Flooring Prices for 2008-2009

All of 2008 we saw unprecedented escalation of the price of oil, resulting in price increases in the flooring industry. Usually every 2-3 months price increases occurred. Now that the price of gasoline hovers anywhere from $1.60 - $1.80 per gallon (down from over $4.00), we have not seen any price roll backs with exception of Supreme Carpets. Manufacturer's have sporadically offered certain products at reduced prices for limited time. Usually some of their slow moving products.

Only Supreme has sent us a complete price list reflecting lower prices across the board. For that reason I am acknowledging my appreciation in this post. Supreme Carpet is a family owned mill for over 37 years. They manufacture both residential and commercial lines carpet. Not a huge line, but a line of great values. As of this post, we do not have all the products on our website. but we will in the near future.

Thank you Dan McIntire and Supreme Carpets, Inc.

Nafco Luxury Vinyl Elite Dealer Trip

I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Breckenridge, Colorado sponsored by Nafco for their Elite customers. Everything was first class and all the employees of Nafco involved were extremely accommodating. It was a trip I am not likely to forget soon. Nafco Vinyl Tile customers were treated to skiing, snow mobiles, snow boarding, or just generally relaxing at the exquisite Beaver Run Resort. I spent time with old friends as well a made new ones.

I enjoyed one evening in particular. I was treated to a fabulous dinner with Pierre LeFort (GM and VP at Nafco), John Neugent (territory rep at Nafco), Dr. Gary Huckaby (motivational speaker for Nafco) along with John and Gary's wives. Good food and good conversation and not all business. I was humbled by the attention I was given.

A full presentation of Nafco by Tarkett's new products to my staff is scheduled for March 24th. John and Pierre graciously agreeing to come over from Florence, Alabama for the presentation.
Nafco's manufacturing facillities are located there. Worth mentioning is that all Nafco Vinyl Tile products are manufactured in the USA in Florence, AL.

Meeting with Congoleum

On Tueday, even before the show started, I had an early morning meeting with my friends at Congoleum. Since American Carpet Wholesalers is the largest dealer in the world for Congoleum's DuraCeramic Luxury Vinyl Tile, I got an early preview of new introductions to the line.

Although I had previously been exposed to considerations, the new patterns were the final cut. The intros fall under the new line called DuraCeramic Plus. I was reading a forum post and the writer was wondering what the plus meant. It means the new patterns incorporate Scotchgard protector into the finish. The two patterns, DuraCeramic Polished Cement and DuraCeramic Rustic Stone, have a combined color line of seven new and exciting shades. These new patterns will quickly become top sellers in the product line. They are simply gorgeous.

All in all, the meeting went well. We discussed my sales figures for 2008 and projections for 2009. In such an unsettling economy projections are very difficult. Advertising support, sample support, and other topics I think proved fruitful. I am thankful for a supplier like Congoleum and the wonderful support personnel at their headquarters in Mercerville, NJ.

Floor Covering Trade Show - Surfaces 2009

I have just returned from the annual Surfaces floor covering trade show held in Las Vegas. This year I went a couple of days early to watch the Super Bowl with some of my friends at Quick-Step Laminate Floors. I had a nice meal, good conversation and a few laughs. Although Quick Step Flooring is one of my larger suppliers, nothing business was discussed here. we just enjoyed the game and relaxed a bit. This was on Sunday and with the show not starting until Tueday, I took advantage of the day off to find new ways to support the economy of Las Vegas.

Luxury Vinyl Tile Prices

Luxury vinyl tile prices have remained fairly stable over the last few months and we expect that trend to continue as long as oil prices stay at current levels.

Congoleum Duraceramic Tile Prices are the same as we offered 6 months ago. With the exception of a special purchase of excess inventory we made from one of our suppliers. These discount DuraCeramic tile prices are well below our normal low DuraCeramic prices. About a 25% discount on our everyday sales price. DuraStone Luxury Vinyl Tile is also available at great prices from American Carpet Wholesalers.

Nafco Luxury Vinyl Tile by Tarkett has experienced only a minimal increase. Our Nafco Luxury Vinyl Tile prices continue to be some of the lowest to be found anywhere. Look for us to carry more inventory in the near future. An order for this product already ships within 2-3 business days and with an inventory increase we will be able to ship an order usually the same day. Another great service from American Carpet Wholesalers that keep our customers coming back.

Again only slight increases have been seen for Mannington Adura Luxury Vinyl Tile and Mannington Luxury Vinyl Plank. These luxury vinyl tiles and planks are another area where we anticipate and inventory increase.

You can always count on American Carpet Wholesalers for the latest floor innovations at discount flooring prices.

Green Carpet gets Greener (or just more exposure)

I remember back in the early to mid 90's when Image Carpet Industries (later becoming part of Mohawk ) first starting reclaiming pop bottles and making beautiful carpets. Initially it was a tough sell. consumers somehow felt the carpets were inferior in some sort of way. But to the contrary, the new "P.E.T." carpets were in some ways superior to nylon carpets and equal in other ways. They were superior in stain resistance and wear ability was about equal. To answer consumers objections, I and most other sales people would use the line "have you ever seen a stain on a Coke bottle"? However, some of the carpets were made so dense and thick, it would take months and months for the loose staple fibers to completely shed. Consumers thought and complained their carpet was defective and coming apart. So the new polyester carpets were getting a bad rap. Over the last several years, more and more of the vendors are using continuous filament P.E.T. to solve the problem and with new technology, continuous filament fibers can be made just as dense and thick as a bulked staple fiber.

Philadelphia by Shaw and Bliss by Beaulieu have added to there Green Carpet Products. Shaw has added and reinforced their "Clear Touch by Philadelphia" and tout it as made from 100% recycled material. "Healthy Home" by Bliss has many beautiful styles and vibrant colors that only a polyester fiber can deliver.

Going green usually means the manufacturer will ask more for a green product. You buy a hybrid vehicle and you will pay $5000 to $10,000 more than the non green version. Not so with these carpets. On the average, they will run 10 to 20% less than a comparable nylon carpet. So you can go "Green" and keep some green for yourself.

More About Mohawk and Shaw's Trade Show

As I mentioned before, I attended two trade shows last week in Atlanta. At the Shaw Industries' show I was particularly impressed with the addition to some of their green products line. Namely, Philadelphia Carpets' Clear Touch line and Queen Carpets' Anso Choice line. Both lines offer enviromentally friendly carpets and have added some new great looking carpets for more choices to the consumer. Both carpet brands (Queen Carpet and Philadelphia Carpet) have added new offerings to their commercial carpet tile line. Since American Carpet Wholesalers does a ton of commercial work, I was quite excited.

Shaw Industries acquired both the Anderson Hardwood and Zickgraf Hardwood companies and gave me the opportunity to visit with reps for these products (Calvin and Tony) as well as my reps from Shaw( Chris, Vickie and Jacob). Overall, for me it was a good show. New products, great friends, good conversation, and a terrific lunch on Shaw. The interest in the new products was upbeat and traffic seemed to be up from last year.

At the Mohawk show it was a little different story. Not nearly as upbeat and traffic seemed to be down. However, I did get to visit with my reps which is always a pleasure, especially Congoleum.
Congoleum has a distribution relationship with Mohawk and show their products at the Mohawk regional shows. DuraCeramic Tile by Congoleum is one of my top selling products and just to say hello to Pete and Mike is a reward in itself.

One thing I did take note of and was very interested in was a booth at both shows by a third party vendor. It is Installerpool.com. Their concept is new and unique and I certainly hope it takes off. I will post more on this subject once I spend a little more time with them at Surfaces.