floorcoveringnewsvolume 31/number 19 I fcnews.net I the publication more retailers prefer I February 27/March 6, 2017 I $2.00

NEWSPAPER

Heading into 2016, manylaminate flooring manu-facturers, distributors

and retailers were dealing withthe fallout of the 2015 “60Minutes” LumberLiquidators report aboutexcessive levels of formalde-hyde in laminate flooringplanks imported fromChina. The end result wasthe palpable departure ofmany laminate flooringproducts imported fromAsia combined with asimultaneous and dramaticinflux of shipments fromEurope. While the dust has

largely settled from thatepisode, industry observerssay they are still feeling thetremors as it pertains to the risingdomestic production along withnewfound capacity from produc-

ers from Germany and elsewhere. “That dynamic continues to

spill over in 2017; however, it hassignificantly moderated,” saidDan Natkin, vice president, woodand laminate, Mannington. At

the same time, he sees U.S. capac-ity continuing to expand. “Manyare investing in newer technolo-

Continued on page 8

Laminate: State of the industry

Focus shifts fromAsian exodus to U.S. production

By Reginald Tucker

IN THIS ISSUE

WFCA announces 2017Gold Standard winnersPAGE 3

Warren Buffett addressesShaw Flooring dealersPAGE 21

Moldings, accessories made to matchPAGE 24

Cast your ballots nowCast your votes in FCNews’Award of Excellence competi-tion. Log on to fcnews.net andclick on the Award ofExcellence link or visit ourFacebook and Twitter pages.

Kronospan is continuing to build itsdomestic production capabilities.Shown is its factory in Shippendale,

Pa., one of several U.S. plants.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Alliance Flooring marks 20 years of growthwhat our core is,” RonDunn, co-founder and co-CEO of Alliance Flooring,told CarpetsPlus, Color Tileand Carpetland membersduring his keynote speech.“We are going to grow. Thisroom is going to get bigger,and we are going to grabmore market share.” While Ron Dunn and

Jon Logue, the co-foundersand co-CEOs, are the cur-rent leaders, the next gen-eration—Ryan Dunn andKevin Logue—has beenactively involved in running thebusiness for years and is poised tocarry the baton in the future.“Our members can rest

assured the future leadership isalready in place—no other buy-ing group can say that,” saidRyan Dunn, co-COO and vicepresident of sales. “We have

many second-generation busi-nesses in our group—probably35% of our members are secondgeneration. Kevin and I are sec-ond generation so we havegrown up together with many ofour members.”Raising the bar was a major

theme at the conference. To illus-

ATLANTA—This year’s AllianceFlooring conference coincidedwith a significant milestone: 20years in the business. But theevent also provided a glimpseinto what’s shaping up to be apromising future for the nearly400-member group. “We know who our team is,

By Ken Ryan

Continued on page 20

trate the point, an actual polevault apparatus was set up onstage. Interestingly, Jon Loguewas a pole vaulter in high schooland he took the stage to make amock attempt at clearing the bar.Touching on that theme, RonDunn asked members, “We have

Ron Dunn, co-founder and co-CEO, holds a pole vault in his hands to demonstrate the point that Alliance Flooring is going to ‘raise the bar.’

Scan this QR code with yoursmartphone to link to our featured site.

By Ken Ryan

The emergence of the overarching WPC segment that somecall rigid core or multilayer or waterproof flooring, coupledwith the still-hot LVT segment, has changed the face of the

resilient flooring category and ushered in a flood of entrants.The leading players, as well as some newcomers, are seizing

the opportunity with products that promote dimensional stabil-ity and ease of installation—all while being marketed as being100% waterproof.

FCNews takes a look at some of the latest offerings in theresilient floating floor category. Coverage starts on page 10.

WPC EVOLUTION,STRENGTH OF LVTDRIVE SEGMENT

Resilient Floating Floor Guide

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 3news

( IN THE NEWS)MSI updates, expandsshowroom, warehouseHAYWARD, CALIF.—M S International (MSI) hasupdated and doubled the size its Bay Areashowroom anddistribution cen-ter. The expanded facility boasts a 5,600-square-foot showroom and almost 160,000square feet of total warehousing space.

The redesigned showroom includes newseating areas and worktables, and is designedto host seminars and various industry events.The facility also includes a spacious confer-ence room that provides a comfortable spacefor designers, fabricators and staff to meetwith customers.

“We doubled the warehouse size, therebysignificantly increasing our overall stockingcapacity for all of our product lines includingflooring, countertops and hardscaping,” saidRaj Shah, president of MSI. “In addition, weinstalled four more cranes—bringing the totalnumber to eight—to improve operational func-tionality and fill orders more efficiently.”

DriTac appoints veteranregional sales managersCLIFTON, N.J.—DriTac Flooring Products recentlyannounced two new sales managers: BrettButler was named Southwest regional salesmanager and Jeff Feller was appointed Midwestregional sales manager. Both Butler and Fellercome to DriTac with over 20years of experience workingwith manufacturers, distribu-tors and contractors in the flooring industry.

Butler has worked for several wood floor-ing coatings manufacturers, and Feller hasserved in sales roles with various prominentdomestic and international flooring producers.They will be responsible for sales and service toall DriTac customers in their respective territo-ries.

“Brett and Jeff bring a wealth of experi-ence and industry knowledge to the DriTacteam,” said Chuck Hall, senior vice president ofsales. “They are a great fit for our valued cus-tomer base and will have tremendous successgrowing sales of our expanding line of flooringinstallation solutions.”

Innovations4Flooring hires new licensing directorWILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO—Innovations4Flooring(I4F) has named David Song licensing director.A Chinese national with vast global flooringindustry experience, Song spent close to eightyears managing Unilin’s licensing operations inAsia.

During his timewith Unilin, Songheld the position of chief representative forChina. He made strong contributions to Unilin’spresent IP position in the country and through-out Asia. Song comes from Ocean WorksInternational, where he served as vice presidentwith responsibility for strategy and acquisi-tions.

“We are delighted to welcome David to I4F,”said John Rietveldt, CEO. “His deep understand-ing of Asia and insights into China will beinvaluable as we ramp up our licensing activi-ties in this market.”

CALHOUN, GA.—Mike Zoellner, vice presi-dent of marketing services, MohawkIndustries, has announced his retirementending a successful 40-year career in theflooring industry.With dual degrees in applied math

and computer science, Zoellner startedworking as a software developer for CortFurniture Rental, then owned byMohawk Industries. In 1982, he transi-tioned to the flooring industry, servingvarious roles in operations at Mohawkranging from customer service, samples,production planning, supply chain man-agement, sales and, eventually, the leaderof information services. “Operations gaveme a solid foundation and vast under-standing of the business,” he recalled.Zoellner changed gears and began

working in the marketing division atMohawk Industries in 1996. The next 20years would be a period of growth in thecompany’s history that saw the acquisi-tion of venerable brands such as Horizon,Karastan, Bigelow, Galaxy and Aladdin, toname a few. As the newly appointeddirector of marketing for Mohawk,

Zoellner played a leading role in the inte-gration of these companies into Mohawk,including the Floorscapes launch in 1999.His unique ability to create a collabora-tive, team-centered work environmenttransformed MohawkMarketing.Today, as the vice president

of marketing services, Zoellnerleads associates in the strategyand implementation of the orga-nization’s award-winning train-ing, digital lead-generation andretailer support services. Histeam has consistently ranked inTrainingmagazine’s Top 125 andmost recently earned Google certifica-tion.“Not only is Mike Zoellner an all-

around inspirational person, but he hasmade significant contributions to theMohawk organization over the years aswell as the flooring industry in general,”said Karen Mendelsohn, senior vice pres-ident of marketing. “On behalf ofMohawk Industries, I’d like to thank Mikefor his years of dedicated service.”

Over the years, Zoellner also hasoffered his time and valued expertise tomultiple industry organizations. He hassat on the boards of the Carpet & RugInstitute (CRI), World Floor CoveringAssociation (WFCA) and FloorcoveringConsumer Credit Association (FCCA).Despite his retirement, Zoellner still

plans to contribute to the indus-ry. “The most rewarding aspectof my career has been mentor-ing others and watching themaccomplish more than theythought they could,” heexplained. “I can see myselfcoaching others in this nextchapter of my life.”Zoellner will also continue

playing the sports he loves. Anavid runner and cyclist, he has completedmore than 200 races and logged thou-sands of miles. He and three friends set aworld record when they biked fromCalifornia to Georgia in six days. Zoellnerhas qualified for six U.S. triathlon teamsand participated on four. In 1996, he hadthe honor of carrying the Olympic torchat the start of the Atlanta games. And in1999, 2000 and 2005 he participated inthe Ironman World Championships.

DALTON—THE WorldFloor CoveringAssociation (WFCA)recently announced the2017 Gold StandardAward winners. The pro-gram recognizes memberstores that have createdan outstanding con-sumer retail experience. For 2016 WFCA

expanded the format ofthe Gold StandardAwards program to givemore retailers of varyingsizes greater opportuni-ties to shine. The win-ners are now brokendown into two cate-gories: over $10 millionand under $10 million.Sergenian’s Floor Covering based inMadison, Wis., took home top honors inover $10 million category. According toScott Humphrey, CEO of the WFCA,Sergenian’s was an instant standout for

the first-place prize in the over $10-mil-lion group because of its commitment tosecond-to-none customer service and thecompany’s aggressive efforts on the envi-ronmental stewardship front. The retail-

Mohawk’s Zoellner calls it a career after 40-year run

er has been committedto, and involved with,sustainable efforts andorganizations withinMadison for more than80 years. In fact, in 2007the company started thefirst and only compre-hensive carpet reclama-tion program in the stateof Wisconsin. Throughthis initiative Sergenian’sguarantees that no car-pet removed will end upin a landfill. To date,Sergenian’s has recycledover 12 million poundsof carpet.Classique Floors &

Tile, based in Portland,Ore., prevailed in the

under $10-million category. ClassiqueFloors & Tile has continually demon-strated company growth as well as a totalcommitment to customer satisfaction.

WFCA selects 2017 Gold Standard Award winners

Continued on page 18

Sergenian’s Floor Covering started the first and only comprehensive carpet reclamation program in the state of Wisconsin.

Mike Zoellner

PHOENIX—For the seventh year in a row, ShawIndustries received the Supplier Partner of the YearAward from Carpet One Floor & Home. According tothe retail buying group, Shaw has been very support-ive in supplying exclusive product lines such asTigressá Soft Style, Cherish and H2O. In addition tothe supplier’s collaborative efforts on some ofCarpet One Floor & Home’s best-selling productlines, Shaw excels in its execution of these programs.The award was presented during Carpet One’s winterconvention. Here, Randy Merritt, president, acceptsthe award on behalf of Shaw.

( SNAPSHOT)Carpet One names ShawSupplier Partner of the Year

4 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

event, and the members appreciate it. Ryan Dunn and Kevin Logue, sons of

the respective founders Ron and Jon, wantto inject more fun than some of the speak-ers you’re accustomed to seeing at retailbuying group shows. Ryan and Kevin areyoung and energetic. Much of their pres-entation style is off the cuff rather thanteleprompter perfect. Yet somehow, themessage comes across just as professional.And if a presentation goes 15 minuteslonger than scheduled, or if memberslinger on a break 10 minutes longer thanit should, or Ryan Dunn wants to speakfrom the heart for 5 minutes more, sowhat? No one seems to mind. The average member is smaller than

the typical Carpet One, Flooring Americaor Abbey member. Ron Dunn told me theaverage member does about $1.8 million.Certainly not chump change by any stan-dard. But what sets this group apart is afamily feel on the part of members unlikeanything I have seen before. Group lead-ership is family, and that feel tricklesdown to the smallest member. With that family feel comes network-

ing opportunities. When it came toinstances where members sought helpfrom fellow members, more owners wereable to cite the specific person and relatedissue where they sought and receivedguidance.

The other unique aspect is autonomy.No product or program is mandatory.Members get to pick and participate in asmuch as they want or as little. Its show-room concept, dubbed Destination, is asimpressive as any private-label display outthere. This year, Ryan Dunn announcedthe number of members who signed upfor Destination more than doubled thetotal heading into convention.And like any other group there were

breakouts on web, social media, market-ing, etc., which members said make themmore professional than they ever wouldhave been on their own. And then you have Ron Dunn’s Drive

Across America, where for the last sixyears he and his wife, Sandy, pack up theRV and visit 18-35 members two or threetimes a year. At last count only 54 havenot yet had the pleasure of a visit, some-thing Ron hopes to rectify this year. It’sthat closeness between leadership andmember that stands out.It’s hard to believe this group was born

in a 10 x 10 booth in the basement ofSurfaces 1997. They’ve certainly come along way.

I t had been a number of years since Ilast attended an AllianceFlooring/CarpetsPlus Color

Tile/Carpetland convention. No slight tothe group. It was always just a matter oftiming. After Carpet One and FlooringAmerica and Shaw Flooring Network andSurfaces and Abbey, by the time lateFebruary rolled around, I was spent. Plus,I try to save my weekends for…me.But this year was different. Alliance

was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Wehad published the special supplement forthe group that rides along with the issueyou are holding. It was in Atlanta, whichis not too far from some of the industry’smajor manufacturers. And last but notleast, the group asked me to speak.Consider it the perfect storm.On top of that, after having dinner

with and getting to know Ron and RyanDunn better than I had, I knew therewould be an element of fun. And I wascurious how the members of this group aswell as the event itself would compare tothe Carpet Ones and Abbeys and FlooringAmericas of the world.As the final curtain fell on day three of

the show, to say I came away both sur-prised and impressed would be an under-statement. It’s a different feel, a differentflavor than the other retail group events.It’s by far and away the least regimented

A holy ‘Alliance’

my take

Steven Feldman

floorcoveringnews

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Getting social with fcnews

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 5distributor news

NAFCD announces 2017board membersCHICAGO—The North AmericanAssociation of Floor CoveringDistributors (NAFCD) hasannounced the organization’sboard of directors for 2017.They are as follows: Heidi

Cronin, The Cronin Co.,Portland, Ore., president; DavidPowell, Erickson’s Flooring &Supply, Ferndale, Mich., presi-dent-elect; Steve McKenna,McKenna Distribution, Regina,Saskatchewan, Canada, vice pres-ident; Geoff Work, The R.A.Siegel Co., Mableton, Ga., treas-urer; and Torrey Jaeckle, JaeckleDistributors, Madison, Wis.,immediate past-president.Distributor directors are:

Steve Rosenthal, All Tile, ElkGrove Village, Ill.; Dunn Rasbury,A&M Supply, Pinellas Park, Fla.;Scott Roy, Gilford·JohnsonFlooring, Jeffersonville, Ind.; andDavid Schmelzer, LanhamHardwood, Louisville, Ky.Supplier directors are: Dave

Darche, Bona U.S., Aurora, Colo.;Sean Swanson, KährsInternational, Altamonte, Fla.;Rich Willett, United StatesGypsum, Chicago; Zack Zehner,Mannington, Salem, N.J.; RussRogg, Metroflor, Norwalk, Conn.;and Tom Downey, Halex, Havrede Grace, Md.

