December 8/15, 2014; Volume 28/Number 12
Carpet
By K.J. Quinn
Like a mountain climber ascending closer to the summit, 2015 is expected to be the year when carpet finally reaches the heights industry pundits predicted would come soon.
And why not? The AIA Billing Index, multi-family housing starts, single-family new construction forecasts and other key economic reports point to a better year for construction spending in 2015.
A number of industry executives are cautiously optimistic carpet sales will grow 3% to 5% across the board in 2015, with growth varying by end-use sector.
James Lesslie Assistant to the chairman, Engineered Floors
It’s difficult to predict 2015 specifics. However, we expect growth in hard surface options to continue putting pressure on carpet categories.
The builder and multi-family sectors remained strong during 2014, but residential replacement business overall seemed to be soft. For 2015 to show positive growth, residential replacement volume will need to pick up.
Invista expects another positive year in 2015, with growth coming from key nylon 6,6 programs, such as Stainmaster PetProtect, as well as the expansion of our branded polyester programs. We will continue driving the Stainmaster PetProtect program with an expanded product assortment and continued advertising. This has proven to be a successful approach in meeting a specific consumer need. We will also introduce a refreshed product offering in our TruSoft and Active Family product categories in 2015.
T.M. Nuckols Senior director, product strategy, Invista
It’s difficult to predict 2015 specifics. However, we expect growth in hard surface options to continue putting pressure on carpet categories.
The builder and multi-family sectors remained strong during 2014, but residential replacement business overall seemed to be soft. For 2015 to show positive growth, residential replacement volume will need to pick up.
Invista expects another positive year in 2015, with growth coming from key nylon 6,6 programs, such as Stainmaster PetProtect, as well as the expansion of our branded polyester programs. We will continue driving the Stainmaster PetProtect program with an expanded product assortment and continued advertising. This has proven to be a successful approach in meeting a specific consumer need. We will also introduce a refreshed product offering in our TruSoft and Active Family product categories in 2015.
Paul Comiskey President, residential sales, The Dixie Group
We expected 5% to 7% of real growth this year, and we’ve been roughly flat. The industry pundits were all wrong. As we go into next year, I think the carpet market will eventually pop open and we’ll have a good year. A lot of us are thinking maybe 2% to 3% growth.
I think in 2015 you will see the builder and multi-family segments grow faster than the residential sector. What’s interesting on the builder side is seeing if carpet will continue to get its share or lose share to LVT.
The residential business is strong at the high and low ends. The low end is driven by multi-family housing and first-time home ownership and seems to be doing pretty well. People are also updating their houses for sale and market resale seems to be very good.
We’ve been fortunate enough to grow somewhat faster than the industry, and we hope to do that again next year. We are making major investments in the wool side of the business, particularly with the Masland brand. We continue to invest in tufting equipment as we try to provide new and innovative products and develop new markets. In the high-end part of the residential market we’re seeing patterns expand, so investing in new tufting technology will enable us to move into two- and three-color patterns.