Quick-Step Laminate Flooring

After venting my frustration about Quick Step Laminate's pricing policies, let me clarify what I think about the product. Fact: Quick Step is the best selling laminate floor on the market in our opinion. There are other brands that can claim this distinction because some of their products are placed in big box centers under different labels (mainly the lower quality products). However, we find that the majority of our sales come from the high quality laminate floors such as, Quick-Step Perspective Laminate, Quick-Step Eligna Hand Scraped (better known as Quick-Step Country Laminate) and Quick Step Quadra Tile Floors. Our customers for laminate floors represent a good cross section of home builders and the actual end user. Because most of them are looking for the best laminate floors at a good price, we generally include Quick-Step Flooring in our recommendations. As I previously stated, Quick Step is our best selling laminate flooring.

As a footnote, I will be joining Quick Step representatives at a Super Bowl event in Las Vegas on February 1st, followed with a free day on the 2nd and then attending Surfaces 2009 (the flooring industry's annual convention) on the 3rd and 4th and then back to Dalton, Georgia on Thursday.

Buy Quick-Step Laminate Online?

Buy Quick Step Laminate floors online? Searching for Quick Step Laminate prices online is going to be harder if Unilin (Quick Step's parent, a Mohawk company) has their way. The manufacturer has increasingly been applying pressure to dealers to use minimum advertised prices. American Carpet Wholesalers is no exception. Because we are one of the top Quick-Step Laminate dealers in the country, and we value our relationship with Quick-Step, for now we have just removed our prices from the website. I say for now because there are 12-16 sites out there openly displaying less than minimum advertised prices. Why 12 or why not 16? One dealer has multiple websites with different marketing trchniques for the product and all below the minimum prices we are allowed to show. We mainatain a huge inventory(over $100,000) of Quick-Step Laminate Floors and if these sites do not comply soon, we will have no choice but to display competitive prices just to compete.

This is not to say American Carpet Wholesalers is not competitive now. What it means is that the consumer has to call us for our best pricing. Some sites are using a free shipping model to get around the pricing issue. We feel this is not consumer friendly that a customer 1000-1500 miles from the dealer would pay the same shipping cost as one say 100-200 miles away. Unless a dealer has dire need for cash flow, and wants to lose money on the sale, our prices for Quick-Step Laminate floors have consistently be some of the best to be found anywhere.

Sometimes the lowest price is not always the best. We have gone head to head with some competitors over price and won because of customer satisfaction. When the price diference is minimal, why would a customer buy from a dealer who has a consumer satisfaction of 1.5 to 2.0 when ours is usually 4.6 to 4.8 out of 5. We have worked hard to achieve this rating and feel American Carpet Wholesalers is a consumer friendly company. A little comfort of buying such a large purchase from a trusted company and recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing corporations in the country in 2007 and again in 2008.

For now we ask that our customers just pick up the phone and call us. We know convenience lies in the shopping cart and apologize openly that Quick Step Laminate cannot be ordered online at our site at this time.

2008 A Year of Challenges!

2008 was year of turmoil in the financial and housing markets. For most of us in the flooring industry it has kept us on our toes. For me 2007 was far more challenging. Fortunatley we adjusted our expenses and marketing and actually saw growth and profit for 2008.


Unfortunately, it was not to be for others. Banks, brokerage firms, automakers made almost daily headlines. So was it in the flooring market. One of the biggest failures was that of iFloor.com. I have in the past had a business relationship with iFoor and was both stunned and disappointed.


Throughout the years the floor covering industry has had some true pioneers. Too many to mention by name. The same is to be said for Steve Simonson, the founder and CEO of iFloor.
Way back before I ventured online, Steve had a vision as to what consumers wanted and set out to provide a vauluable service to them. For this, Steve caught hell from manufacturers and competitors alike. I watched and learned from the constant evolving process of iFloor.com. I was, and I am now, envious of their software and marketing efforts.

So why did they fail? I am not on the inside, but from the outside looking in I would say two things caused their failure. An ambitious expansion program at the wrong time in history. Second, is the that banks do not care who fails, or what they promised, as long as they can cover up their own lack of restraint. Funding or the lack of it was the major culprit.

Steve is a visionary, so he will be back. As to iFloor.com, they are in Chapter 11 and this competitor is pulling for them.

12.3 MM Piano Finish Laminate Floors

There have been some high gloss laminates around for a while. But only Lamett Laminate Floors and Alloc Laminate Floors have achieved what was the initial goal. The look, sound , and feel of a truly elegant hardwood floor.

Lamett Flooring is an up and coming supplier to the market. Based in Georgia, their laminate floor products are becoming more and more in demand. Their latest introduction is called "Charisma". It's a 12.3 mm high gloss (piano finish) laminate floor when installed has all the characteristics of a fine wood floor. We are pleased to have received inventory in 5 of the 6 shades. At $2.48 per sf, it is the best value for this type of laminate floor. We expect "Charisma" to quickly become one of our top sellers.