Galleher adds manufacturing capacity SANTA FE SPRINGS, CALIF.—Galleher has acquired the pro-duction assets of the CopperPlank Mill in Phoenix. The acqui-sition will accelerate Galleher’sgrowth plans and entry into newmarkets with its expanded cus-tom manufacturing capacity.Galleher has invested heavily

in product development, designand custom manufacturing, andnow offers a comprehensive suiteof wood flooring products forcommercial and residentialapplications. With this acquisi-tion, Galleher will have five fullyoperational prefinished woodlines, an integrated custom engi-neered flooring plant and theability to produce custom solidflooring, reclaimed flooring,moldings and stair parts.Galleher now operates 23 facili-ties in the western U.S.“We believe the addition of

this significant manufacturingoperation will allow Galleher togreatly expand our sales effortsaround the country and betterserve our customers by allowingus to improve the lead times andquality of what our custom hard-wood flooring program is doingtoday,” said Jeff Hamar, president.

L A N C A S T E R ,—A rm s t r o n gFlooring honored its top distrib-utor partners with the inauguralThomas Armstrong Awards.The program recognizes distrib-utors that exemplify integrity,resilience and dedication to cus-tomers. The recipients, who were

honored at a special awards eventat the International SurfacesEvent in Las Vegas, are as follows:•Wood Distributor of the

Year: Haines. •Residential Resilient: Ohio

Valley Flooring. •Residential Distributor of

the Year: Shnier. •Commercial Distributor of

the Year: FlorStar.•LVT Distributor of the Year:

FlorStar.•Distributor of the Year:

Belknap White Group.“Armstrong Flooring is

proud to recognize these part-ners and anticipates many yearsof success together,” said JoeBondi, senior vice president.“The winners are reminders thatsuccessful and sustaininggrowth is only possible througha shared commitment and sus-tained action.”

Armstrong recognizes wholesaler partners for 2016

Armstrong Floors CEO Don Maier, second from right, and Dominic Rice, senior vice president, right, present the

Commercial Distributor of the Year Award to FlorStar chairmanWade Cassidy, left, and Scott Rozmus, president and CEO.

( IN THE NEWS)

6 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

( CALENDAR)

Sharpeningyour sellingskills

educating the industry (RETAILERS REACT)

?

““““

“We will not be hiring in 2017 unlesswe have some unforeseen circum-stances. We have a seasoned and

tenured sales staff, and we made twonew hires last year in our outside

sales division so we are well coveredfor what we hope will be a big year.

“

We will most likely be looking to expand our staff on the management end to help facilitate growth. This potential move will allow our current management team to narrow their focus

and increase productivity in their respective departments.

—Brad MillnerFlooring America Yuma

Yuma, Ariz.

—Dan MandelSterling Carpets & Flooring

Anaheim, Calif.

—Billy Mahone III, Atlas Carpet OneSan Antonio

“ “

“ “

I hired an operations manager in January to help with all theinstallation logistics and warehouse. It’s a position I have want-

ed to create for years. After having a strong year last year Idecided this was the year to add help.

No, we will not be hiring this year because we made three newhires in Q4 of 2016. We finally started our own crews for installa-tion and started a fabrication department as well. We also addeda salesperson to replace someone who retired. We are ready for

2017 at this point; let’s hope it will be a good decision.

—Sam Presnell, The Rug GalleryCincinnati

—Josh Elder, Gainesville Carpets Plus Color TileGainesville, Fla.

As business improves, some flooring retailersare looking to hire RSAs in 2017.

Will you be hiring in 2017?If so, what

positions areyou looking

to fill

Benchmarkinc is currentlyrecruiting for two open sales

positions at our Big Bob’sFlooring Outlet location. Weare also looking for qualifiedinstallation technicians for

all types of flooring.

( REMEMBER WHEN...)

March 8-9Gilford-JohnsonSpring meeting, Belterra CasinoResort & Spa, Florence, Ind.Contact: 812.288.7900; marketing@gilfordjohnson.com;gilfordjohnson.com

March 14-15CFI Flooring InstallationTraining & Certification (Hardwood, Laminate andResidential Carpet)Hosted by EJ Welch, Elk GroveVillage, Ill.Contact: 816.231.4646;cfiinstallers.com

March 14-16NWFA Intermediate Installation+ NWFACP Installation TestingHosted by Galleher HardwoodSan Jose, Calif.Contact: Tricia Swindoll,800.422.4556; member.nwfa.org

March 28-30NWFA Intermediate Installation+ NWFACP Installation TestingNWFA Training Center,Chesterfield, Mo.Contact: Tricia Swindoll,800.422.4556member.nwfa.org

April 4-6NWFA Basic InstallationChattahoochee Technical CollegeMarietta, Ga.Contact: Tricia Swindoll,800.422.4556member.nwfa.org

April 4-7Coverings, Annual conferenceOrlando Convention Center,Orlando, Fla. Contact: 800.424.5249coverings.com.register

April 11-14NWFA Expo – 2017Phoenix Convention Center,PhoenixContact: 800.422.4556;nwfaexpo.org

The year was 1997. Back thenCarpetsPlus was known as CarpetsPlusof America. The retail buying groupwould later shorten its name and becomepart of the Alliance Flooring group. Thatfirst year membership grew rapidly—roughly five per week—with 128 membersin the fold by October. Jon Logue and RonDunn, co-founders/co-CEOs, celebratedthe group’s 20th anniversary last monthin Atlanta.

You can learn a lot about theart of negotiating by watch-ing the TV show “Shark

Tank.” If you’ve never watchedthe program, here’s a brief synop-sis: Fledgling entrepreneurs pitchtheir business ideas to a panel ofself-made millionaires or “sharks”on a reality TV show. The entre-preneurs negotiate with thesharks to obtain money inexchange for a piece of their newcompany. In addition to workingcapital, the business owner hasaccess to the sharks’ valuable con-nections andinsight.Hard-hitting

and serious, thesharks go in for thekill, asking numer-ous questions aboutthe entrepreneur’s business.Questions range from estimatedsales projections to net profit andstart-up capital. Conflicts oftenensue when the sharks ask point-ed questions business ownerscan’t answer. (Why aren’t theybetter prepared?) Far too manyentrepreneurs cave in, forgettingwhy they are on the show whilebeing grilled. Most owners havean unrealistic value of their busi-ness, expect more cash than thebusiness is really worth and don’tknow their actual sales numbers. The common denominator

and part of the show’s appeal isboth entrepreneurs and sharkswant to make a deal. Eachepisode focuses on key questionssuch as: Who do you think isbelievable and why? How arepower and influence expressed?What behaviors indicate strengthand a true understanding of nego-tiation?Each episode has an impor-

tant lesson. Floor covering RSAsand business owners stand to gaininsight from those probing ques-tions and others, including: Whatis missing in the entrepreneur’spitch? Do the entrepreneursunderstand basic terms such asnet profit vs. gross profit? Do theyknow if they’ve actually made anymoney? Furthermore, what does body

language, a powerful indicator,

tell you about the presenters? Canthey stand still during their pres-entation or are they fidgeting? Dothey maintain eye contact?During a sales presentation it’simportant to hold the attention ofthe buyer. What is inhibiting asuccessful outcome for the entre-preneur? How does it relate toyour personal presentations?Other questions: How impor-

tant is likeability in the negotia-tion? Do likeable entrepreneursget more offers? Is likeabilitymore important than expertise?

Does it get you a bet-ter shot at closing thedeal? Is the seller being

greedy? The selleroften walks awayafter he decides he’s

giving too much away. Is it betterto hold on to 100% of somethinggoing nowhere, or 80% of some-thing with an influx of neededworking capital and a good possi-bility of getting to the market-place? Or perhaps it is better totake the deal and get to marketbefore someone knocks off yourproduct and you’re left withnothing. Is the seller hard to work

with? In the end, many of thedeals are ditched by the sharksbecause the owner is difficult,and it’s clear they won’t takedirection from the investor. Theinvestors have solid track records,but if the entrepreneur isn’t will-ing to listen then what’s thepoint? Who wants to invest sub-stantial sums of cash with some-one who won’t listen? The expert-ise of the sharks is a least as valu-able as the investment.The show demonstrates why

it’s so important to remain coolduring the negotiation process.It’s easy to get rattled when facedwith sharks.For those contestants who

don’t win the sale, there are stillvaluable takeaways. For example,where did the negotiation gowrong? Was it the right deal forboth parties? More importantly,what do you think could havebeen improved to achieve thedesired outcome?

AL’S COLUMN

BY LISBETH CALANDRINO

Lisbeth Calandrino has been promoting retail strategiesfor the last 20 years. To have her speak at your businessor to schedule a consultation, contact her at lcalandrino@nycaprr.com.

This comes on the heels of its2015 purchase of Shippenville,Pa.-based Clarion Boards andClarion Laminates, which pro-duces medium-density fiber-board (MDF) and high-densityfiberboard (HDF) panels as wellas laminate flooring at the samesite. This acquisition supple-ments the production coming outof a separate facility in Eastaboga,Ala., a site where Kronospanmanufactures MDF and HDF formanufacturers of laminate floor-ing, furniture, store fixtures,moldings, doors and other archi-tectural applications. “Capacity, technology and

vertical integration is aiding U.S.manufacturers who are investingby lowering costs and producinga more desirable product for theconsumer,” said Mike Babula,chief marketing and sales officer.“We see more focus on higher-end, thicker products that yieldbetter margins for the retailerand manufacturer.” Other industry watchers

believe the Chinese retreat con-tinues to create opportunities forU.S. and European producers.Case in point is Swiss Krono,which has a significant presencein both markets. According toTravis Bass, executive vice presi-

dent of sales and marketing,Europe-based suppliers have alsoenjoyed the benefit of the erod-ing exchange rate. On the plusside, he believes consumer inter-est in higher-end laminate floor-ing seems to be growing. “Themarket is becoming more com-petitive with growing capacityand relatively flat demand—though we do see a positive shiftin product mix.” Not everyone, however,

believes the full impact of all thisadditional capacity is being felt atpresent. Some industry expertsfeel the biggest ripples are yet tocome. “It really hasn’t had animpact yet because most of thatnew capacity has not yet comeonline,” said Roger Farabee, sen-ior vice president, laminate andhardwood at Mohawk, whichcounts the Quick-Step brandamong its assets. “We’re certainlyseeing companies putting morecapacity in the U.S., going afterall the big box customers in par-ticular. This will continue as thatcapacity comes online.”In some cases, this new

capacity simply displaces prod-uct that had previously beenmade in Europe by those samecompanies that are now produc-ing domestically, Farabee stated.This phenomenon, he believes,will put pressure on the remain-ing producers both in the U.S.and in Europe to be able to com-pete not only on price but also interms of product performanceand visuals. “It will be interestingto watch because there’s a lot ofnew capacity coming online in acategory that’s not really grow-ing. However, we do expect someprice pressure.”

Onslaught of LVT, WPCCompeting laminate manufac-turers, as it turns out, are not theonly threats suppliers are facingthese days. The well-document-ed success of waterproof corefloors, LVT and the like is alsoforcing laminate suppliers toadjust their strategies or—at thevery least—pay more attention.“There is no doubt these hot cat-egories have stolen growth from

the laminate category and oth-ers,” Welbourn said. “However,laminate is in a much better costposition than these plastic-basedcategories and is able to deliversome of the best value in theflooring business. This fact,along with continued innovationin the laminate category, haskept it competitive.”As consumer preferences

shift toward more hard surfacesbeing incorporated into thehome, resilient flooring has seenan uptick in market share. Thechallenge for laminate flooring,executives say, will be its abilityto improve upon water-resistanttechnology. “Today’s consumerdemands functionality withoutsacrificing style or comfort, andwater-resistant flooring is a topconcern of many active house-holds,” said Carr Newton, vicepresident, hardwood and lami-nates, Shaw Floors. “Our latestlaminate collection, Repel, hasbeen specially designed to takelaminate to the next level inwater-resistance technology andis the hottest revelation to hit thelaminate industry in a decade.”Laminate suppliers agree the

water-resistance story has boost-ed the category’s value proposi-tion, as evidenced by the variousperformance demonstrationsconducted at Surfaces 2017.Although this story is not new(the innovations that originallycreated the laminate sector wasimproved performance inregards to moisture and generaleveryday use), suppliers sayenhancing these features certain-ly has created greater value forlaminate flooring. “Additionalfocus on design continues inlaminate with further enhancedtextures and high-definitionprinting continuing to create thebest designs the laminate catego-ry has ever been able to offer,”Welbourn added. Laminate, like other flooring

products, has indeed ceded someshare to WPC, which targets oneof laminate’s key selling points—its rigid structure, but withoutthe susceptibility to moisturefrom laminate’s fiberboard core.

But from the consumer’s per-spective, according to MorganHafer, product manager,Armstrong, laminate is a greatproduct that’s relatively inexpen-sive and offers great styling,design and amazing perform-ance. “Our premium laminatebusiness is strong, driven by ourcutting-edge designs, realisticlooks and great performing prod-ucts. Buyers love our laminatesbecause they are able to get pre-mium hardwood visuals—notnecessarily available as an optionin natural woods either due tocost or impracticality—and theycan make a personal design state-ment in their homes.”

Managing channel conflict In terms of the category’s inter-nal battles, laminate flooringmanufacturers must still con-tend with the issue of feedingcompeting supply chains—namely the specialty retailer sec-tor vs. big boxes. While suppliershave certainly become moreadept at appeasing these diverg-ing market sectors, it’s still achallenge impacting theirrespective product developmentand go-to-market strategies. “We’ve always tried to create

differentiated products in termsof style and performance so thoseproducts can compete with oneanother in the marketplace,”Farabee explained. “So far thatstrategy has worked pretty well.We’ve not only been able to dothat with respect to the quality ofthe product itself but also withrespect to our brands that havemeaning to the consumer andthe trade. It is a challenge, butthat’s why we have so many prod-ucts in the pipeline. We want tomake sure the key features areavailable in all the brands weoffer, although we might utilizethem in different ways.” Armstrong is taking a similar

approach. “We are committed tocontinued innovations in per-formance and design to not onlycompete but also give specialtyretailers more products that can’tbe shopped at the big boxes,”Hafer said.

gies to deliver even higher levelsof performance and visual differ-entiation. Some domestic manu-facturers have expanded produc-tion capacity as well.”Other industry observers are

gauging the impact of the rise indomestic laminate productionand investment over the pastyear and into 2017. “The trend ofthis pullback was readily evidentlast year, but the day-to-day oper-ating in this new climate contin-ues,” said Derek Welbourn, CEOof Inhaus. “There was anincrease in European and domes-tic supply with less interest andvolume from the market forChinese-made goods. This trendis continuing and has becomefirmly entrenched with greatercompetition among the produc-ing sectors that displaced theChinese production volume.”One company that is invest-

ing heavily in stateside produc-tion of laminate flooring and itscomponents is Kronospan USA.The company recently completedthe construction of a laminatefacility in Oxford, Ala., in a moveto add more capacity to feed dis-tributor and retailer demands.

laminate8 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

Continued from page 1State of the industry

Far left,Shaw Floor’snewest collection,Repel, features advanced water-resistanttechnology to better compete against rivalhard surface products.

Manufacturers see benefits in developingdistinct products and collections for specif-ic end-use channels. Roger Farabee, seniorvice president, laminate and wood atMohawk, shows off Quick-Step’s Veriluxe, aspecialty retail product.

