In the battle to seize market share in the ultra-competitive U.S. resilient flooring segment, some suppliers look to gain an advantage by concentrating on a specific niche. This might entail leveraging their reputation as a reputable manufacturer or having a deep product offering that includes all the major resilient sub-segments.
Then there are those firms focused on quick-ship programs, just-in-time manufacturing or abundant stateside inventories. And let’s not forget about the suppliers that strive to play up their strengths on the customer service side of the equation, leveraging years of experience and relationship building with partners across the supply chain.
Responsive Industries effectively excels in all those areas.
A full integrated operation
An established manufacturer of LVP, SPC, WPC and LVT flooring with fully integrated operations across India, Vietnam and Thailand, Responsive Industries has reliably provided product for the better part of 40 years, exporting to 70-plus countries around the globe, including the U.S. It’s an important point of distinction in a category occupied by scores of new entrants.
“We are a true LVP manufacturer—not a newcomer,” said Rishabh Agarwal, chairman and president of the company’s U.S. operations, Responsive Industries, based in Simpsonville, S.C. “When you buy from Responsive Industries, you are buying from the people who actually make the floor.”
Indeed, Responsive Industries boasts a wealth of manufacturing experience. The company is regarded as India’s No. 1 manufacturer of LVP and SPC flooring and is publicly listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Its Southeast Asia manufacturing operations are equally impressive, according to Agarwal. Its Vietnam and Thailand facilities significantly expand its scale and competitiveness, particularly in WPC and LVT loose lay products. And, like India, its Southeast Asian production plants are fully backward integrated—meaning same quality controls and high standards across every site.
“We sit in a very specific and valuable position,” Agarwal stated, citing the company’s market cap exceeding $250 million. “We have the manufacturing depth and product breadth to compete with anyone in this industry— but we operate with the relationship model of a family business that genuinely needs to earn your trust and keep it.”
More importantly, Responsive Industries has held true to its identity over the past four decades in the face of mounting competitive pressures from both within and outside the resilient flooring segment. As Doug Van Nest, Responsive Industries’ COO explained: “LVT is a category where you have a lot of options out there for the consumer—and along with that there are a lot of manufacturers out there, whether that’s domestic, Asia or elsewhere. What I can tell you is we are a true vinyl manufacturer on the cutting edge.”
Whether Responsive Industries’ products come out of its manufacturing operations in India, Vietnam or Thailand, one thing remains constant: the company controls virtually every aspect of the production process. That not only ensures better quality controls, but it also means streamlined production for its wholesale distribution partners. “We are backward integrated across every facility we operate,” Agarwal explained. “We control the compound, the print film, the core and the wear layer everywhere we manufacture—not just at headquarters.”
Having the film printing capability and manufacturing under the same roof, Agarwal noted, offers customers additional benefits—first and foremost is access to designs that can’t easily be replicated or shopped around. “When we print to order, it is truly print to order,” he explained. “We’re able to maintain exclusivity when it comes to designs and patterns. That’s not something you typically get with the larger suppliers.”
Along with that backward integration, Agarwal noted, is the ability to be completely transparent with their distributor partners—something he said is lacking when it comes to dealing with some of the massive resilient suppliers out there. “We are happy to walk our customers through our factories,” Agarwal stated, citing periodic plant tours Responsive conducts with its distributor partners. “We are proud to show them what we do, how we do it and what the impact on the product is. We control all the controllables. Many distributors have not seen this level of backward integration in your typical vinyl flooring plants.”
Eye on innovation
For Responsive, having direct control of all facets of the various manufacturing processes is extremely useful when it comes to new product innovations or custom specifications for its clients. Take its WPC production capabilities in Southeast Asia, for example. The company has the ability to produce WPC flooring products across the board in a variety of formats, in whatever spec, gauge or thickness the client demands.
“As we speak today, we can easily run over 1,000 containers a month to the U.S. marketplace without breaking a sweat,” Agarwal noted. “So, we do have scale and volume—although we don’t produce volume for the sake of volume. We are not out in the marketplace just looking for somebody to sign a purchase order. We are actually working actively to secure good relationships where the volume we produce helps drive growth for everybody. That’s the mindset.”