Cheap Laminate Floors or Laminate Floors Cheap!

Believe it or not, there is a difference. Not long ago I was talking with one of my suppliers about prices and why people drive long distances to the Dalton Georgia Carpet Outlets to buy laminate flooring. It was my observation that on the signage of a lot of stores was "Laminate Floors $.49 sf" or "Laminate Floors $.59 sf". I don't know where these floors come from. Maybe from China or maybe they are defective or discontinueds. Probably ok for rental property that needs to be replaced regularly. This is the defintion of "cheap laminate floors". We do not stock it or sell it.
The only time we offer discontinueds is if they are discontinued while we have inventory, in which case the warranties are still valid.

Our customers are usually looking for name brand laminate flooring. Such as Quick-Step Laminate floors (our number one selling laminate floor), Berry Floor Laminate, Lamett Laminate, Alloc Laminate, Tarkett Laminate and other laminate floors. Buying laminate floors long distance has to be rewarding. For instance, a $4.-$6. sf name brand laminate floor can be bought at American Carpet Wholesalers for $2.-$4. sf. This would be the defintion of "laminate floors cheap".

For consumers that want a serviceable, fully warranted product, I would recommend a quality name brand with a good reputation for years of trouble free performance. Buying a low quality laminate floor for a rental or institutional application on the assumption it would need replaced regularly does not hold water. A good laminate floor with proper installation and a good laminate underlayment will last for years and years. It will also save you money for the material replacement and the labor to replace it countless times. A little more intial investment is much more cost effective.

The Face of Competition

As promised in my last post I will show you what floor covering store competition looks like. There are many, many reputable companies in Dalton, Georgia and I am going to show you just a few.

Myer's Carpet Company has been a fixture in the community for over 50 years and offer many high end products such as wool and custom area rugs.




Beckler's Carpet has also been around for the
better part of half a century. Beckler's is also a
family owned company offering honesty, integrity and a wide assortment of floor coverings.

Next we have Carpets of Dalton, long established as one of the largest in the country. Not only do they offer all sorts of floor coverings, a wide selection of high end furniture and appliances can be found under "The Big Sign".

Georgia Carpet Industries is owned by a
friend and has experienced tremendous
growth over the last couple of decades. GCI
offers a huge inventory of carpet, vinyl, and other floor coverings mainly to dealers and builders, but sports a full
showroom for the retail customer.

Another decades old company and also a friend of
mine is Owen Carpet Company. They, like the rest of us, maintain a huge inventory of floor coverings to service their wholesale carpet customers.


One of two Carpet Express locations in the area.






ifloor.com (a Washington state company)
felt they needed a store way down here in
the southland.





And of course American Carpet
Wholesalers of Georgia. We needed more of a warehouse location to accomadate many trucks on a daily basis. Although many customers come to our showroom on a regular basis.

Dalton Georgia Carpet Outlets

This post is more about competition and competitor pressure than about touting Dalton, Georgia and Dalton Georgia's famous carpet outlets. It is well documented that to save big bucks when you buy floor coverings, you need to buy carpet or buy flooring from one of over one hundred shops along the I-75 corridor thru North Georgia. Again, I must mention that is so documented that "The Today Show" broadcast live from the area a few years back. They did not broadcast from any one outlet or recommend any one carpet outlet over another. Simply stated, if you want to buy floor covering cheap, then a Dalton Georgia Carpet Outlet is the place.

Most of the flooring outlets in the area peacefully coexist. Unlike a floor store in any particular local market where a competing carpet store may be miles away. At multiple exits on I-75, a shopper can literally choose from scores of stores within walking distance. No matter where a floor covering store or carpet dealer is located in our great country of free enterprise, they will never see competition this strong. Yet we all tolerate each other with minimal animosities. 

Although most floor dealers in the area provide excellent customer service and support, our main attribute is discount carpet prices or wholesale flooring. If a carpet dealer in Anywhere, USA provides a great turnkey solution with very little customer participation, then that is their strong point and that is what they need to sell. What we do in Dalton, Georgia requires a great deal of consumer participation and is, quite frankly, not for everyone. Our customers are more demanding and extremely price conscious. 

In my years of retail carpet sales and management career outside of Dalton, Georgia, I cannot remember a single instance of losing a sale to a carpet outlet in Dalton. If a consumer gave me any indication that Dalton, Ga. was my competitor, that is when I quit selling price and started selling my store's attributes. Most consumers would rather deal locally, unless they know the outside entity to be trustworthy and stand behind the products they sell. 

Want to see what competition is? Check out my next post.