10 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnewsresilient floating floor guide

Alterna Engineered Stone;Pryzm

Product/collection

Manufacturer A r m s t r o n g

Pure; Parkway

B e a u f l o r

Triversa; Triversa ID (Innovative Design Series)

C o n g o l e u m

Parkhill EIR; Sherbrooke

Quiet Comfort underlaymentFloating floor type Click Cork back and Congoleum’sSmartLock clic [Unilin] system

2G FD Click WPC

E a r t h W e r k s

Contact the company Retail price range Contact the company Parkhill, $2.99; Sherbrooke, $2.65

Alterna can now be installed asa floating floor with the QuietComfort (S-1841 and S-1840)underlayment from ArmstrongFlooring. Quiet Comfort under-layment further reduces sub-floor prep, reduces footfall noiseand provides a built-in moisturebarrier.

Pryzm offers premium pro-tection from dents, water,scratches and stains. The prod-uct features a commercialgrade VisionGuard AC4 wearlayer on top and cork underlay-ment. Pryzm can be installedover irregular subfloors with noacclimation time needed formost installations.

About the product Pure is Beauflor’s 5mm multi-layer LVT that comes with a 16and 22 mil wear layer. The prod-uct features the company’spatented 360 locking systemallowing mechanics to installthe product in patterns, bordersor quarter-turn the materialfrom one room to the otherwithout the need for transitions.

Parkway is a 3.4mm, 12-milrigid floating click product. Theunique makeup of the productbrings added durability and per-formance to the floating clickcategory.

Triversa is a phthalate-freewaterproof flooring that bringsthe natural looks of hardwood,stone and tile to any room. Itstriple-layer constructionincludes a 20 mil wear layer withurethane for durability, a high-density rigid core for stabilityand a natural cork base for ver-satility and sound absorption.

Triversa ID features larger-scale formats like an 18 x 36Carrara marble slab, enhancededge treatments and mixed-width planks to amplify theunique character of each board.

EarthWerks’ Parkhill Premiumwaterproof core collection isnow available in six additionalSKUs featuring embossed inregister planks as well as sixnew 12 x 24 tiles. This completecollection is suitable for anydécor—residential or commer-cial—and features Tuff Shieldfor superior performance.

Sherbrooke is adding sixnew stylish colors in this 7 x 48WPC collection; there are now12 unique styles offering 2Gfold-down installation and TuffShield technology.

Triversa, $2.79; Triversa ID, $3.49

Marmoleum Click Cinch Loc

F o r b o

Floating linoleum with 5G locking system

Marmoleum Click Cinch Loclinoleum laminate flooring fea-tures natural linoleum onwater-resistant HDF with a corkbacking for a warm, comfort-able, quiet flooring solution.Marmoleum Click Cinch Loc ismade primarily from renewableresources, including linseed oil,pine rosin and wood flour.These natural ingredientsimbue the product with natu-rally occurring antistatic andantimicrobial properties thatrepel dust and dirt, making iteasy to clean and reducingexposure to allergens, whileinhibiting the breeding of harm-ful organisms.

$4.49-$5.99

Creating beautiful, custom floors is easy and funwith Marmoleum Click Cinch Loc. This naturallyhealthy, water-resistant flooring is made prima-rily from renewableresources, includinglinseed oil, wood flourand pine rosins. Thesenatural ingredientsprovide MarmoleumClick Cinch Loc withinherent anti-staticproperties to repel dustand dirt, making it easyto clean, reducingexposure to allergensand contributing tobetter indoor air quali-ty. The flooring clickstogether for an easy,glue-free installation.These features makeMarmoleum ClickCinch Loc an ideal floorcovering for peoplewith asthma and aller-gies. Marmoleum ClickCinch Loc also featuresantimicrobial proper-ties that halt the breed-ing of harmful micro-organisms, includingMRSA and C. difficile.

Not only does Marmoleum Click Cinch Loc

help create a healthy environment, it also cre-ates a beautiful indoor environment. Available ina palette of 28 versatile colors, including seven

organic wood-look pan-els, Marmoleum ClickCinch Loc makes it easyto create inviting spacesthat are unique to theconsumer’s home andlifestyle. MarmoleumClick Cinch Loc providesbeauty, durability,warmth and comfortunderfoot, and is idealfor kitchens, livingrooms, hallways, bed-rooms and offices.

Marmoleum ClickCinch Loc features natu-ral linoleum on water-repellent HDF with acork layer backing for anecologically andacoustically sound solu-tion. The panels andsquares easily click intoplace using the Valinge5G locking system for asecure, glue-free instal-lation. The panels areapproximately 12 x 36

and can be used alone or in combination with the12 x 12 squares.

Water-resistant flooring that repels dust, dirt

Forbo’s Marmoleum Click Cinch Loc features antimicrobial properties that haltthe breeding of harmful micro-organisms.

Germany is a place synonymous withprecision engineering and innovation —and Sono floors are the perfect exampleof both. Created bythe Classen Group,the Germany-basedpioneer and worldleader in laminate,Sono floors representa true breakthroughin waterproof floor-ing.

With its innova-tive ceramic-basedcore, Sono offers awhole new range ofbenefits in flooring:superior stability,commercial-gradedurability, acousticsthat make the floorquieter underfoot.These are just a few ina long list. Add to itSono’s stunning HDd i r ec t - t o - su r f aceprinting and theadvantages of thisfloor become evenclearer to see.

With the positioning of “Better tothe Core,” Sono promises both a betterfloor and one that is better for thehomeowner. Built on the belief thatnothing is more important than the

health of your family—and the oneplace you should feel safest is athome—Sono floors are 100% free of

PVC, formaldehyde, phthalates andplasticizers.

Not only do Sono floors look amaz-ing, they’re also completely safe for thewhole family.

Floors that are truly ‘Better to the Core’

Sono uses proprietary, high-definition printingtechnology to achieve realism.

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 11resilient floating floor guide

Mohawk’s new SolidTech represents a new generation of luxuryvinyl tile that allows consumers to enjoy elegant style, durabilityand cleanability in one easy-to-install product.

“For elevated style that can handle everyday life inside yourhome, Mohawk SolidTech sets the new standard for greatness inluxury vinyl flooring,” said Tammy Brogan, director of hard sur-face brand. “In fact, it’s a completely new, revolutionary class offlooring. SolidTech combines the strength and rich visual of realhardwood with the gorgeous style, durability and cleanability ofluxury vinyl tile or laminate. It’s a totally unique product.”

SolidTech’s fashion-forward color selections and sophisticat-ed textures allow homeowners to create bold, innovative floorsand unforgettable rooms. Wider planks and low-frequency pat-tern repetition give SolidTech a natural hard surface visual.

SolidTech is engineered to perform in any room, fromkitchens to living rooms to mudrooms. One of the most impres-

sive aspects of SolidTech’s superior engineering is the ability to beeasily installed at all angles for flawless results. Uniclic MultiFittechnology allows for true DIY ease of installation with quick, pro-fessional results.

Uniclic’s advanced locking system creates an impenetrablelock between planks that makes SolidTech floors waterproof,odor-free and easy to clean—ideal for active homes with kids andpets.

With a thick, rigid construction, SolidTech planks look andfeel just like real hardwood. They are 50% denser than averagecomposite core flooring so SolidTech planks will not telegraphvisual imperfections of the underlying surface. SolidTech planksalso resist scratches, scuffs and indentation and maintain dimen-sional stability under heat and extreme temperature change.

SolidTech is backed by Mohawk’s All Pet Protection andWarranty, which covers all pets and all accidents.

SolidTech sets standard for greatness in luxury vinyl

Raskin Industries offers award-win-ning designs and ease of installationwith its highly successful lineup ofloose lay flooring, including the origi-nal Elevations, Interwoven, Loft and itsmade-in-the-U.S. FloorNation Glorycollection.

All of Raskin’s Elevations productsinclude a seven-layer construction fea-turing its proprietary fiberglass sheetlayer. Elevations planks and tiles arewaterproof and cover most subfloor

irregularities. In addition, G88 ceram-ic-infused coating protects allElevations products for easy mainte-nance. Elevations can also be easilyinstalled as a perimeter loose lay orglue down.

Elevations’ Loose Lay collectionincludes 18 selections in 7 x 47 wooddesigns, 13 12 x 24 tile designs and anew stone/wood visual called Tusk,which is notable for its embossing.

Elevations Interwoven is a phtha-late-free, woven loose lay tile that isfray proof. The woven top layer is fusedtogether with high heat and pressureon a thick LVT substrate providing avery strong bond.

Loft is now available in a 12 milwear layer with a seven-layer con-struction, 18 colorations in 7 x 47, 9 x 59and 12 x 24 formats, and is domestical-ly made. FloorNation Glory, mean-while, is available in five colorations,4mm thickness, 20 mil wear layer and9 x 59 size.

Proven technologyoffers easy, fast installation

SolidTech combines the strength and rich visual of real hardwood with the style, durability and cleanability of

LVT or laminate. Pictured is Revella.

All of Raskin’s Elevations productsinclude a seven-layer construction.

Pictured is Elevations Prima.

12 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnewsresilient floating floor guide

Sono Product/collection

Manufacturer I n h a u s

Moduleo LVT; Flexitec sheet vinyl

I V C

Korlok; LooseLay Longboard

K a r n d e a n

Charleston; Williamsburg

Push2Loc angle-drop lockingsystemFloating floor type Moduleo Click; Flexitec loose lay Korlok, Clic; LooseLay

Longboard, loose layUnilin locking system

M a r q u i s

Under $5 Retail price range Moduleo, $2.59-$3.09; Flexitec, $1.11–$2.66

Charleston and Williamsburg,$2.99

Created and manufactured inGermany, Sono is based onCeramin, a ceramic-like com-posite. Inhaus’ parent company,Classen, was looking to developa product that was waterproof,highly stable and specificallydesigned to be a floating floor.Sono has achieved GreenguardGold Indoor Air QualityCertification as its core is madewithout harsh, toxic chemicalsand contains no PVC, formalde-hyde, phthalates or plasticizers.Planks can be scored andsnapped for a dust-free installa-tion. Sono is available in 26 col-ors, including three tile formats.

About the product Moduleo LVT and Flexitec sheetvinyl are made in the USA, 100%waterproof and resistant tostains, scuffs, scratches, moldand mildew. The products fea-ture IVC’s signature fiberglasscore that provides maximumdimensional stability and elimi-nates buckling and curling.Moduleo LVT, suitable for resi-dential or commercial installa-tions, features chic designs andrealistic embossing textures.Flexitec is the style leader inboth residential and MainStreet; its cushioned PVC back-ing adds warmth and comfortunderfoot.

Korlok, a new rigid core lockingfloor, is available in 12 premiumwood designs and features theproprietary K-Core technologythat provides water resistance,superior dimensional stabilityand passes the ASTM test forindentation resistance. Korlokuses Karndean’s K-Guard+ sur-face protection for a durable,easy-to-clean wear surface.

The 12 wood designs inLooseLay Longboard are the lat-est additions to this collection.LooseLay Longboard’s innova-tive friction-grip K-Wave backingand 59-inch length make thisKarndean’s fastest and easiestproduct to install.

Charleston is a new “superdense” solid PVC core, one ofthe densest click floating floorswith a density rating of 1,600.This product is finished with a12-mil ceramic bead wear layer.

Williamsburg is a newWPC floating floor constructedwith a 4mm core and 2mm LVPtop with a 20mil ceramic beadwear layer. This product has acore density of 950, which pre-vents against indentation andcomes in four distinct barn-wood colors.

Korlok and LooseLayLongboard, $4.59-$5.29

Engage/Genesis; Aspecta Ten

M e t r o f l o r

Click

Engage Genesis—the next evolu-tion of Metroflor’s best-sellingEngage line—was developedwith Isocore, a patent-pendingtechnology. Isocore is an extrud-ed, closed-cell PVC structuralgray core that delivers rigidityand strength to the productwhile making larger formats eas-ier to install through DropLock100 locking technologies.

Aspecta Ten comprises 24planks and 10 tiles designed fora wide spectrum of contractspecifications with a 28milwear layer. The rigid core com-posite provides waterproof,sound insulating and antimicro-bial qualities.

Engage/Genesis, $2.89-$5.49;Aspecta Ten, $5.75-$6.25

Karndean Designflooring offers pre-mium products to cover any subfloorscenario across glue-down, loose layand rigid core formats. These totalflooring solutions allow for theinstallation of a Karndean qualitydesign in a variety of environments.

Glue down rangesKarndean has defined design formore than 43 years, sourcing inspira-tion from natural woods and stonesto produce original designs. Its sixglue-down ranges offer the widestselection of designs, colors andembosses across a wide spectrum oftechnical specifications. IncorporateKarndean’s design components—strips, borders or special cuts—tocreate a unique floor design in anysetting.

Floating floorsKarndean’s floating floors—Karndean LooseLay,LooseLay Longboard and Korlok—offer premiumalternatives in environments where a glue-downfloor is not suitable. Each of these floors reducesnoise transfer to rooms below and are suitablefor environments with an RH up to 95%.

Karndean LooseLay and Longboard areanchored in place by Karndean’s friction-grip K-Wave backing, requiring only the use of a perime-ter adhesive in most cases. What’s unique toLooseLay is the product’s ability to be picked up,

transported and installed in a completely differ-ent setting, making this product ideal for rentersor pop-up shops.

KorlokKorlok is the revolutionary new rigid core lockingfloor complete with a 5G drop lock. With an IICrating of 62, Korlok is Karndean’s most acousti-cally friendly product and passes the ASTM testfor indentation resistance.

Total flooring solutions for any subfloor scenario

Karndean’s Korlok, a new rigid core floor featuring a 5G drop, is the company’s most acoustically friendly product. Pictured is Warm Ash.

During the “Golden Age” of luxury vinyltile, the LVT Specialists at Metroflorhave heightened their focus on develop-ing new technologies that offerend users innovative, multi-faceted solutions for residentialand commercial environmentsalike. In the modular multilayerarena, two bold products havemade their debut following fouryears of rigorous R&D: EngageGenesis and Aspecta TenCommercial.

The foundation for theseproducts—Isocore Technology—establishes a new standard forrigid core quality. The highlyengineered, closed-cell extrud-ed PVC excels when comparedto other multilayer solutions. Itsunique composition allows it tobe strong and rigid—yet light-weight, 100% waterproof, unaf-fected by water, spills and mois-ture. Manufactured from 100% virginresins without any wood, plasticizers,phthalates or formaldehyde, AspectaTen and Engage Genesis Isocore areFloorScore certified for indoor air qual-ity standards.

Always on the lookout for advancesin technology that improve the overallexperience with its floors, Metroflor hasembraced the new DropLock 100 lock-ing technology in Engage Genesis and

Aspecta Ten. Beyond outstanding tech-nology and performance, Metroflor’sportfolio continues to forge a bold and

beautiful design narrative where formmeets function in flooring.

Metroflor’s LVT Specialists con-stantly strive to evolve and explore thepossibilities. Find out more about theexpertise and passion of the staff in anew series of videos representing theirdiverse functions—from design, ship-ping and customer service to sales,technical proficiency and sustainability.youtube.com/watch?v=uG2j9cDABCk

The ‘LVT Specialists’ target rigid core market

Metroflor’s Aspecta Ten is a floatingfloor that provides waterproof, soundinsulating and antimicrobial qualitiesdue to the Ultra-Fresh treatment.

