturer in North America, it owns one of the largest hardwood sawmills on the continent and utilizes the innovative hybrid technology. This state-of-the-art equipment not only generates less waste, meaning fewer trees to harvest, but greater use of every tree harvested.
Lauzon has dedicated years of research and development to all aspects of the hardwood flooring manufacturing process, which is FSC certified from the forest to the finished product.
But Lauzon is not resting on its laurels. For 2011, the company is increasing its media presence as well as its visibility to the A&D community. Lauzon will expand its consumer ad campaign to include Veranda beginning with the January/February issue. And, as evidence of its increased focus on the design community, Lauzon is working on a new designer collection that will be launched sometime this year. Additions to existing collections will also be introduced, specifically, new stains in Line Art and enhancements to Antique and Reserva.