In the hyper-competitive resilient flooring arena—particularly the red-hot WPC segment—it’s no longer enough to offer competitively priced, stylish products (although that certainly can’t hurt). To be truly and consistently successful, suppliers must develop an all-encompassing, dealer-focused strategy—one that builds confidence and generates profits for their retailer partners. Titan Surfaces scores high marks across all those key metrics.
“We deal with over 20 vendors, but Titan Surfaces is easily No. 1,” said Zane Stout, co-owner of Stout’s Discount Carpet, with locations in Youngwood and Murrysville, Pa. “Everyone talks about price, of course, but the quality and the level of service is really unmatched for the price point. The quality and the service at Titan Surfaces is top tier, and that’s very hard to find in this industry.”
On the rare occasion when there are hiccups, Titan Surfaces resolves the matter quickly and efficiently. “If any issues arise, they’re right on it—it’s never, ‘We’ll get back to you in a couple days.’ They get on it right away. Titan Surfaces has been that way since we started dealing with them when they were a smaller company. If something’s out of stock, they can find it. Or if there are pricing errors, they take care of it immediately.”
Other loyal Titan Surfaces retailers like Seth Hunt, owner of Georgia Flooring, Calhoun, Ga., agreed. “The products are very durable, and they’re holding up in all aspects,” he stated. “We carry their Essentials, Colossal and Epic products—as well as some nice cut-order products—and they’ve all done very well for us. They have some really nice colorations, and customers really like them. Sales have been really good.”
The combination of winning products, access to inventory and top-notch customer service has proven to be the magic formula for Titan Surfaces. It demonstrates how a service-first approach, coupled with a curated product lineup, translate into dealer confidence and profitability.
For Jason Smith, vice president of Titan Surfaces, it starts with empowering its sales reps to meet customer demands by equipping them with the necessary tools to succeed and deepen the relationship. “Whether that’s helping with delivered freight, providing samples or whatever the case might be, we partner with retailers to lessen the blow,” he said. “That only makes the relationship that much stronger.”
Moreover, this service-first approach gives reps the flexibility they need to grow the business. “For us, it’s about garnering more real estate in the dealer’s showroom,” Smith stated. “At the end of the day, we’re ultimately investing in that retailer, which builds the trust level.”
Apart from the pack
The primary challenge in securing space on the retail sales floor, of course, is providing differentiation from the slew of “me-too” WPC products on the market today. That’s precisely where Titan Surfaces says it holds the upper hand.
“There’s a million LVT suppliers out there—one of the biggest separators and differentiators for us is our color line,” Smith said. “I have a background in wood, especially the import/export side, so I’m very familiar with the exotics and woods from around the world. I’m even more familiar, obviously, with the domestic woods here in the States. We utilize that experience to create films, and then we put them on platforms that make sense for our customers. We also make sure our line is easy to navigate from entry-level WPC all the way up to our 12mm product.”
It also helps when you’re seen as an authority in the WPC arena. “When you look at the history of the categories, there was never any point in time during the lifespan of WPC that it had a bad reputation,” Smith stated. “WPC was kind of overlooked at one point due to all the attention on SPC. So much of SPC was being mass-produced, especially in the 4mm to 6mm range, and it just engulfed the market.”
That presented an opportunity for Titan Surfaces to seize market share in WPC. “We knew we had to come in with a different story to tell,” Smith recalled. “Fast forward to where we are now, we continue to put our focus into WPC—offering different price points, visuals, widths and different wear layers. Our customers know us for WPC, and they trust us for that, so we continue to broaden our WPC offerings.”
As a case in point, Smith cited Titan Surfaces’ Genesis line, which officially launched about two years ago. “It’s a dense, 10mm-thick hybrid product featuring a pressed-bevel,” he said.
No ‘one-trick’ pony
While WPC remains Titan Surfaces’ core product focus, it’s certainly not limited to one segment or product sub-category. The company offers two SPC lines as well as a 12mm-thick laminate product called Legacy Grove. For Titan Surfaces, it’s all about meeting customers where they are with the products they need.
“The trust level we achieved with WPC has actually allowed our SPC to really flourish and grow,” Smith explained. “At the same time, laminate is a product that we want to push. We feel like it’s a category that is needed. But our primary focus is still WPC and providing quality product that the dealer can [confidently] sell.”