14 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnewsresilient floating floor guide

SolidTech Revella; SolidTech Vershire

Product/collection

Manufacturer M o h a w k

NovaCore/NovaCore XL;Abberly By NovaFloor

N o v a l i s

Quick-Step luxury vinyl flooring

Q u i c k - S t e p

Acrylx; Elevations

ClicFloating floor type NovaClic Fd locking system Uniclic MultiFit locking system Acrylx, Click; Elevations, Loose lay

R a s k i n

$4-$5 Retail price range NovaCore, $1.99-$2.29; Abberly,$2.24-$3.29

Contact the company

Mohawk’s new SolidTech ush-ers in a new generation of luxu-ry vinyl plank that allows con-sumers to have elegant style,durability and cleanability inone easy-to-install product. TheRevella collection brings roomsto life with a touch of classfound in eight alluring color-ways including Brownstone,Sandstone and Burnt Ember.

The Vershire collectionshowcases the widest plankdesign for enhanced elegance,along with inspired color selec-tions and tremendous designpotential.

About the product NovaCore is a rigid LVT madewith a waterproof, high-densityvinyl, high-performance core(HPC). It carries limited lifetimeresidential and 10-year light com-mercial warranties and comes in6 x 48 and 9 x 60 (XL) plank sizes.

Abberly is designed for bothresidential and Main Streetapplications such as retail, hos-pitality, cafes and shops, and isavailable in 18 x 36 tiles and 9 x48 planks. It features limitedlifetime residential and 10-yearheavy commercial warranties.

Quick-Step’s luxury vinyl floor-ing is a fashion-driven productline offering rich, sophisticatedpremium looks and textures intandem with dimensional sta-bility, resistance to wear andtear, ease of installation andlow maintenance—in a water-proof floor. These luxury vinylfloors are also resistant to heatand sunlight.

Acrylx, a solid surface water-proof flooring, is available inthree collections: Premier Home,Premier XL and Premier G-CoreXL. Made of pure materials andminerals that tightly bond withpolymers to create a solid corefor greater impact resistance,Acrylx will not telegraph or buck-le under direct sunlight.

Elevations features a non-skid, gravity-grip, loose laywaterproof technology and asound absorption layer toachieve high IIC ratings.Elevations features a 5mmgauge in varying formats.

$3.99 to $4.49

Floorté Alto HD; Floorté Alto Mix

S h a w

Fold-n-Tap

Floorté enhanced vinyl plankbridges the gap between clean-ability and beauty. Featuringthe latest technology inresilient flooring, Alto HD isoffered in four high-definitionvisuals. The embossed-in-regis-ter treatment provides superiorrealism and unique beauty.

Floorté Alto Mix, an exten-sion of the popular Floorté Altocollection, addresses the cur-rent consumer trend of longerand wider planks. Available insix new styles, Alto Mix boastsmultiple lengths and widths,and now features an antimicro-bial attached pad for a healthydose of noise reduction.

Alto HD, Alto Mix: $4.49-$5.49

Novalis Innovative Flooring brings itslegendary styling to the WPC categorywith NovaCore, its high-performancecore (HPC) product. NovaCore delivers arigid waterproof flooring option withsuperior realistic wood looks and is pro-tected with the Nova Floor CeramGlazdurable urethane coating system.NovaCore installs easily and securelywith the NovaClic Fd locking systemand is protected by limited lifetime and10-year light commercial warranties.NovaCore comes in 16 SKUs and in twosizes: 6 x 48 and extra-large 9 x 60planks. Novalis’ acoustical underlay-ment is also available for an even qui-eter installation, along with matchingtrims for that finishing touch.

With Abberly, Novalis matches con-crete looks and wood-style plankaccents to classic ornamental patternscreating an exciting contemporarystatement in LVT. Abberly is designedand engineered for the demands ofMain Street restaurants and retail set-tings with easy maintenance and last-ing good looks. It is available as a float-ing floor with the NovaClic Fd 5G lock-ing system and comes with limited life-time residential and 10-year heavy com-mercial warranties.

Abberly tiles are 18 x 36 and planksare 9 x 48 with a micro beveled edgedesign. Nova Floors CeramGlaz durable urethanecoating and matching trims are also available.

Learn more about Abberly and the completeMain Street LVT line by visiting NovaFloor.us.

Styling comes to WPCPioneering, yet again. In 2017USFloors will be expanding itscollection with more waterproofdecors than ever before.

USFloors is proud toannounce the introduction ofCOREtec Plus XL Enhanced,offered in 18 beautifully detailedhardwood decors with anembossed grain pattern, anattached cork underlayment anda four-sided enhanced bevel edgefor the look, feel and detail ofreal hardwood floors. Thepatented COREtec technologyallows easy handling and instal-lation making COREtec Plus XLEnhanced a great alternative toglue down LVT, locking LVT orlaminate flooring. The rigid coreplatform made from recycledwood and bamboo dust, lime-stone, and virgin PVC provides a100% waterproof floor that canbe installed in wet areas and willnever swell when exposed to moisture orexcessive amounts of water. COREtec PlusXL Enhanced is bigger, better, bolder—Enhanced.

The USFloors COREtec Plus Enhancedcollection features a variety of planks andtile decors with a four-sided enhanced bevel.This bevel simulates the look of genuinewood and tile, making this collection thenext revolution in luxury vinyl flooring. Allproducts are created with the patented

USFloors COREtec technology, whichensures easy installation and a 100% water-proof floor. With both modern and rusticvisuals, these decors guarantee timelesselegance that lasts a lifetime.

All COREtec Plus products areGreenguard Gold Certified. With the comfortof cork, the luxury of vinyl and the look ofreal wood, this is the flooring to enhance theconsumer’s home.

Taking it to the next level—again

USFloors’ COREtec Plus is a great alternative toglue-down LVT, locking LVT or laminate flooring.

Abberly is designed and engineered forthe demands of Main Street restaurants andretail settings with easy maintenance and

lasting good looks.

chase with 10% down; SBA willfinance 40% at a great fixed ratefor 20 years and the 50% bal-ance is financed by a local bankwith conventional terms whichincludes a five-year balloon anda 20-year amortization.Once you have secured the

financing, the next step is tofind the best location. There aretypically two types of locationsthat have been shown to per-form well repeatedly. The firstis a store in close proximity to atown that has a major interstateor highway. It is vital to havevisibility to store signage fromthat highway. What a greatway to ensure brand aware-ness. (For instance, ourAuburn location is visible to220,000 cars per day.) Stand-alone buildings are best, andarea required depends onyour business model. Forexample, a sample-only midto upper satellite store will

need around 3,000 square feet,while a satellite stocking storewill need around 8,000 and amain store (stocking or ware-house and retail showroom)will require 8,000 to 12,000depending on your volume orvolume potential.If you are in an area without

a major highway, look at thecenter of town. Major retailcenters are a great draw. Askyour realtor for demographicdata to make sure you are pick-ing an area that has significantretail traffic. Studies show mostretail floor covering stores get80% of the business from a 12-mile radius. (In rural areas it’s18 miles and in urban areas it’sabout five miles.) You want tobe close to people who owntheir own homes with incomesof $75,000 or more—again,adjust up or down based onyour part of the country. In my next column, I will

discuss rental options as analternative to buying outright.

guest column

VINNIEVIRGA

Vinnie Virga is managing partner and president of Big Bob’s Flooring Outletand Floors & More buying group. His experience includes managementof various CCA Global Partner retail groups, including Flooring America.

Upgrading your store’s location

(First of two parts)

Ihave visited hundreds offlooring retailers, and theimpression I keep leaving

with is location is the differencebetween a thriving store andone that is flailing. Where youare situated is just as much afactor as inventory, payroll andother line items on your finan-cial statement. With the eco-nomic outlook brighter than ithas been for years, there is nobetter time than the present toupgrade your location or toeven add new locations.First, look at your current

situation. If you don’t own orhave an opportunity to buy yourreal estate (option to purchase,first right of refusal), you aremissing out. You can keep liningyour landlord’s pockets all dayor you can begin to put yourhard-earned profits to work foryou. The rents landlords chargerepresent a multiple of the cost

of acquiring the building andkeeping it in good condition.His goal is after 15 or 20 years toown the building outright withthe tenant having paid not onlyall the cost associated with buy-ing the building, but also at leasta 6% return on the actual cashthey had to invest initially.Which begs the question: Whydon’t you do it instead?Owning their own real

estate is what sets apart themost successful flooring retail-ers from the rest and is the pri-mary source of their wealth. Itpays to invest some time talkingwith multiple bankers and youraccountant. For example, checkout the SBA programs. Big Bob’sFlooring Outlet is preapprovedby the SBA nationally and quali-fies for special financing pro-grams to acquire real estate.There are great programs theSBA offers, such as the 504 pro-gram. If you have been in busi-ness for at least two years, the504 program allows you to pur-

ASK YOUR REALTOR FORDEMOGRAPHIC DATA TO MAKE

SURE YOU ARE PICKING AN

AREA THAT HAS SIGNIFICANT

RETAIL TRAFFIC.

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 15resilient floating floor guide

COREtec Plus XL Enhanced;COREtec Plus Enhanced

U S F l o o r s

Nouveax En Vogue vinyl plank

W e l l m a d e

Wicanders Hydrocork

Floating Angle-Tap Installation Uniclic locking system Floating and clic

W i c a n d e r s

XL Enhanced, $5.49; Plus Enhanced, $4.49

$4.99

XL Enhanced offers 18 detailedhardwood decors with anembossed grain pattern, anattached cork underlayment anda four-sided enhanced beveledge for the look, feel and detailof real hardwood. The patentedCOREtec technology allows easyhandling and installation mak-ing Plus XL Enhanced a greatalternative to glue-down LVT,locking LVT or laminate flooring.The Plus Enhanced collectionfeatures planks and tile decorswith a four-sided enhancedbevel. This bevel simulates thelook of genuine wood and tile.

Wellmade’s co-extrusion processseamlessly molds vinyl wearlayer, high-density plastic dom-posite (HDPC) core and vinylbacking into singular planks. Itsrigid core construction floatseasily over most existing hardsurface floors. The product iswaterproof and dimensionallystable in the most demandingenvironments. Nouveax EnVogue offers exceptional visualsthat rival the look and texture ofnatural hardwood.

Hydrocork offers a low thicknessfloating solution with all thebenefits of floors with Corktech,a technology that helps createthe innovative core board madeof composite cork. The product iswater resistant and dimension-ally stable while maintaining theresilient properties andunmatched comfort brought bycork. Hydrocork is available in 10wood looks, suitable for homeand commercial environments,and features a 0.55mm wearlayer.

$2.99-$4.99

16 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

increase of nearly 600%. Butwhat’s more important than thesheer number was the qualityof the audience. Reports show30% were designers or contrac-

tors with another 30%comprising homeimprovement enthusi-asts; 10% were realestate professionals. “We connected

with more people inthis post than we’ve

ever had before,” said DonnaDwyre, president, Cove CarpetOne Floor & Home. “The resultswere not only fantastic, but they

I f you look at the top 100brands in the world, 90% ofthem have an Instagram

account. More impor-tantly, customer inter-actions with thebrands that are onInstagram are 10times higher thanFacebook, 54 timesgreater than Pinterestand 84 times higherthan Twitter. Statisticsprove Instagram is by far thebest platform for staying con-nected with your customers. Using at least one hashtag

(or keyword) increases the like-lihood of these connections,making them an important fea-ture to use on this platform.Users can tag their images withkeywords to describe thingsabout the photo to make themsearchable. These keywords canbe a variety of things such asthe name of the park where thephoto was taken or the type ofanimal being shown. But how would this help a

retailer? Dealers can use these

keywords to find cus-tomers who are lookingto make renovations. It’sa great tool to help youidentify users who havevisited a nearby furni-

ture or big boxstore. The beau-ty of the hashtagis it also worksin reverse. Userscan search hash-tags, and if youuse them prop-erly they willfind you. Once

you identify and startusing the correct set of key-words, your customer will easi-ly find your Instagram page andsee the images you’re sharing. However, utilizing social

media isn’t just aboutsharing photos. It’s aplatform that allows youto talk and interact withpotential customers tohelp you build a rela-tionship with them.Remember, hashtagswill only increase these interac-tions. For example, StantonCarpet recently helped one ofits retailer partners develop an

effective set of keywords. At thestart, Cove Carpet One Floor &Home, based in Summit, N.J.,was receiving about 10 “likes”each time it posted a photo on

Instagram. Stanton was able toboost this number to 68 afterusing the hashtags in only asingle post. That represents an

were instant. It helped usstart conversations withcustomers who had notbeen in the store formonths.”Which leads me to my

last point: The best partabout using social mediamarketing is you can seethe results immediately,and all the interactions aredocumented. These inter-actions, also known asengagement, are goldennugget leads that yoursales associates can use tofollow up and get new and

returning customers back intothe store. And the best part is itcan all be done for free.

Ayme Sinclair is the marketingdirector at Stanton Carpet. Herinnovative social media programsin the home industry have provid-ed explosive growth and revenue-generating leads prompting casestudies from companies likeArchitectural Digest and GeneralElectric. For more information onhow to use social media to growyour business, join the StantonRetailer Facebook group:facebook.com/groups/stantonretailers.

Using Instagram to find new customers By Ayme Sinclair, Stanton Carpet

social media

THE BEST PART ABOUT USING SOCIAL MEDIA

MARKETING IS YOU CAN SEE THE RESULTS

IMMEDIATELY, AND ALL THE INTERACTIONS

ARE DOCUMENTED.

Statistics prove Instagram is the most effective platform to use to stay connected with your customers.

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 17resilient floating floor guide

NORWALK, CONN.—Metroflor isresuming its namesake “Meetthe LVT Specialists” campaignfor 2017—a follow up to its pro-motional initiative launched lastyear. The program has evolved toinclude a series of videos accom-panied by digital ads spotlight-ing the expertise and passion ofits staff, with members dis-cussing their roles as LVT spe-cialists. A total of 10 videos rep-resenting diverse functions willunfold throughout 2017.

“These new videos explainexactly why and how we are theLVT Specialists,” said GaryKeeble, Metroflor’s director ofmarketing. “Each person fea-tured brings something uniqueto the table, which adds valueand credibility to our position asthe category’s product authority.We expect this 360-degree viewof our company and talentedprofessionals will build evenmore confidence and trustamong consumers, retailers anddistributors alike.”The series’ first episode will

feature Harlan Stone, owner andCFO of Metroflor, describinghow the company’s focus oninnovation drives the companyto constantly pursue the nextinnovation in LVT. The videos will be spotlight-

ed across the company’s socialmedia platforms, website, theMetroflor LVT YouTube channeland on Metroflor’s blog, TheVibe.

Thanks to the increased success and tremendous retail accept-ance of Floorté, Shaw Floors has added Alto HD and Alto Mix to itspopular Floorté collection. Alto HD is available in four high-defini-tion visuals. The embossed in register treatment provides superiorrealism and unique beauty. With hand-scraped detailing and rusticshading, each collection was designed to blend effortlessly withvarying design aesthetics.

Shaw is also introducing six new styles in the popular Alto Mixline, which boasts multiple lengths and widths in each carton forextreme realism for the consumer and easy installation for theretailer. Featuring the latest technology in resilient flooring,Floorté now comes with an antimicrobial attached pad offeringproviding enhanced noise reduction in the following styles:Classico Plus, Premio Plus and Alto Mix Plus. Easy-to-install,strong and durable, these new introductions offer versatility and

leading performance characteristics, including Floorté’s innova-tive waterproof feature.

