News
If Housing Is Rebounding Can Floor Covering Sales Be Far Behind?
FLOOR COVERING STATISTICAL TRENDS AND OUTLOOK - Housing Data Something happened on the way to the predicted double-dip recession that was to be caused by the European debt crisis and the paralysis in Washington- the housing market showed strong gains and specialty floor coverings store sales turned upwards. These trends can be seen in the following reports. • According to the Department of Commerce (http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst.pdf), housing permits increased by 6.5% and starts rose by 5.5% in the third quarter of 2011. In...
read moreHow Consumers Purchase Flooring: In-Store, Online
Did you get a chance to read National Floor Trends' article titled WFCA Consumer Study: Consumers Not Using Social Media For Flooring Purchases? It caught my attention. I love data about consumers and the purchase process. Especially in flooring. In a world where the overall retail experience is evolving beyond the physical store to encompass digital tools, how different is flooring? And what role does social media play? According to the article "Seventy-five percent of consumers surveyed used online resources when shopping for their...
read moreBenefits of Attending Trade Shows and Conferences
Attending industry trade shows and conferences can cost people and companies a lot of time and money. First, there are expenses associated with out of town travel such as airfare, hotel and meals. Then there are show registration fees. And then there is the lost opportunity cost of you and/or your employees not being in the office and therefore not being productive. If you plan and spend your time effectively, however, by participating in and networking at these events, you will walk away with great insight and potentially new opportunities...
read moreFinding Opportunities in the Growing Area Rug Market
FLOOR COVERING STATISTICAL TRENDS AND OUTLOOK As a floor covering industry consultant and analyst, I was always surprised by the lack of interest in the market for area rugs. And as a consumer, I always wondered why floor covering stores paid little attention to this market sector. I purchased area rugs and runners at specialty rug stores, home centers or other mass merchandisers. So when I read “Selling Rugs Profitably” in Floor Covering Weekly , I just skimmed over the contents. Shortly thereafter, a client asked me to do an...
read moreFloor Covering Institute experts to present 10 seminars at Surfaces 2012
Join us this year at Surfaces! Register for our education classes January 23-26, 2012 - Las Vegas, Nevada Mandalay Bay Convention Center Monday, January 23, 2012 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Social Media: How - To for Business Presented by Christine Whittemore Social media tools help flooring and stone businesses extend relationships with customers, however as easy as the tools are to set up, keeping them going can bring you to your knees. This workshop will teach you how to use these tools so the resources you put into them...
read moreFloor Covering Institute releases research on China’s flooring industry, consumers, logistics
FCI has just released its latest research paper: The Growing Opportunity in China, a look at China's economy, consumer market, floor covering demand and logistics channels. Researched and authored by Jim Gould, the paper is the first of its kind to offer an overview of China from the floor covering industry point of view. Major sections of this industry paper include: China's rapid economic advancement and the growing consumer market; China's floor covering market; China's retail channel and performance; China's retail flooring...
read moreConsider the possibilities: Jump into the global flooring market
Like many of you in the industry, I am just returning from the US floor covering show, Surfaces. Surfaces followed Domotex, the European floor covering show earlier in January, which I attend every year. While sitting at the Vegas airport and thinking over these last two shows, I remembered the article I wrote recently that appeared in Floor Covering Weekly - Jump into the Global Flooring Market. I wrote this article after introducing my client, a Korean manufacturer of carpet tile, to several distributors, logistics providers and buyers...
read moreKey issue: commoditization of floor covering products
I believe that commoditization is the key issue facing the flooring industry now. I recently wrote about this threat on the Surfaces blog site and it seems my opinion has struck a chord. Commoditization is a process that transforms the market for unique, branded products into a market based on undifferentiated price competition. Most people agree that consumers will shop on price alone if they do not learn about performance and quality differences that justify a range of prices. That is happening all through our industry. If we let it...
read moreIntelligent merchandising in the floor covering showroom
In a ceramic tile and stone showroom the two biggest challenges for customers are visualizing how the tile or combination of tiles will look installed in the home and determining which tiles are suitable for their intended application. Figuring out how to address these two challenges should be a priority for every showroom. Along with that, conveying the features, benefits and limitations of the products is the next challenge. And perhaps the most important piece of the showroom puzzle, is to train sales people so they are knowledgeable...
read moreCommoditization: the new “C” word in floor covering
Sometimes you write an article that really hits a hot button and the feedback is tremendous. I've written about commoditization and the threat it poses to the flooring industry before but my most recent article written for Floor Covering News, Commoditization-the Silent Killer, has generated a lot of attention and discussion. Even Steve Feldman, Floor Covering News publisher, referred to commoditization as the new "c" word " when he wrote about "everyone and their mother attempting to join the party with their version of click...
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