Those who expected the suddenly resurgent U.S. laminate flooring market to cool once the supply of imported SPC, LVT and WPC returned to more normal, pre-pandemic levels might be somewhat surprised how the momentum has continued. But when you talk to proponents of laminate flooring—suppliers and marketers that have achieved success with the category even when it may not have been popular—those executives are not the least bit surprised.
Across the board, the investments suppliers are making in the laminate flooring category to elevate both performance and visuals reflect their faith that those investments will continue to pay big dividends in 2024 and beyond.
John Hammel
senior director, hardwood and laminate, Mannington
What is your projection for the growth of the category next year?
We expect the laminate category to be down single digits in 2024.
What segments and/or products will fuel growth in 2024?
There is opportunity in the remodel and new construction segments, even though the latter is expected to remain soft. Retailers and builders continue to look for alternatives to SPC, and laminate fits the bill. Home centers will remain the predominant channel.
What are the growth projections for your company in particular?
At Mannington, we expect to outgrow the market with flat growth.
Cite a few of your major initiatives achieved in 2023.
We introduced two new digital print visuals in our Restoration Collection. Harmony and Heirloom use TruDetail digital print technology that allows for an industry-leading 20 individual planks—that’s twice as many as other laminate floors. Additionally, we launched Charter Collection, which is a 10mm (8mm plank +2mm attached pad) product, which is water resistant.
Identify the “X” factor that will impact business in general in 2024?
The most obvious X factor is the 2024 presidential election. That, coupled with interest rates and enduring inflation, will be the biggest drivers impacting consumer purchasing. Something else to watch is the impact of geopolitical events on supply and inflation.
Where do you see the greatest opportunities?
We continue to see opportunity in specialty retail and small/medium-sized builders, specifically at the premium end of the market. Laminate, as a category, is expected take share due to its realism, performance and overall value.
David Moore
senior product director, Mohawk
What is your projection for the growth of the category next year?
It’s a segment that’s historically tied to GDP, so we think it’s going to be very low single digits. That’s where we expect laminate to be as a category in 2024.
What segments and/or products will fuel growth in 2024?
When we look at home centers, there’s definitely some challenges there with competitive products. Builder has really been just a big guessing game in the market; it’s always the wild card. However, residential remodel is still a strong segment for us.
What are the growth projections for your company in particular?
Aspirationally, we’re looking to beat the overall laminate marketing by a point or two at the most.
Cite a few of your major initiatives achieved in 2023.
First, the investments that we’ve made in the factory as well as just some changes that we’ve made internally put us in a great supply position for most of 2023. Another big move for us this year was the launch of our Karastan BelleLuxe waterproof portfolio, which has been unbelievably well received in the market.
Identify the “X” factor that will impact business in general in 2024?
If the builder market comes back substantially quicker than people are expecting, that would be a good thing—but we’ve got to be able to respond to it. The other X factor is we’re seeing a whole bunch of these hybrid products coming to market using different constructions and different raw materials. That could make it very challenging to identify what products go in what categories.
Where do you see the greatest opportunities?
Better, thicker, more realistic products have opened the door to trade-up opportunities. That’s really where we play, so we think we’re positioned really well with our brand portfolio as well as the feature and benefit stories we have on our products.
Derek Welbourn
CEO, Inhaus
What is your projection for the growth of the category next year?
We experienced a slow start to kick off 2023, with continued softness throughout the entire year. As a whole we expect continued soft markets in 2024.
What segments and/or products will fuel growth in 2024?
With some of the pandemic-fueled cost escalation calming down and more competitive pricing, we see some gains in the builder and property management segments for laminate. Further, we expect retail to have a modest uptick in the second half of 2024.
What are the growth projections for your company in particular?
We are planning some excellent growth for our company in 2024 as we have some major product line updates launching throughout the year.
Cite a few of your major initiatives achieved in 2023.
We successfully completed some major design initiatives in 2023. It not only included significant work with color and our digital-based design process, it also utilized new technical features made possible by our investment in new innovation and equipment.
Identify the “X” factor that will impact business in general in 2024?
We’re facing a potential downturn. But as the famous Wall Street investor Peter Lynch once said: “If you spend 15 minutes talking about the economy, you probably just wasted 12 minutes.” We will take this slower time to improve anything and everything.
Where do you see the greatest opportunities?
Design, programs, services and systems with all efforts toward creating greater value for our customers and the end consumers that choose Inhaus products.