Shaw’s Floorté collection is a 100% waterproof enhanced vinylplank (EVP) boasting an extremely durable construction coupledwith a stunning wood-like visual. Floorté is also flexible in nature,meaning the product will not adhere to subfloor imperfectionssaving the retailer and consumer alike both time and money withless subfloor prep requirements. The collection’s Fold-N-Tap lock-ing system is precision-engineered with the most advanced tech-nology possible—making it one of the easiest to use, strongest andmost durable products on the market today.

Floorté is supported at retail through Shaw’s ResilientSolutions Center display system, including a dedicated Alto com-ponent that allows consumers to easily see the product’s impres-sive size and visual quality.

Alto Mix as the latest addition to Shaw’s popular Floortécollection. The new line comes in multiple lengths and

widths and is designed for easy installation.

Harlan Stone, owner and CFO,Metroflor, taping video for

a YouTube series.

Metroflor ramps up marketing campaign

Floorté leads the way in technology, design and variety

18 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

marketing mastery

(Second of two parts)

In my previous column(FCNews, Feb. 13/20) I dis-cussed why online reviews are

so critical to a retailer’s success. Ialso listed several highly effec-tive, proven strategies for creat-ing a fantastic experience foryour clients. In this column Ishare some best practices forrequesting reviews.Let’s assume you’re providing

phenomenal service for yourclients. They love you. Theythink the sun rises and sets withyou. They send you tons of refer-rals. Positive online reviewsshould happen automatically,right? Not so fast. Consider thesestatistics: 90% of U.S. consumersread reviews, but only 6% writethem. In that same vein, badreviews tend to be overrepresent-ed. According to AmericanExpress, unhappy customers tellan average of 24 people abouttheir experience, while happycustomers tell only 15. The badnews is if you don’t have a systemin place to request reviews fromevery happy client, you probablywon’t get many reviews; thus,bad reviews will be overrepre-

sented. The good news: Sinceonly 6% of consumers typicallywrite reviews, there’s a hugeuntapped market for positivefeedback if you can inspire someof the other 94% to tell othersabout a good experience they hadwith you. The first step is to determine

which review sites you’re going tofocus on. Here are a few of themajor sites to consider: GoogleMy Business, Yelp, Yellow Pages,Facebook and Angie’s List. Houzzcan also be effective, especially ifyou have a dedicated interiordesigner on staff. Note: Some ofthese sites might approach you todo paid advertising. This strategytends to attract price shoppers, soit’s important you have a systemin place to quickly filter out bot-tom feeders and identify idealclients before you sign an adver-tising contract. If you don’t you’lllikely have to endure a lot of tirekickers who will waste your time,

pump you for information, thenbuy from a cheaper competitor.Your market area may also havesome local review sites that arerelevant to your business. If youhaven’t claimed your account onthese sites, now is the time to doit. Make sure your businessname, address, phone and anyother pertinent information areconsistent across all the sites oryour visibility will suffer. Next, determine the site on

which you want to begin accu-mulating reviews. Ideally this willbe the site where your prospec-tive clients are most active. Ifyou’re not sure, I suggest youbegin with Google My Business.Start by asking happy clients toreview your business. Send theman email explaining how muchyou would really appreciate their

help, by taking a quickminute to post a reviewfor your business. Ask ifthere is anything stoppingthem from giving you a 4-or 5-star review and toplease notify you to makeit right. Include a link to

the review site where you wantto begin accumulating reviews.After you build up some reviewsyou can rotate to other sites. Generating a steady stream

of reviews is much better forsearch visibility than getting abunch all at once. According toBright Local 73% of consumersbelieve a review older than threemonths is no longer relevant. Forthese reasons it’s important yourequest reviews on a weeklybasis. Lastly, do all you can to get

the most mileage out of yourgood reviews. For starters, besure to post all 4- and 5-starreviews on your website,Facebook page or other socialmedia channel. If you have ques-tions about reviews, or need helpsetting up a system to automatethis process, please feel free tocontact me at support@FlooringSuccessSystems.com andI’d be happy to chat with you.

GENERATING A STEADY STREAM

OF REVIEWS IS MUCH BETTER FOR

SEARCH VISIBILITY THAN GETTING

A BUNCH ALL AT ONCE.

JIM AUGUSTUSARMSTRONG

Jim Augustus Armstrong specializes in providing turnkey marketing strategies for flooring dealers. For a complimentary copy of Jim’s book, “HowFloor Dealers Can Beat the Boxes and Escape the Cheap-Price Rat Race ofDoom Forever,” visit beattheboxestoday.com.

Inspiring 5-star reviews In addition, Classique offers ahighly organized and easy-to-navigate showroom floor thathelps streamline the buyingprocess for customers. Thecompany is also committed toensuring each customer whowalks through its doors receivestop-notch service from thesame salesperson throughoutthe entire selection and instal-lation process. The retailer hasalso identified innovative waysto facilitate the design andselection process by integratingaccess to digital content fromvarious online sources throughscreens mounted in the show-room. Sergenian’s Floor Covering

receives a choice of one of thefollowing: two-day, on-site cus-tom CFI carpet seaming class;two-day on-site custom salestraining; or one-year onlineWFCA University tuition.Classique Floors & Tile receivesthe same options but only a sin-gle day of classes.The retailer accolades don’t

end there. The Gold StandardAwards program also recognizessecond- and third-place recipi-ents. In the over $10 millioncategory, Coles Fine Flooring,

San Diego, took home secondplace while Carpetland USA(The Langan Group)Davenport, Iowa, came in third. In the under $10 million

category, Independent CarpetOne, Westland, Mich., tookhome second-place honors,while Brian’s Flooring & Design,Birmingham, Ala., earned thirdplace. Second-place winners inboth categories receive six-months online WFCAUniversity tuition while thethird-place winners in both cat-egories are entitled to threemonths’ tuition to WFCA

University online. To receive the Gold

Standard Award in either cate-gory, companies are reviewedand judged based on knowl-edge, customer service, qualityof store image and code of con-duct. A company also must be amember of the WFCA, havebeen in business for at leastthree years and have a clearBetter Business Bureau report.Companies interested in

entering or nominating anentrant for the 2018 GoldStandard Awards can visit wfca-pro.org for more details.

Continued from page 3Gold Standard

Classique Floors & Tile was cited for its creativity in showroom presentation and exemplary customer service.

the best part: Alliance dealers arenot forced to take any displays ifthey don’t want to.Prior to convention, 28

members had signed up for theDestination program. AllianceFlooring executives hoped to pullin another 20 or so. By the con-vention’s second day it hadalready signed 37 members,bringing to 65 the total numberof Destination dealers.“We knocked it out of the

park,” said Kevin Logue, co-COOand vice president of marketing.“We don’t tell members what todo; it’s their choice. However, intoday’s market you have to keepimproving your showroom.Flooring is about fashion and

design, and the Destination con-cept offers the tools to help ourretailers evolve their businessesand achieve those goals.”Josh Elder, co-owner of

Gainesville CarpetsPlus ColorTile, sits on the buying commit-tee that helped develop the pro-gram. For him, the best part ofthe Destination program is the56-pin carpet displays becausethey free up so much room.“Every inch of my showroom hasa cost associated with it, and Iwant the biggest bang for mybuck.” Eric Langan, president/

owner of Carpetland USA (TheLangan Group), Davenport, Iowa,said his main takeaway is the

Alliance Flooring group still putsan emphasis on networking andcollaboration within the group.“The sense of family was men-tioned frequently here. While wehave freedom to make whateverdecisions we deem best for ourbusiness, it is important to knowwe can get more accomplishedmore quickly if we march togeth-er as a group instead of individualstore owners.”Mike Montgomery, vice presi-

dent of Montgomery’s CarpetsPlusColor Tile, Venice, Fla., said thebeauty of this convention ismembers are fully invested in thegroup. “Unlike some groups, theydon’t withhold our rebate checksunless we come to convention.Our members genuinely want tobe here.”Alliance Flooring, which wel-

comed 20 new members in 2016,converted two prospects at thisyear’s show. The expectation isfor at least double-digit member growthin 2017. Observers attrib-

ute Alliance Flooring’ssuccess to its laserfocus on members’success and the closerelationship manage-ment has with itsretail partners. “Theirleadership is amazing-ly approachable notonly to their mem-bers, but also to ven-dors and all who arecommitted to suc-cess,” said ScottHumphrey, WFCAchairman and CEO,who also delivered akeynote presentationduring the conference. “Ron andJon bring vast experience to thetable. They are not bound by tra-ditional ways of doing businessin the flooring industry. By farthe greatest trait that makesdoing business with CarpetsPlusa pleasure is the fact that theirleadership is truly committed tothe success of the members.They care at the personal andprofessional levels. That is rare inthe business world today.”

Suppliers’ support In addition to new retail mem-bers, Alliance Flooringannounced four more suppliersto the group: Beauflor (LVT, rigidcore), Bolyu Commercial (com-mercial carpet, LVT), Southwind(residential carpet, WPC anddryback LVT) and Tarkett (luxu-ry vinyl plank and tile, resilientsheet and laminate).Beauflor has received plau-

dits recently for its Pure Clickfeaturing a patented 360 lockingsystem that allows mechanics toinstall the product in patterns,boarders or quarter-turn thematerial from one room to theother without the need for tran-sitions. Kevin Logue seesBeauflor as the next USFloors oranother IVC. “In three yearsthey are going to be huge—oncethey get distribution up and run-ning.” Likewise, existing vendors

attested to their strong partner-ship with Alliance Flooring deal-ers. Sam Ruble, vice president ofsales for USFloors, called therelationship “refreshing.” It does-n’t hurt that USFloors doubled itsbusiness with the CarpetsPlusgroup in 2016 and is poised foran even bigger 2017. “I am a farmboy from Ohio, and to me thesepeople are so down to earth andgenuine, they really make mefeel like my neighbors.” Karndean, a longstanding

member with CarpetsPlus, wasnamed Hard Surface Supplier ofthe Year by the CarpetsPlusmembership at the show.

Throughout the past year, theprominent LVT supplier hasworked closely with CarpetsPlusto produce Design Destinations,a private-label merchandisingsystem that is part of theDestination program. “We lovethese guys,” said Tim Hanno, vicepresident of retail sales. “Wehave a great relationship withthis group. They more than meetus halfway. There is a level oftrust here.”

Tim Hanno, vice president of retail sales,Karndean, showcases the company’s

LooseLay Longboard display. Karndean was named CarpetsPlus’ Hard Surface Supplier of the Year.

three choices: We could walkaway, we could lower the bar orwe could raise the bar. With thisgroup we are going to continueto raise it.”One important component

in raising the bar on retail per-formance is through theDestination showroom concept.The Destination portfolioincludes up to 10 private-labeldisplays offering the best prod-ucts from the premier carpetmills and hard surface manufac-turers in easy-to-use, easy-to-sellformats emphasizing style,design and larger samples. Here’s

Ryan Dunn, left, and Kevin Logue, co-COOs of Alliance Flooring, represent the present and future of this growing organization.

Continued from page 1

CarpetsPlus

20 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

years ago.When we have a

problem at ourcompany, ourmotto is, ‘Get itright’ in terms of

the facts, then ‘get it out andget it over.’ Just don’t sit thereand suck your thumb. Whenyou’re the CEO you have to dosomething.

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 21

only didn’t work but encour-aged bad behavior. Look, peo-ple make mistakes. That’s notthe sin; the sin is not doing

something about it whenyou’ve learned you’ve made amistake. My understanding isthis system was incentivizingbad behavior as far back as five

Given the recovery in housing, lower rates of homeownership, millennials strug-gling with debt and studentloans—what’s your outlook?

Housing is going up, but it’scoming out of the biggestshock I’ve seen during my life-time. You have a $20 trillionasset class (homes), which youcan borrow on. That turnedinto a bubble, and it was a hugebubble. When something sofundamental shatters like that,

What worries you about the economy?I never really worry about theeconomy. The only real worry Ihave regarding America’s futureis the use of weapons of massdestruction, either chemical orbiological. Every day there is avery tiny probability that someindividual or some group or per-haps some nation will do some-thing extremely foolish. That’sthe only thing that could hurtAmerica.We’ve had hiccups in this

country, from 2008-09 wewent through something thatwas really a shock to theAmerican people, and that hastaken us some time to get over.But you can’t stop the UnitedStates. In 1790 we had lessthan 4 million people; 240years later we represent almost25% of the world’s GDP. We’vegot the secret sauce; DonaldTrump knows it, HillaryClinton knew it and BarackObama knew it.I never worried about the

economy because of either can-didate. The truth is I did [cam-paign] for Hillary. But whenTrump was elected, we probablynet invested over $10 billionsince then.

This question centers on oneof Berkshire Hathaway’slargest holdings: Wells Fargo.Certainly Wells Fargo histori-cally has had a reputation forbeing one of the best man-aged, best performing bigbanks. As most people knowby now, the company wasembroiled in a controversysurrounding sales incentivesand the creation of unautho-rized customer accounts.What is the lesson for busi-ness owners and businessmanagers?John Stumpf, [former] CEO ofWells Fargo, is a talented,decent man. But he designedan incentive system that not

Warren Buffett shares views at Shaw conferenceORLANDO, FLA.—Warren Buffett, CEO of BerkshireHathaway, which counts Shaw Industries among itsmany holdings, made a special guest appearance at theShaw Flooring Retail Network conference here recently(FCNews, Jan. 30/Feb. 6). Nicknamed the “Oracle ofOmaha,” the legendary investor renown for his keenbusiness insight yet folksy manner participated in aninformative question-and-answer session moderated byVance Bell, Shaw Industries CEO.Following are excerpts of that discussion:

Warren Buffett chatswith Vance Bell, Shaw

Industries CEO.

Continued on page 27

connection and build rapport. •Making an introduction. It

is important to be on a first-namebasis with the person who couldpotentially spend thousands ofdollars at your store. Thatexchange of names should takeplace sooner rather than later inthe sales process. •Offer your assistance. This

is where you briefly find outwhat brought the customer in tothe store. You can find out all thepertinent details when you offerthe customer a beverage and asnack during the qualificationprocess. For example, you mightask, “So, what project are you

working on?” I disagree with

the reader’s notionthat each sales associ-ate should sell theway that makes herfeel more comfort-able. The commonbelief that you shouldtreat others the way

you want to be treated might be agood golden rule in life, but it’snot appropriate when it comes tosales. What I propose is, “Treatothers the way they want to betreated if you want to be a suc-cessful sales associate.” For example, if the customer

is direct the associate needs toconduct himself accordingly.Conversely, if the customer iscautious the sales associate needsto become the expert and buildtrust. Customers who are sweetand sensitive want a sales associ-ate who shows they are genuinelyinterested in providing a solutionto their issue. Have your salesteam take a DISC test to reviewthe various personality styles inorder to better understand theconcept of relational selling.Practice these tips and you

will find the proper greeting willlead to better close rates, a higherlevel or return/referral businessand more money in your pocket.

dear david

DAVIDROMANO

David Romano is the founder of Romano Consulting Group andBenchmarkinc, a group that provides consulting, benchmarking, recruiting and software solutions to the flooring, home improvementand restoration industries.

