January 21/28, 2019: Volume 34, Issue 17
By Lindsay Baillie
It was one year ago that Anderson Tuftex made its Surfaces debut as a combined brand, showcasing hardwood and carpet products in an elaborately decorated, two-story booth. Throughout 2018 the brand has had the opportunity to show flooring dealers exactly what Anderson Tuftex is about and truly home in on what the brand’s consumer really looks like.
“Being at Surfaces in 2018 was a big moment of success,” said Katie Ford, director of brand strategy, Anderson Tuftex. “We had a lot of big wind there and FCNewsrecognized us for a few different achievements. I think just bringing these two great brands together and letting everyone see our whole message (‘Designed with Intention, Crafted with Care’) was a big win for us that started the year off right.”
Another win for the brand was the number of retailers who signed on as partners during the show. “They really just embraced the newness of the brand and the way we wanted to show up in store; we were really surprised by it and happy to see we had more partners than anticipated,” said Carrie Edwards Isaac, vice president of residential marketing, Shaw Industries. “We had more retailers take on our feature display for wood, and as a result many added or even updated their signature merchandising unit for carpet.”
For dealers such as David Chambers, director of flooring of Nebraska Furniture Mart, the combination of Anderson and Tuftex into one brand was a logical move. “Other manufacturers have tried blending a couple of different brand names and making them into one. I thought this made a little bit more sense for Anderson Tuftex. They both have more of a premium value for the consumer, and they do a really good job tying those two pieces together.”
One of the features about Anderson Tuftex that really stands out to Chambers is its service. “They’ve done a great job servicing the dealers that have partnered with them. We’ve seen a nice increase with the brand. I think part of that are their efforts in driving that new brand forward.”
Other dealers, including Anthony Yates, vice president of sales, Yates Flooring Center in Lubbock, Texas, agree. “Two categories of flooring that we are selling less volume of is carpet and wood. But within both of those categories we are selling higher quality and higher end. Anderson Tuftex provides that now in both categories.”
Yates said he sees the combination of the brands as the creation of a single stop for total-home, higher-end products. “Our sales associates see the transition from just being a segment of flooring to a whole-home design selection area,” he added. “If the brand continues on its modern trend toward our millennials in designs and product types, it will continue to grow.”
Fast track to market
Throughout 2018 and into 2019, Anderson Tuftex has been working on executing in store and drawing consumers in to experience the brand alongside its retailer partners. One piece to this puzzle has been increasing the brand’s speed to market.
Anderson Tuftex admits that getting its mostly hand-crafted wood and meticulously designed soft surfaces in store required a bit of a learning curve early on in 
2018. “The speed to market in terms of getting everything in store took a little longer than we hoped for,” Edwards Isaac explained. “We learned a lot from that and have made pretty significant changes to our processes so we can be at Surfaces, Domotex USA and our Shaw Flooring Network convention, and still be ready to roll and market much faster.”
The brand is also refining its messaging and photography to enhance the in-store experience and target a wider consumer audience. “We had initially started really focused on one type of consumer persona called the ‘Pursuer,’” Ford explained. “We added another called the ‘Achiever’ into the mix this year who is still very confident in his approach to shopping for flooring, but he’s male and a little bit more about performance and function.”
To develop this new persona type, Anderson Tuftex conducted extensive research. “We looked at everyone who was buying floor covering in the market and what their motivations were and why they were coming in store,” Ford explained. “We definitely feel we’ve captured the right consumers for this brand.”
New initiatives in 2019 are also geared toward enhancing consumer and retailer in-store experiences with the brand. Some of Anderson Tuftex’s brand new initiatives include a revamped merchandising display, innovative products, updated brand and marketing strategies as well as unique social media and advertising plans—to name a few.
As part of Anderson Tuftex’s continued effort to connect its hardwood and carpet in the marketplace, the brand will be combining its product and marketing strategies. “We’re going to market under the lens of ‘Art of Play,’ and that will really reach both our consumers and our retailers,” Edwards Isaac said. “What better way to enjoy your home and/or help someone with his or her home than to really talk about what’s driving the project and what’s driving the consumer’s need for new flooring?”
In addition to being more intentional with its soft and hard connections, the brand is looking to turn heads with its latest introductions. “Our product lineup is probably the most well edited and, to some degree, unique in the marketplace,” Edwards Isaac explained. “It will range from a PetProtect product line all the way up to really beautiful, ColorPoint carpet. You’ll also see the thickest and most unique hardwood we have ever launched.”
On the soft surface side, Anderson Tuftex is launching six new products in the middle range as well as new flooring in its PetProtect line. To house these new products, the company is also introducing Studio, a new 34-pin display that boasts simplicity and ease of use.
“When we were doing an evaluation of our lineup of carpet products last year, we realized we had a pretty significant gap in the $13 to $23 [wholesale] price range,” Ford explained. “They needed a home so we’ve created this great fixture called Studio, which is very simple and easy to use. It will be at all the shows this season.”
Tying the new products and marketing together is Anderson Tuftex’s updated advertising strategy. As Edwards Isaac explained: “We’re really excited about our social media and traditional advertising plan for 2019 and look forward to partnering with our retailers who are already doing some advertising of their own and providing them with additional assets.”
