January 8/15, 2018: Volume 33, Issue 15
Dalton—Shaw Industries is back at Surfaces with its newly launched Anderson Tuftex (AT) brand. Its appearance ends a decade-long hiatus for the company—not including USFloors, which showed last year following the Shaw purchase in 2016.
“We felt like we have our eight shows, which are critical, but wanted to show Anderson Tuftex in a big way,” said Trey Thames, vice president of sales for AT. “Surfaces is the biggest show in the industry. It’s more of a coming out party.”
And a coming out party it is. “The booth is 3,500 square feet,” said Katie Ford, director of marketing. “It is two stories and will definitely make a big statement.”
Thames added exhibiting at Surfaces makes sense because of the company’s belief that the show has been focused on hard surface. “We’re now a complete flooring brand, hardwood and carpet, so we felt like it was important to be there. We’re going to be showcasing carpet and wood together, and how they go together. We’re going to have intentional pairing with our products. For example, ‘For this wood floor we recommend these three carpets.’”
In addition to how the wood and carpet coordinate, Ford said AT will be showcasing product in some unique ways, particularly how its wood can be installed on the wall. “For example, our Mystique we have flowing from the wall to the floor. In fact, all of our engineered hardwoods can be used on the walls and the floors. We’re going to have an installation showing that transition from wall to floor.”
The top level of the AT booth will focus on merchandising the brand, according to Ford. “We’ll be showing retailers a unique showroom concept—how they might show this brand in a unique way. We’ll also have all of our traditional merchandising units on the show floor as well.”