The right way to greet customers Dear David: I held a sales meeting coveringthe proper ways to greet cus-tomers. During that meeting, wedid a lot of roleplaying. What Inoticed right off the bat was therewas no consistency and lots ofbias. I understand greetingsshould not be canned and salesassociates should sell the waythat makes them comfortable,but is there some standard I canteach them?

Dear Inquisitive Owner,I first would like to applaud youfor conducting a meeting usingroleplaying. So many times I hear,and even witness, meetingswhere videos from 1986 and pre-sentations from 1992 are shownto the sales team in the hopesthey will understand how to greetcustomers. Watching those videosor presentations will never havethe same effect as getting theminvolved in uncomfortable situa-tions where they work out a solu-

tion in front of the entire team. I do agree with your state-

ment that greeting should not becanned; customers see rightthrough that cold and impersonalinteraction. It’s like going out to arestaurant and watching the man-ager ask the same question, “Howis everything?,” to all the restau-rant guests in the same manner. Following are elements of a

greeting that should be followedreligiously: •A greeting with a hand-

shake. A handshake can tell you aton about someone. In one sim-ple, three-second act, you canfind out if the customer is domi-nant, impressionable, sweet orcautious. Knowing the customer’spersonality style and adaptingyour selling style accordingly iswhat separates a great RSA froman average one. Remember: 20%of what makes a salesperson suc-cessful is her skills and knowl-edge; 80% is her ability to make a

HAVE YOUR SALES TEAM TAKE A

DISC TEST TO REVIEW THE VARIOUS

PERSONALITY STYLES IN ORDER TO

BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT

OF RELATIONAL SELLING.

22 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

Havwoods enters U.S. marketBy Reginald Tucker

The engineered Venture Plank line features a UV-cured,hard wax oil finish for a low-matte yet durable look.

H avwoods International, aU.K.-based supplier ofhardwood flooring prod-

ucts with 40-plus years experi-ence in the business, is looking toexpand its global footprint byfocusing on the U.S. market. Thestrategy, according to AllanSingh, general manager, NorthAmerica, hinges on several com-ponents: establishing a ware-house facility to help fulfill dis-tributor and retailer orders; tai-loring products that cater to localtastes and preferences; targetingthe A&D community to boostspecifications; and developing amarketing/social media strategyto drive consumer awareness ofthe Havwoods brand. The first phase of that strate-

gy has been realized via therecent grand opening of an18,000-square-foot warehouseand distribution hub in Belcamp,Md. Shipments have alreadybeen dispatched to customers inCalifornia, Florida, Missouri,New York, Nevada and Utah. “Looking at our global strate-

gy, we saw an opportunity tolaunch the Havwoods brand intothe U.S. market,” Singh toldFCNews, citing the success thecompany achieved in otherregions around the world. “Wehave been selling products in theU.S. for a while now due to theprojects specified through archi-tects and designers in America.” The next component entails

the development of a productportfolio based on trendy styles,formats and colors U.S. con-sumers and end users crave. Tothat end, Havwoods has createdwhat it calls a Wood Book, a well-researched catalogue of prod-ucts tailored for a specific mar-ket. “Each country has its ownbook, with different productsbased on the market we are in,”Singh explained. “It gives archi-tects and designers—our primarycustomer base—a full depth and

breadth of products from whichto choose.” Havwoods’ offering for the

U.S. market is indeed broad. Aportfolio of 200 products rangefrom in-demand solid and engi-neered offerings as well as spe-cialty reclaimed wood floors.Designs include wide-plank,chevron and herringbone pat-terns, as well as unique paintedfloors. Signature lines include:The Italian collection, TrikBrik,Venture plank and Vertical (wallsurfaces); prices run the gamutfrom $3.55 all the way up theladder to $22.40 (reclaimed).According to Singh, the bulk ofthe products fall somewhere inthe $5-to-$8 range. While Havwoods does not

own manufacturing plants, itpartners with several reputablemanufacturers in Europe. That’snot viewed as a shortcoming inthe company’s eyes; many of itsclients can speak directly to the

product quality. The people atHavwoods International arealways happy to go out of theirway to assist us and make sure weget exactly what we’re after,” saidTayla Reynolds, principal withKW Interiors, based in Australia.“Their professionalism, efficien-cy and great range of timbers iswhat encourages us to specifyHavwoods whenever we can.” Will Ashworth, managing

director of the Watergate BayHotel, Cornwall, U.K., agreed. “Ihave worked with Havwoods onseveral projects over the last fewyears, and each time it hasexceeded my expectations.” By design, Havwoods puts a

lot of emphasis on the A&D mar-ket. Some of its marquee installa-tions can be found in high-profilevenues such as Marriott hotelproperties, Pret a Manger loca-tions and other well-knownrestaurants including Nando’sand Giraffe.

wood

24 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

Moldings, accessoriesmade to match latest

floor designs By Lindsay Baillie

I f you are not currently selling moldings and accessories, 2017might be the year to start. As flooring trends and categories con-tinue to evolve, moldings manufacturers are unleashing a slew of

trendy, matching products designed to provide greater add-onopportunities for retailers.

Following are new product offerings from some of the leadingmanufacturers.

Airwood Flooring Accessories Airwood’s Matchables were designed to address the challenge of accurately matchingmoldings and vents with the wealth of new flooring products hitting the market. Theseproducts are available in a variety of profiles including Euro profile nosing, traditionalbullnose nosing, reducer, t-caps and standard HVAC vents. New to this line are various pro-files reflecting popular trends such as heavily textured, wide plank hardwood flooring.

According to CarmiMooser, director of sales &marketing, Matchables ismade from the manufac-turers’ prefinished woodfloor to ensure a perfectmatch. This approach, sheexplained, provides seam-less installation and elimi-nates site reinstallation.Airwood partners withmost of the majorCanadian and Americanmills, but the company canalso work directly withretailers to recreate styles and designs.

Selling customized moldings as well as other complementary accessories such asvents not only helps retailers differentiate themselves, but it also broadens a dealer’soverall selection. “It’s a really good product to add to any retailers lineup,” Mooser said.“Most hardwood installations require these moldings, but most homeowners have noidea about hardwood flooring accessories.”

Airwood’s Matchables lineprovides seamless transitionfrom floor to molding.

Pennwood Pennwood has the capabilities of pro-ducing moldings from 40 differentspecies and in over 6,000 different col-ors. The company uses species forspecies when constructing its mold-ings and makes its best effort to matchits products to the flooring, explainedKraig Coxon, executive vice president.“The biggest thing we focus on is qual-ity.”

This quality is found inPennwood’s various moldings includ-ing its Retro Treads, Retro Risers, andLVT and hardwood flooring transi-tions.

In addition to moldings, Pennwoodis currently working on a vents pro-gram to complement its other flooringaccessories. Coxon noted many con-sumers want their bases and vents tomatch, so the incentive to producethese accessories is high. Pennwoodhopes to have vents available by Juneand is starting out with bamboo products. “The biggest thing for us is we’ve been asked todo it from customers. If you’re going to do moldings and treads you might as well do vents.” In terms of its future with moldings, Pennwood is also looking into WPC products.

Pennwood offers moldings in over 6,000 colors.

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 25

Zamma Some of Zamma’s newestinnovations come from thecompany’s extruding prod-ucts. These include a flushluxury vinyl tile nosing as wellas a threshold made of water-proof core for ceramic instal-lations. According to PeterSpielman, president, the newWPC product has a zerobreakage rate and is price com-petitive. “On the luxury vinyl tile or luxuryvinyl plank side we’re the only manufacturer thatthermally fuses the same decorative layer and wear layeras the floor itself. We use the actual décor from the floor with a.5mm commercial-grade wear layer, so all of our transitional moldingsfor luxury vinyl floors are commercial warranty items and we use thesame vinyl as the floor.”

Zamma’s vinyl nosing contains thesame decorative and wear layer asthe flooring product it matches.

Pedross utilizes digital printing technology to render realistic designs.

Pedross Pedross’ new products follow con-sumer and retailer demands tomatch moldings with specific typesof flooring, especially the red-hotLVT category as well as perennialfavorites such as hardwood.

“We are introducing flexible,stainable flooring transitions as anew product offering,” said JoeAlbany, national sales manager.“We also will continue to focus onour digital printing capabilities forboth hardwood flooring and LVTflooring lines.”

Pedross distributes productsthroughout the United States andCanada. Its offerings include wood,cork, laminate and LVT moldings,stair treads, aluminum profiles anddigital prints.

Seneca Seneca’s updated stains and finish-es follow the popular gray andwhite tones trending in hardwoodflooring. “At Seneca Millwork wecontinue to see matte finishes andshades of grays and whites play animportant role in today’s flooringcolors and styles,” said MarkPacacha, national sales manager.“While these high-end finishes aremore challenging, we continue tomeet our deadlines on these and allhardwood moldings. We utilize ourexclusive ColorMaster system toensure our transitions are a cus-tomer-approved match to theirflooring.”

All Seneca transitions are indi-vidually shrink-wrapped for protec-tion during shipping, and to pre-serve on-site quality of the product.

Shown are a few of Seneca’s matte finished, hand-scraped,antiqued and wire-brushed samples.

ResilientSheet❑ Armstrong❑ Beauflor❑ Congoleum❑ IVC❑ Mannington❑ Mohawk❑ Shaw❑ Tarkett❑ Other________

Commercial❑ American Biltrite ❑ Amtico❑ Ecore ❑ Flexco❑ Forbo❑ Johnsonite❑ Parterre ❑ Roppe❑ Tandus/Centiva❑ Toli❑ Other________

LVT A❑ Armstrong❑ Congoleum❑ IVC❑ Mannington❑ Mohawk❑ Shaw❑ Tarkett

LVT B❑ Amorim ❑ Beauflor❑ Beaulieu America❑ Cryntel ❑ DuChateau ❑ EarthWerks ❑ Eternity❑ Karndean❑ Metroflor❑ Novalis❑ Raskin Industries❑ USFloors/COREtec❑ Other________

CarpetGroup A❑ Beaulieu America❑ Dreamweaver/

Engineered Floors❑ Mohawk❑ Shaw

Group B❑ Dixie/Fabrica/

Masland ❑ Godfrey Hirst❑ Kraus❑ Lexmark❑ Marquis

Industries ❑ Milliken❑ Phenix❑ Royalty/Moda❑ Southwind❑ Stanton❑ Tuftex❑ Other_________

Commercial❑ Bentley❑ Interface ❑ J&J/Invision ❑ Mannington

Commercial❑ Mohawk

Commercial❑ Pacificrest ❑ Shaw Contract ❑ Tandus/Centiva❑ Other_________

HardwoodGroup A❑ Armstrong❑ Mannington❑ Mohawk❑ Shaw

Group B❑ Alston❑ Anderson❑ Columbia❑ DuChateau❑ Eternity❑ Hemisphere

Imports❑ HF Design❑ HomerWood❑ IndusParquet❑ Johnson

Premium❑ Lauzon❑ Max Woods❑ Mercier❑ Mirage❑ Mullican❑ Preverco❑ Provenza❑ Satin Flooring❑ Somerset❑ Triangulo❑ Urbanfloor❑ USFloors❑ Wickham❑ Other_______

Area Rugs❑ 828 International❑ Capel❑ Couristan❑ Feizy❑ Harounian Rugs❑ Karastan❑ Masland❑ Milliken❑ Mohawk❑ Momeni❑ Nourison❑ Oriental Weavers❑ Stanton❑ Other_________

LaminateGroup A❑ Armstrong❑ Mannington❑ Mohawk❑ Pergo❑ Quick•Step❑ Shaw❑ Tarkett

Group B❑ Alloc/Berry Floor❑ Eternity❑ Inhaus❑ Kaindl❑ KronoSpan❑ Swiss Krono❑ Other________ Tile

Group A❑ Dal-Tile❑ Mohawk❑ ShawGroup B❑ American Marazzi❑ Bellavita❑ Crossville❑ Emser❑ Florida Tile❑ Florim❑ Mediterranea❑ MS International❑ Ragno❑ Stone Peak❑ Vitromex❑ Other_________

Cushion/Underlayment

❑ Carpenter❑ Diversified Foam❑ Fabricushion❑ Foam Products❑ Healthier Choice❑ InstaFloor❑ Leggett & Platt❑ Loxcreen❑ MP Global❑ Pak-Lite❑ Other________

Best OverallManufacturer

1._________________2._________________3._________________

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 27

it takes a while to regroup. Wehad this huge falloff, not onlyin housing starts but alsohousehold formation. Butwe’re seeing housing startscome back quite significantlyand more of the shock of 2008-09 is receding. We have estab-lished momentum, but it hastaken a while.I see this country just

exploding moving forward.We’re enjoying better trans-portation, better entertain-ment, education, medicine—you name it—than John D.Rockefeller, who was the rich-est man in the world at onetime. We’ve only just started tounlock the human potential.Just think of the things you’redoing differently compared to20 years ago. Now think abouthow people were living 240years ago compared to the waywe live today, it’s just unbeliev-able.

This year marks Shaw’s 50thanniversary. We’ve spent alittle bit of time celebratingthat milestone but not a lotof time. We’ve been focusingon what the next 50 years are going to look like. In your opinion, what are thetraits of successful, long-running companies and what does Shaw need to do to ensure success over the next 50 years?You have to satisfy customers’basic needs. You’ve got to keepin tune with what your cus-tomers are telling you. You haveto listen to your customers. Ifyou have happy customers, thenyou’re going to do well in thisworld.

You also have to be reactiveto change.Absolutely.

One of the reasons why I feelvery confident Shaw is goingto be successful over thenext 50 years is becausewe’re part of Berkshire.

We play the game in a way thatmakes sense. We’re not subjectto banks, we’re not subject toactivist investors. We don’t haveto do anything based on outsideconstituencies. We have over$80 billion in cash and treasurybills, and last year we retained$20 billion.

Berkshire has roughly $250billion in sales. Do you thinkit will ever be a trillion-dollarcorporation?Yes. I can promise you that. In2015-16, Berkshire retainedmore earnings than any compa-ny in America. We plow backeverything into the business.We like to add businesses thathave good, basic economics thatare run by people who weadmire and trust. We’re riding abig tailwind here in America,and I expect that to continue.This is the best climate for busi-ness and it’s the right time to dothis. Bill Gates told me if I wasborn several thousand years ago

I would have been some ani-mal’s lunch. I was lucky to beborn in 1930 in the UnitedStates, when the odds were 40to 1 against me.

(Editor’s note: Read WarrenBuffett’s tribute to NebraskaFurniture Mart founder RoseBlumkin on page 54 of the 30thAnniversary issue of FloorCovering News.)

Marshall Fox, center, custom rugmanufacturer and third-generation

owner of Fox Floors in OceanTownship, N.J., presents one of his customized works to Warren

Buffett. Eddie Fox, right, Marshall’sfather, looks on.

