FCNews’ Steven Feldman and Ken Ryan recently caught up with Somerset/ Boen CEO, Steve DeCarlo to discuss his role. 
How does your diverse background help you in this new role?
I understand how wood fits, where it places itself both residentially and commercially. At Shaw I spent some time on the residential side doing business development and I was also the person that started the hard surface business on the commercial side, which included Anderson when we made that acquisition. So, I’ve had wood as part of the portfolio. Same thing at Milliken. I was responsible for resilient, both for residential and commercial. So, I do understand the different ways to market, and I understand where wood lines up against laminate, LVT and carpet, and how it can be accessorized with rugs and what the consumer looks for.
What attracted you to this role?
Somerset has a great history; it’s a great American manufacturer. When I looked at it, Somerset has positioned itself as one of the better players in the market. It has a good basket [of products]; it has solid—there’s not a lot of solid manufacturers left. It also has a nice collection of engineered.
We also have the Boen brand, which allows us to spin up into the lux category. Boen brings with it this very fine European manufacturing and craftsmanship; it also has a design that is very hot right now. It’s a very nice combination of products.
Short- and long-terms goals and objectives?
Short term is to continue to provide the quality and service we have been known; it’s something the market needs with all the supply chain disruptions, tariffs, things like that. Long term is to get the brands out into the marketplace and get people to know who we are. People understand [hardwood] is a natural product, it is authentic. Wood is real. We want to get that story told in a manner that is meaningful to our customer base.
Aside from price point, how are you going to differentiate the two brands in the marketplace?
Boen’s definitely a more premium look—it’s a leader in Europe in terms of its design and colorations; it is a big aesthetic play, whether its length, width; it’s high style and design.
With Somerset we want to work on our partnership with Sherwin-Williams. We are working on our offering of finishes that are more durable… stains, scuffs, scratching. It’s going to have a wonderful performance story.
Can hardwood companies be successful in an environment where housing is under pressure?
Yes. There’s a move among consumers to look at an authentic product; wood is obviously an authentic product with wonderful character. We believe wood has a really good future.
How do you boost hardwood share amid the rise of LVP?
Hardwood can grow its share in a couple of ways. There’s the sustainability aspect; and two, the natural elements that come with it, the authenticity of those natural elements. We’re looking for the consumer who understands that value, who understands they don’t want a cookie-cutter approach—they want something a little more substantial, and we believe hardwood provides that.