Responsive Industries also employs innovations in other facets of its manufacturing operations. Across its SPC offerings, the company has partnered with virtually all the leading locking system technology license holders to ensure a stable click installation on its SPC lineup—most of which have a minimum thickness of 4mm. And when it comes to bevel technology, the company prefers a more natural “pressed” visual as opposed to a painted bevel applied during the manufacturing phase. “We feel the pressed bevels are more realistic than the painted bevel and a lot closer to real wood,” Agarwal explained.
This innovation-based mindset is reflected across the company’s operations. At its Simpsonville headquarters, for example, employees emphasize technical possibilities vs. being solely sales driven. As Agarwal explained: “If we need to have conversations right here about what’s in the product, what are the limits on where you can install it, what conditions are OK or what are the limits in terms of dimensional stability, residual, indentation, etc., we’re able to have those discussions right here in South Carolina. As opposed to some importers who might say, ‘Let me talk to the plant and come back to you.’ We are the factory, and that is the key point of distinction.”
Responsive Industries further differentiates itself even from some of the large, major domestic resilient suppliers. “The big U.S. brands are great companies, but they are massive, complex organizations with enormous channel commitments,” Agarwal said. “The bigger companies have layers—brand management, corporate approval cycles and national account structures. We can turn around a custom program, a private-label spec or an exclusive design in a fraction of the time because we own the entire manufacturing process and can make decisions quickly. Whether it’s a midsize regional distributor, a specialty retailer or a growing regional chain, we can move fast for them.”
Flooring distributors who have visited Responsive’s facilities firsthand can attest to both its capabilities as well as the company’s operational mindset. “Since we began doing business with Responsive Industries a few years ago, they have proven to be an outstanding business partner,” said Dave Artz, vice president of sales at Herregan Distributors, a top-20 flooring wholesaler. “We carry their branded Impact products in addition to their 5mm offerings in our private-label collections. Both lines have delivered impeccable quality, dependable supply and an overall package that offers a tremendous value to our customers. True to their name, they back things up with exceptional service that allows us to address the needs of our dealers.”
All about relationships
At Responsive Industries, success is not just about touting bells and whistles. Yes, manufacturing prowess is a big component of the company’s allure, but it doesn’t end there. Responsive Industries’ success is heavily dependent on developing and fortifying close relationships with distribution partners, the company’s primary customer base.
“Our model is built around the distributor—that relationship is the center of our business model, not a part of it,” Agarwal explained. “We handle last-mile logistics in-house, we overnight samples, we stock matching moldings—everything is set up to make the distributor’s job easier, not harder. Moreover, Responsive Industries USA is the single point of contact for all customer service, technical service and after-sales support—whether the product came out of India, Vietnam or Thailand. One team, one relationship, one accountable partner.”
This mindset is a testament to the fact that Responsive, which is owned and managed by the Agarwal family, maintains a vested interest in the success of its customers. Jeff Striegel, president of Elias Wilf, another top-20 wholesaler, can attest. “Elias Wilf and Responsive, both multigenerational, family-owned-and- operated businesses, share many attributes,” he noted. “It starts with the basics of simply how we run our companies, to how we view our customers and on to a true desire to bring products that have differentiation to the market. The most important component of our partnership is the synergy with which we view the marketplace, cohesively securing momentum in the dynamic, ever-changing LVT category.”
More importantly, according to Striegel, Responsive is a trusted partner that understands the U.S. landscape and supports their distributor partners seamlessly. “Responsive is delivering meaningful performance advantages that clearly separate them from the competition—in durability, design realism and long-term value,” he added. “At Elias Wilf, we stand firmly on the foundation of people, partnerships, product performance and world-class service. Responsive embodies all four of these essential ingredients in today’s competitive marketplace.”
For Responsive, that approach is fully intentional. “We are not channel-conflicted,” Agarwal stated. “We’re not going to go out and try to be a distributor of any kind or sell directly to retail. We understand the entire floor covering industry is organized around relationships. We value deep, meaningful relationships that can take multiple years to build. We strive to earn that trust, and we have the patience to earn their volume over time.”