Continued from page 21

Warren Buffett

28 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

Comp-U-FloorNew from Comp-U-Floor comesWeb Sales Order Entry, a cloud-based system available onAndroid and Apple devices.According to Mark Wiltgen, salesand marketing manager, the sys-tem allows customers to usemobile applications to createsales orders and to manage theirinstallers. Using the system, theretailer can create an order fromthe web at any time using atablet; then the installers have acorresponding app that givesthem their work order and list ofmaterials, he explained. Another benefit: Installers

can also click on the homeown-

er’s address, which links toGoogle Maps and provides direc-tions. What’s more, the systemallows installers to take paymentsat the installation site and snappictures that can be immediatelyattached to the work order oradded to the database as a perma-nent record. Installers are alsoable to mark the job as installedand print an invoice.Comp-U-Floor also highlight-

ed its service management sys-tem at the show. As Wiltgenexplained: “Service managementis for retailers who have gone intothe service part of the industry, soif they sold carpet but now theyare into carpet cleaning, deodor-

izing or if they sold hardwoodfloors but now are also into hard-wood refinishing, this is a prod-uct where their customers can gointo their website and order thatservice.”

MeasureSquareIn order for a new program to besuccessful it must be easy forretailers to learn, software devel-opers say. This mentality wentinto creating MeasureSquare’snew mobile solutions for measur-

ing and estimating. “The newcommercial additions have a lotof efficiency enhancements overthe takeoff process,” said StevenWang, president. “People normal-ly spend three hours on bigger[measuring] jobs. With this newversion that time is cut in half.” The new program is powered

by different technologies includ-ing artificial intelligence (AI)techniques. These technologiesallow the program to automati-cally detect where a corner islocated, what the shape of theboundary looks like—so youdon’t have to trace each corner

with the human eye. “Themachine reads the floor plan foryou,” Wang explained.

Pacific SolutionsPacific Solutions rolled out newfeatures designed to enhance cur-rent software capabilities. Thisincludes a module that allowsdealers to track the claims theymay have filed with the mills.Another new feature, which isgeared toward commercial floor-ing, is a bid register. According to

Bob Noe Jr., presi-dent, this programhelps streamline bidregister processes andkeeps commercialcompanies organized. “If [a commercial

company] doesn’tturn a bid in by nextWednesday at 10 a.m.[the potential clients]won’t accept the bidanymore, so [a com-pany] might lose outon the whole opportu-nity to work withthem,” he explained.

“The bid register helps them keepa log of what needs to be turnedin.”

QFloorsNew to QFloors is its QProSoftware, a browser-based systemavailable to small and large retail-ers alike. This new system willeventually take the place of exist-ing software and contains a simi-lar layout to its predecessor,which the company believes willmake it easier for existing cus-tomers to learn.“We have completely re-writ-

LAS VEGAS—Software manufac-turers continue to meet thedemands of retailers, commercialcontractors and installers, provid-ing programs for virtually everyfacet of their operations.Whether it is business manage-ment, estimating, measuring orlead-management software, theseproviders are tapping into brows-er- and cloud-based systems tomake their programs easier to useand mobile. Following is an overview of

some of the new programs andapps software developersunveiled at Surfaces 2017:

Latest software offers add-ons,mobile solutions for dealers

technology

By Lindsay Baillie

Comp-U-Floor

Comp-U-Floor’s web sales order entry systemhelps retailers create orders and managetheir installers.

MeasureSquare’snewest commercial appli-cation uses AI technology to read floor plans.

QFloors’ new QPro browser-based system isavailable on any device with browser support.

RetailLeadManagement.com helps manageand organize retail sales associates’ leads.

Pacific Solutions has added to its commercialmanagement system, Job Runner, with a bidregister.

MeasureSquare QFloors

Pacific Solutions

RetailLeadManagement.com

Continued on page 31

all typically below man-ufacturer costs. And asis the case with sellers,there is no cost for buy-ers to shop for prod-ucts; Xintory chargesonly on products pur-chased. More impor-tantly, Xintory offers abuyer protection planto ensure the integrityof the transaction.Although buyers haveto pay in advance when

they place an order, Xintoryholds the money until the buyerconfirms they have received the

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 29

Xintory allows you totake older inventoriesand sell that materialat better prices.” Vogel also likes the

fact the program canbe tweaked as neces-sary. “I am workingwith Larry [Feldman]on developing tools tohelp the retailersearch for overstocktile by inputting spe-cific criteria such ascolor, size ormanufacturer/brand.” Likewise, buyers benefit by

being able to access specialsacross a variety of categories aswell as tools and accessories—

products in good condition—atwhich time it forwards thefunds to the seller. In theunlikely event there’s a dispute,the company continues to holdthe money until it is settled.“We serve as kind of an objec-tive arbiter here,” Feldman stat-ed. While the Xintory portal has

the hallmarks of existing onlineauctions, Feldman stresses it’sno eBay. Since Xintory strictlysells drops and seconds, it isonly open to the floor coveringtrade—not to consumers. “The

technology

O f the many challengesfacing the flooringindustry, dealing with

excess inventory, seconds, dropsand outdated samples is high onthe list. This should come as nosurprise given the relativelyhigh rate of product turnover inflooring. However, one compa-ny has developed an innovative,high-tech solution to this peren-nial problem. Brooklandville,Md.-based Xintory (short for“inventory exchange”) earlierthis month rolled out what itbelieves is the industry’s firstonline, universal, B2B market-place designed strictly for man-ufacturers, distributors, dealersand installers to sell and buyoverstocks, drops and specials. Founded by Larry Feldman,

a 30-year veteran of the floorcovering industry who onceserved as president of Mid-Atlantic distributor SuperiorProducts, the objective of thenew portal—Xintory.com—is toprovide a marketplace wheresellers and buyers in the tradecan reliably and securely gettogether to solve an issue thatimpacts virtually everyoneacross the supply chain. “As products are continually

restyled, dealers often pull sam-ples of discontinued productsquickly to avoid selling some-thing that may no longer beavailable,” Feldman explained,adding that many lines are dis-continued after just two or threeyears. And in some cases, deal-ers and distributors have oldinventory stocks for even five or10 years. That’s where Xintorycan help. For sellers, the pro-gram provides exposure to buy-ers throughout the country and,in some cases, internationally.Xintory offers automatic link-ages to the product on the man-ufacturer’s website or catalogsheets to help market theirproduct to buyers, and there isno cost to seller for merely list-ing products; Xintory charges amodest fee only on productssold. “We have a lot of powerful

tools here to help sellers markettheir products,” Feldman said.For example, sellers can uploadExcel spreadsheets of any num-ber of items. Case in point:Xintory is working closely on abeta test with Conestoga Tile,which uploaded 450 line itemsof discontinued material. Jim Vogel, owner of

Conestoga Tile, likes what he’sseeing so far. “Rather than send-ing materials to auction and get-ting only a few dollars for it,

Xintory links buyers and sellers of overstock goods By Reginald Tucker

Continued on page 32

30 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

uct,” Phil Kenyon, vice presi-dent, color solutions, atChameleon, explained. “If youcan picture what a customer’sfinal product will look like forher, she will be able to make adecision faster and be thatmuch more confident movingforward.” The virtual reality tool,

developed by Chameleon, alsocontains settings for the homebeing designed in the virtualworld to contain differentdegrees of sunlight, lighting, andoverall ambiance so the con-sumer can see the virtual finalproduct exactly how it will lookin the real world.For example, different

weather and lighting willchange the appearance of theproduct. “It is our job to makesure nothing is inappropriatelyrepresented,” Kenyon stated.“We have an innate understand-ing of color physiology and how

to create an environment withthe ambience and mooddesired.” Along with a wide array of

products, consumers will also beable to see prices associated withthe respective products seenthrough the viewer. The gogglesand associated equipment can beused in stores or even on site atthe consumer’s home. Emser estimates the tool will

hit the market this quarter. “Thegoal is for Emser Tile to be on thecutting edge of technology,” saidBarbara Haaksma, vice presidentof marketing. “We will be able to

take this tool wherever we needto because it is digital. Eventuallywe will be able to have customersdesign their future kitchen intheir current kitchen.”

LAS VEGAS—Emser Tile andChameleon gave Surfaces atten-dees a “virtual” first look at aninnovative tool that allows con-sumers to browse through prod-ucts using high-tech goggles andsophisticated software. The pro-gram essentially lets users designtheir household in the virtualworld to see what the final prod-uct will look like prior to pur-chase and installation.How it works: While wearing

the goggles, attendees can usehandheld remote controls todesign the demo kitchen on dis-play via a monitor. With the lefthand controller, the user is ableto scroll back and forth throughthe available products; with theright-hand controller, she canselect the flooring of her choice.Products can be applied to vari-ous surfaces throughout the vir-tual experience so dealers couldpotentially finish the sale withproducts for multiple rooms anddesigns purchased. “Once the final version is

released, consumers will be ableto search by product type, design,color or any other logical pro-gression that can classify a prod-

Phil Kenyon, vice president,color solutions, Chameleon, and Barbara Haaksma, vice

president of marketing, Emser,demonstrate the new virtual

room visualizer.

Emser Tile, Chameleon test virtual reality tool

Quick-Step helps dealers take digital leap

technology

Kenyon gives a potential customer a walk-through on the new virtual reality tool.

By Nicole Murray

By Lindsay Baillie

Quick-Step, known for itslaminate, hardwood andluxury vinyl flooring, is

also making strides in helpingretailers on the digital market-ing front. Three of its mostrecent programs—BloggerInfluencer Outreach, Quick-Step Toolbox and Style MyFloor—all provide retailers withmaterials to help digitallyinform and inspire consumers,close sales and bring customersfrom the retailers’ websites intotheir stores. The Blogger Influencer

Outreach program includesthe company’s RoomUPBlogger challenge, which,according to Janelle Manuel,digital marketing coordina-tor, leverages the authenticity,credibility and trust network ofpopular bloggers. The programutilizes four diverse, well-known bloggers who areinvolved in style and design, andhighlights their home remodel-ing projects. “We give [the blog-gers] Quick-Step product toinstall in their homes, saying,‘Hey, use this as a real flooringpurchase from start to finish,talk about the selection process,then go through the installationprocess, then the care andmaintenance.’”Beyond inspiring the con-

sumer, Quick-Step is making

retailers’ involvement in socialmedia easier with the Quick-Step Toolbox—a social contentautomation tool that is free andavailable to any retailer sellingQuick-Step products. TheToolbox includes articles forsocial media beginners on howto get started. It contains indus-try best practices and provides a

platform to share content. The third piece of this digi-

tal marketing puzzle is Style MyFloor, which puts Quick-Step’sentire flooring product samplesinto the consumer’s hands usingtechnology and then lets theshopper see exactly what thenew floor would look likeinstalled in any specific room ofher home. “It is a consumer’s dream

tool when it comes to confi-dently selecting a flooring prod-uct for her home,” said PaijThorn-Brooks, vice president ofbrand marketing, MohawkFlooring North America.

Quick-Step Toolbox provides retailers with materials to create,maintain a social media presence.

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 31

ten all of the code,” said ChadOgden, president and CEO. “Wedid not use anything from thatother system. It’s not like we’rejust slapping some web pagesonto what we already have,which is the strategy most peopleuse.”While it was originally

designed for an iPad-like device,it could technically run on aphone’s browser, Ogden added.The main difference would bethat a smaller device mightrequire more scrolling. To fix thatpotential issue, QFloors is cur-rently developing QPro phoneapplications.

Retail Lead ManagementJason Goldberg, CEO ofAmerica’s Floor Source, devel-oped and launchedRetailLeadManagement.com(RLM) to help solve a commonproblem retail business ownershave when reviewing retail salesassociates’ leads—multiple forms

of documentation and inconsis-tencies that only complicatetracking and management.“What [RLM] does is simplify

that whole process. It’s a productwe developed to manage retailleads from the point of the leadcoming in to the sale. It keeps theretail sales associate organized inan easy way, and as a manager itgives you a full view into whatyour retail sales associates aredoing.” The user-friendly software

entails a minimal amount offields for the operator. It has asimple recall working page, mak-ing it ideal for use on mobiledevices, tablets and desktops.

RLM costs retailers $19 a monthper user and is customizable.As RLM continues to grow,

the company hopes to introduceb2b functionality and provideways for users to see only what isrelevant to them. This additionwould expand the type of users toinclude distributors and manu-facturers. Looking ahead,Goldberg added, “We’re addingmore functionality—making thecustomization easier for retailersto do themselves.”

RFMSNew to RFMS are two new appli-cations. Measure Order Entryoffers additional capabilities thatallow users to draw and quantifythe product and then push allthat information directly intoRFMS’ core business system.This application allows installersand retailers to take photos of

product and finished installationsand add them to orders.RFMS’ second new product is

called Mobile Order Entry, whichprovides a direct link to the com-pany’s core system. The programallows salespeople to be com-pletely unhitched from theirdesks and stores and still haveaccess to flooring information ontheir phones. Both the MobileOrder Entry and MeasureOrder Entry arecloud-based andrun on tablets,desktops andm o b i l ed e v i c e s .Both prod-ucts areavailable inthe apps store. “We have

another app calledInstaller Pro Mobilethat would allow aninstaller to log in froma phone to see the job,” DaveDumoulin, director of sales,explained. “We also have otherapps we are working on aroundclient management and manag-ing the contact.”

RollMaster Retailers perusing the RollMasterbooth had the opportunity to pre-

Continued from page 28Surfaces software

RFMS’ The Measure Order Entry allows users to line draw areas for installation.

RollMaster’s Business Management Software now includes a web cal-endar to integrate work processes between office, field and consumer.

view the company’s new web cal-endar, an addition to its mainproduct—Business ManagementSoftware. The web-based pro-gram helps streamline most busi-ness processes including job costsand every step of the orderprocess. It can also be viewed onany Internet connected devicethat is already paired withRollMaster software.

“The web calendarallows installers topick up their jobsfrom the phone,navigate thejob site, takenotes andpictures, andit’s all inte-grated to theflooring com-pany’s manage-

ment system,” saidPatrick Ferries,national sales manag-er.

Next on the horizon forRollMaster is a web store that willallow retailers to actually have astorefront on their website wheretheir customers can pick outproduct. According to Ferries, itwill be integrated with theirinventory so customers can checkout and buy product directly fromthe dealer’s website.

RollMaster

RFMS

technology

32 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

The use of the Internet andmobile devices as a meansof researching products is

increasing on a steep exponentialcurve. This is particularly true inthe flooring industry—wherethere is a strong correlation tofashion and design and, hence, aheavy emphasis on visuals. Now, more than ever, retail-

er/manufacturer websites repre-sent a major portal for your cus-tomers to receive timely informa-tion about your products andservices. For many consumers,color and appearance are a majorpart of the purchase decision,which presents both challengesand opportunities for retailersand manufacturers serving theindustry. Among the main objec-tives: How to make your flooringlook as good on the screen as itdoes in a showroom; how topresent all of the possible choicesin a fashion that makes productselection easy; and how to makesure you are ahead of your com-petition by keeping pace withadvances in new technology.Delivering on all of these

directives requires an under-

standing of the art and science ofcolor and appearance as well astraditional skill sets in program-ming, user interface and datamanagement. A key element inthis process entails generatingthe digital images to display yourproducts online. Taking the timeto do this right will allow you tomaximize the usefulness of yourassets. For instance, a photographof your products in inspirationalsettings is great to attract andinspire, but this has limited use.Employing certain best practiceswhen creating digital productimages will allow you to usethese assets in many useful waysand ensure the work you dotoday will also be useable as tech-nology evolves.Here are some helpful tips:•Make sure you use color

management tools when photo-graphing or generating your high-

resolution product images. Makesure your image files have ICCstandard profiles embedded thatallow the color information ineach image to be consistent andas accurate as possible.•Capture a large enough area

so full repeats can be created.This allows the images to be usedfor rendering your flooring intophotographic images for visuali-zation software in your websiteor for professional rendering ofpromotional materials. •Don’t use “mood” lighting to

capture the samples. The samplesshould be evenly lit across thefull image. Shadowing will makeit difficult to use in visualizationor rendering. A process known as“flat field correction” can helpresolve this.•Where possible, include

metadata that identifies the colorinformation inthe image incolorimetricterms such as“LAB.” This isan industrystandard thatidentifies

color in absolute terms.Attaching these values to yourdata will increase the likelihoodyour products will be found inthese searches.Another major growth area in

digital marketing is virtual reality.In particular, there is significantinterest among builders for toolsthat allow customers to select arange of products whileimmersed in a virtual, three-dimensional visualization of aroom or building. In this sce-nario, it is essential that robust,up-to-date CAD assets are avail-able for all products. This willensure products displayed in thereal world also match renderingsin the digital realm. jThe way in which your prod-

ucts are represented online isessential to enjoying the manyopportunities this medium pres-ents.

Best practices in digitalimage management

THE WAY IN WHICH YOUR PRODUCTS ARE

REPRESENTED ONLINE IS ESSENTIAL TO

ENJOYING THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES

THIS MEDIUM PRESENTS.

guest column

PHILKENYON

Phil Kenyon is vice president, color solutions, at Chameleon Power,which specializes in visualization software for the home improvementindustry. Since the early ’90s, he has worked with numerous multina-tional corporations on their online marketing initiatives.

technology

reason why we don’t use eBay issimple: When I entered ‘carpet’in eBay I got 532,000 entries,and most of them looked likeretailers trying to sell new prod-uct to consumers. Plus, it’s justnot set up on a level that’s usableon a B2B basis.”

User-friendly format Another advantage Xintoryoffers is its user-friendlydesign. The product selec-tion menu is organized byrange of floor covering cate-gories, including installationaccessories such as tools andadhesives. Viewers can sortby manufacturer brand, productname, style, etc. Even used mer-chandisers and displays can belisted. There are also filtersinstalled that allow buyers andsellers to categorize product bycolor or style to streamline thesearch/selection process. Thereis also a “distance” filter thatallows a dealer to search for buy-ers in close proximity to his storeto avoid costly shipping fees.“We also have proprietary

technology that helps sellersmarket their products,”Feldman said. “For example, ifthe seller tells us the style, man-

ufacturer, color and, preferably,SKU number, we will search theInternet for a link to that specif-ic product on the manufactur-er’s website. This helps the sell-er communicate to the buyerexactly what it is he is sellingwhile allowing the buyer tocheck the specifications for theproduct he is considering.”

There are also built-inoptions for the seller to set aprice based on how many squarefeet or rolls of product he is will-ing to sell at a given threshold if,given the worst-case scenario,he is not able to sell the entireinventory of a specific listedproduct. “This partial quantityprice may represent, say, a 20%upcharge over the entire quanti-ty,” Feldman said. “There is alsoa feature known as ‘automaticprice reduction,’ which will takethe base price the seller listsdown to the lowest floor price inseveral increments automatical-

ly. This gives the seller as muchof an opportunity as he canwhile allowing him to get rid ofthe inventory as quickly as possi-ble. Sellers can also check off abox that allows the buyer tomake counter offers.” With respect to freight, the

buyer will have to pay thecharges in most cases, becausewhen the seller lists some-thing he has no idea wherethe buyer is going to be,Feldman explained. Butthere’s also an option for theseller to pay in cases wherethe buyer is close. While the Xintory

launch is only in the initialstages, Feldman believes it’sthe wave of the future. “This

is inevitable, in my opinion.The B2B overstock marketplaceis potentially larger than theconsumer overstock market-place. I have talked to variousdistributors around the coun-try, and every single person toldme they want to use this site todo business.”Kyle Hunt, product manager

for Houston-based T&LDistributing, a top 20 whole-saler, is one of them. “Based onthe feedback we’ve received sofar, we’re going to be usingXintory a lot more as we goalong. It’s a viable options for us.”

Continued from page 29

Xintory

“BASED ON THE FEEDBACK

WE’VE RECEIVED SO FAR, WE’REGOING TO BE USING XINTORY ALOT MORE AS WE GO ALONG.”

—Kyle Hunt, product managerT&L Distributing

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 33

LAS VEGAS—Retail expertsbelieve the key to generatingrepeat business and developinglong-term relationships withcustomers lies in maintainingconsistent contact even afterthe job is complete. MyFlooring Warranty says it offersthe tools to help floor coveringdealers accomplish that goal. How it works: My Flooring

Warranty takes customers’ datainto a portal and strategicallyplans points of contact so theretailer remains top of mindwith the customer. This is crit-ical given today’s rapidlyadvancing digital social mediaenvironment. By maintainingcontact long after the initialpurchase, My FlooringWarranty is essentially lookingto influence the conversationin the hopes to generate morebusiness down the road. “The typical buying cycle in

this industry is approximatelyeight years,” John Mapes, direc-tor of development, toldFCNews at Surfaces 2017. “If aconsumer does not hear fromyour company for seven years,

that is a major issue. “Weanswer one of the biggest ques-tions a consumer can ask,which is, ‘How important am Ito you now that I have givenyou my money and the servicehas been completed?’” Contrary to its name, My

Flooring Warranty does notoffer extended insurance of cov-erage for products retailers sell.In fact, according to Mapes, thecompany operates “out ofsight,” meaning the consumerbelieves she is interactingdirectly with the retailer.“When people first hear aboutus, they very commonly misun-derstand exactly what we do.We do not offer extended war-rantees or advertising in anyway.”The My Flooring Warranty

tool is all predicated on timing.The company conductedresearch showing patterns inthe flooring replacement cycleand delivers a specific commu-nication to the consumeraccordingly. As Mapesexplained: “Let’s say one yearafter a new rug has beeninstalled, most consumersbegin thinking about getting a

My Flooring Warranty helps retailers stay relevant new kitchen floor, so thatwill be the main gist whenwe make contact. Then twoyears later, most customersare thinking about cleaningthat brand new kitchen floorbased on warranty require-ments so then that becomesthe focus.”Retailers currently using

the tool recommend sendinga satisfaction survey to thecustomer one week after theservice has been completed.According to Mapes, the typ-ical completion rate is 60%.There is then an addedincentive by attaching a prizechosen by a third party. Those dealers who have

used the system attest to itsresults as well as the supportthe company provides. “MyFlooring Warranty walks oursales staff through accessingour service provider’s portal,keeping everything easy andintuitive to use,” said MichelleNiemeyer, marketing director,Coyle Carpet One Floor &Home, Madison, Wis. Others agreed. “The pro-

gram has truly revolutionizedthe referral marketing relation-

ship between service providersand flooring retailers,” said JimBardwell, formerly marketingdirectory with Pro-Care ofNashville who now serves asexecutive director of sales,marketing and education forNorth, Central and SouthAmerica, FiberProTector. “Ifyou want a turnkey system tomaximize your referral market-

technology

By Nicole Murray

ing efforts, then you owe it toyourself to check out thisamazing program and getenrolled.” My Flooring Warranty pri-

marily targets purchasers ofsoft surface products but it willbe extended to include hardsurfaces—products that typi-cally entail a much longerreplacement cycle.

The My Flooring Warranty team, from left: Mary Lynn, director of data resources; John Mapes, director of

development, U.S.; Kevin Casey, director of development, Canada; and Paula Casey, administrative manager.

34 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

Floor Covering News550 W. Old Country Rd.Suite 204Hicksville, NY 11801

FOR A QUOTE CONTACT

Nadia Ramlakhan

nadia@fcnews.net Call: 516.932.7860Fax: 516.932.7639floorcoveringnews

f c n ew s . n e t February 27/March 6

CAREER OPPORTUNITIESBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES CAREER OPPORTUNITIES CAREER OPPORTUNITIESBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

1 CENT/SF FLOORING ESTIMATINGFast & Accurate - Callidus Takeoffscommercialflooringestimating.com

FLOORING INSTALLERDaily Duties:

· The ability to learn the necessary installation skills to support job starts and deal with field installations· Strong mechanical ability with cutting, fitting, and installing of floorcovering.

· Ability to read, interpret, and install flooring based on drawing. This includes measuring and layout.· Excellent working knowledge of adhesives and their appropriate application.

· Experience with dealing with floor preparation issues and products.· Understanding of various flooring substrates

· Understanding of moisture testing of concrete using calcium chloride and RH probes· Knowledge of moisture remediation systems, their application,

and the levels of moisture that they will suppress.· Knowledge of concrete sealers, curing agents, or admixes on the installation of floor covering products.

· Must be willing to travel 75% of the time including some overseas and weekends.· Ability to lift up to 75+lbs when needed

· Ability to obtain a passport to accommodate overseas travel· Ability to speak with customers and or large groups

· Being bilingual a real plus.

Weekly Duties:· Schedule travel for upcoming DFS installs or training clinics

· Maintain tool boxes in good working order and advise on materials needed· Coordinate shipment of tool boxes to upcoming DFS installs, installation clinics or trade shows.

Monthly Duties:· Review with relevant staff, issues encountered during the past month

and discuss means of correcting the issues going forward.

Departmental Duties:· Maintain technical specifications data in a usable format.

· Work within the corporate policies· Continue training and product knowledge

Experience and Background:Two or more years of vinyl flooring installation.

Above average communication skills being bilingual a plus.Contact Chris at:

Christopher.ferrara@karndean.com or 888-266-4343 Ext. 3103

SALESPERSONSalesperson needed for Southeast Florida flooring store. Full timeposition. Base pay plus commission. Must have experience in

flooring sales and measuring. Call Rich 561-379-9275

FLOOR COVERING BUSINESSMontgomery county, PA. All flooring. In business for 23 years.Owner retiring. Location or business available for purchase.

1600 square feet in upscale shoppping center. Call George at 215.499.3085

COMMERCIAL FLOORING BUSINESS FOR SALESARASOTA, FL.

If you are a top notch experienced commercial flooringsalesperson and want to go on your own,

this is a perfect opportunity.

If you owned a commercial flooring company, retired, wantsomething manageable, this is also perfect for you.

Everything included: cutting machine, showroom, 18ft truck, two fork lifts, Plan swift licenses and inventory.

Low price $75,000 firm, financing available.

Email flooringcompany15@gmail.com

INDEPENDENT FLOORING REPS NEEDEDKullik & Rullmann AG is looking for sales reps for our ImportedEngineered and Solid flooring lines. B2B covering East CoastUSA. Flooring Retailer/Distributor experience needed. Email

ChrisMelvinMG@Gmail.com

WE HELP DEALERSPrivate labels, specialty mills & etc.

Call us now at 800-228-4632 www.carpetbroker.com

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

CLOSEOUTS WE BUY IT ALL!Midwest retailer buying closeout inventories of

laminate, tile, carpet, hardwood, stone 1ST & 2NDSEmail your inventory to: jhamamy@factory-surplus.com

816-761-1777 X 10

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER IN MIDWESTD&M Flooring is seeking experienced and highly motivated

Regional Sales Manager in the Midwest.Must have strong relationships with key customers (Flooring

Distributors, Retailers, Builders, A&D etc.)-Health benefits

-IRA-Base salary + commission

-Earning potential $100,000 plusPlease email resumes to info@dm-flooring.com

www.dm-flooring.com

COMMERCIAL CARPET INSTALLERS NEEDEDHow would you like to work for one of the largest commercial carpet installation companies in thecountry? Mastercraft Floor Covering specializes in Hotel and Casino work. Installers with a minimumof three years experience preferred. Must be willing to travel (travel expenses paid by the company).Requirements include: Owning necessary hand tools. Excellent work ethic. Ability to work in a fastpaced environment while maintaining quality. Reliable transportation. Work well with others. Follow

direction. Pay rate is $20.00 to $30.00 per hour based on ability and experience. Qualifiedapplicants should email their resume along with three business references to

denna@mastercraftfc.com or contact Denna at 517.404.1028

OUTSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVESFERMA FLOORING is a growing importer and

national distributor for flooring of hardwood (solid &engineered), luxury vinyl & bamboo,

laminate based in New Jersey. We are looking for Sales Representatives covering territories ofNY, NJ, CT and MD&VA respectively for B2B sales. Related

knowledge and experiences are required. Please fax resume to732-225-5290 or email to sales@fermaflooring.com or

hr@fermaflooring.com

SALES AGENTS NEEDEDHigh-end wool carpet line in need of experienced sales agents for multiple territories in the US.

Contact info@momeni.com with geography and inquiries. Great line, Great company.

EXPERIENCED SALES REPRESENTATIVE WEST COAST – FLORIDA

We are looking for a professional, outgoing individual to join our winning team selling flooring products. Training is provided.

This is a full-time, commission-based position. Valid driver's license is required.

Interested candidates please email resume to: jearog11.11@gmail.com

AGENTS WANTEDMajor Flooring wholesale for Laminate/LVT/ Engineered Wood. Experienced agents wanted for thefollowing territories : Houston,TX; Oklahoma City; Kansas City; Shreveport , LA Please send resume to:

asui713@gmail.com

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 35

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES CAREER OPPORTUNITIES CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

MARKETPLACEMARKETPLACE MARKETPLACE MARKETPLACEMARKETPLACE

WE BUY USED CARPET CUTTING MACHINES

407.509.3030

DUSTRAM®CONTRACTOR

OPPORTUNITIES

DUST FREE TILEREMOVAL

DUSTRAM.COM

SERVICES

CARPET & HARDSURFACE

INSPECTIONSGet Certified or Educated. IFCIoffers the only Step-by-Step,Hands-On Training Course.

Includes illustrated inspectionprocedures, online manualsand on-going support.

$1495.00 w/Certification |$1250.00 without Feb 23-27,

2017 Norcross, GAMore details:

http://www.IFCII.org Henri Carr 678-595-5446

SUB-CONTRACTOR CARPET INSTALLERCompensation: By sq yd plus extras

Employment type: contractWork in Palm Beach County and surrounding areas.

Top Pay, great working environment, busy 5 store operation, family owned for over 30 years, steady work. Looking for the

next great installer to be part of our family. Must have experience with medium to high end carpets.

Must have the following items: •Own van & tools •General Liability insurance

•Workers Compensation or Exemption •Occupational License / Business Tax Receipt •Corporation or LLC

Applicants must send a resume or references Call 561.228.5669

RetailLeadManagement.comThe best and easiest-to-use retail lead

management software available.

PHENIX FLOORING IS GROWING AND IS SEEKINGCANDIDATES FOR A TERRITORY MANAGER POSITION

Territory: Northern New Jersey and NE PennsylvaniaThis is an excellent opportunity for a knowledgeable, experienced Floorcoverings

Sales Professional to align with a rapidly growing manufacturer.

Phenix is a privately owned company based in Dalton Georgia which specializes in themanufacturing and distribution of residential flooring to the nation’s top retailers.

Benefits include:•Health, Life, and Disability Insurance •401K with Company Match •Paid Vacation

Compensation:•Base Salary plus Commissions •Paid Business Expenses

Interested Candidates may apply via e-mail to hmillsaps@phenixflooring.com or by fax: 706-279-8284

Phenix Flooring is an Equal Opportunity Employer