Ignite Your Edge: Mohawk’s event for aligned dealers offers a glimpse at new products and programs – January 2025

By Jennifer Bardoner

At Mohawk’s biennial Edge Summit last month, CEO and chairman Jeff Lorberbaum offered this advice during his opening remarks: “One of the best lessons I can share with you is just what we’re trying to do, which is to take advantage of this slower environment and make the choices and actions that will really benefit your business for the long term, not just to get through tomorrow. I’ve been around long enough to know that every time our industry has slowed down, we always bounce back even stronger.”

He noted a variety of factors that seem to hold promise for the widely anticipated increase in demand this year, as well as into the future.

Jeff Meadows, president of residential flooring sales for North America, reported that the dealers in attendance-who represent about $300 million in purchases for Mohawk-were collectively up 7.5% year over year in 2024, in a market that was down 10%. 

“Even as consumers selected more budget-friendly options, you’ve reinforced your reputation as flooring experts and protected your margins by communicating the value that you offer,” said Lorberbaum. “In the past, we always looked at the competition as the different retailers or flooring in the marketplace. Today, you’re competing with people spending money on home electronics, outdoor living areas and even vacations.”

The event introduced the aligned dealers in attendance to new products, marketing and incentive programs and offered targeted seminars designed to help them win in the marketplace. They also got to meet Ken Walma, who is stepping into Paul De Cock’s role as president of Flooring North America as De Cock moves into the company’s CEO position.

DEALER PERSPECTIVE
Lou Morano, owner of Capitol Carpet & Tile in Boca Raton, Florida, said he truly appreciated the wide-ranging educational offerings. National Floorcovering Alliance (NFA) member Michael Longwill, who owns the Airbase Carpet & Tile Mart network of stores across the Northeast, agreed, adding that The Oxley Group’s presentation on the entrepreneurial mindset especially resonated with him.

“At conventions, a lot of courses are generally geared toward the host company and its products,” Morano said. “This year’s Edge was really about making us better and learning things we can take home.”

Dealers also got a first look at Mohawk’s new product launches. Among the introductions, Morano spotlighted Karastan’s premium Black Label soft surface program, as well as new laminate and resilient offerings. (For more on new introductions, check out New Products starting on page 37.) 

Noting that he’s seen customers moving away from SPC, Eric Mondragon of NFA member R.C. Willey, which has locations across the western U.S., said he was specifically drawn to Karastan’s WPC debut under the brand’s new LuxeCraft Serenity line. He reported that his retail chain’s average selling price in resilient has increased $1 per square foot over the last six months in conjunction with the transition away from lower-end products. He cited the 3” and 5” visuals in Pergo Extreme’s new Ember Coast WPC collection, as well, an introduction that also resonated with NFA president Ian Newton, general manager of Flooring 101, which has two stores in Southern California.

“There’s a lot of product coming out-we wanted to be a little different,” said Adam Ward, Mohawk’s vice president of resilient.

DRIVING LEADS
Kelli Widdifield, SVP of residential marketing, said she’s been told in this industry that brands don’t matter-which she challenged with data to the contrary. Mohawk has invested in a proprietary view of the consumer journey for Millennials and Gen Z, which now represent the industry’s largest share of in-market shoppers, as well as targeted national PR, paid search ads and ads on YouTube, Pinterest and other social channels. The campaigns resulted in:

• Over two billion impressions and over eight million video views on YouTube last year for Mohawk’s advertised products and brands 

• A 33% increase last year for the company’s brand.com site traffic, when the market was down
• Shoppers viewing more product pages and spending more time onsite, including more than four million product visualizations, increasing the likelihood of purchase fivefold

• A 42% increase in dealer locator searches last year

• An 86% increase last year in leads for Mohawk’s customers, which Widdifield noted all started with a consumer searching for a product or brand

In an education session around the company’s Edge Local Advertising, Todd Skidmore, senior director of marketing, e-commerce and analytics, noted that AI is now topping online search results to provide a summary of what users are looking for-which does not include links to related providers’ sites and could keep them from scrolling down to engage with them through organic search alone. For that reason and others, including its measurability and consumer trackability, paid search constitutes the foundation of its Edge digital advertising, with Google’s new Performance Max tool bolted on, offering retargeted YouTube, Gmail and Google Maps ads.

“It takes a bit of art and science to figure out how to effectively reach as many consumers as possible,” said Mohawk digital communications manager Jordan Biasetti McDonald.

HOOKING THE CONSUMER
As today’s consumers try to wade through the never-ending stream of content online-often getting stuck in an endless cycle of indecision-visualization and customized marketing have become important tools to help move them closer to a purchase decision and validate their choice.

To help connect the online and in-store experience-a key in successfully selling to next-gen customers, who are digital-first-as well as provide RSAs with additional tools, Roomvo introduced its new Roomvo Pro app, which offers visualization, sample management and shopper marketing opportunities.

“The science says that shoppers, regardless of the category, can handle three variables, so three choices times two, so it’s the rule of six,” Widdifield explained during an education session on consumer trends. “There’s a set of three, you choose between those and a second set, and then you start to eliminate. One of the challenges in our industry is you’re never starting with 20, you’re starting with 20,000 options. So, you have to get them as quickly as you can to a smaller subset so their brain can look at it.”

She and Nicole Priem, senior director of brand experience and customer loyalty, recommended curated retargeting ads to help online shoppers narrow down their selection. Priem noted that younger consumers expect targeted content and will even purposefully ‘like’ ads so that they can see things customized to them, especially Gen Z.

“By tailoring your messaging and delivering it in the right place, you’re going to connect with shoppers on a deeper level,” said Priem. “And the personalized content isn’t just effective, it’s a demand.”

Consumers today visit an average of 1.8 stores, she shared, illustrating the importance of helping them narrow down their choices ahead of time. Priem described today’s shopping journey as an infinity symbol, with shoppers beginning online, then heading into a store to see products in person, returning online to validate their choices, and finally, coming back instore to purchase.

“So, it’s really important as they’re going along the shopping journey to have the right content at the right place for where they are in the journey,” she said. “Are they in the romance phase? Have they started to delineate between, ‘Am I going to do hard surface or soft surface?’”

As part of its recent marketing efforts, Mohawk has partnered with social media influencers to create entertaining content that reaches potential new customers through their personal channels, and Priem said they have seen good engagement. Today’s consumers want to be entertained as well as informed, she said, and this kind of creative ad content resonates with them even though they know it’s a paid promotion.

“We wanted to also find a way to add our voice-the aspects of finding a local retailer, what the instore experience is like, the ease of visualization-to make the process less complex and more approachable for Millennials and Gen Z, who are consuming a lot of media,” she added. “We’re in the early stage, so I can’t sit here and say, ‘Here’s exactly what we got for it,’ but it is a way for us to amplify and create awareness of our brands and create awareness of specialty retail as a channel with younger consumers.”

CLOSING THE LOOP
Creating brand awareness is most effective with consumers who already have a project in mind or are beginning to dream about one. Beginning with something aspirational, targeted advertising moves those shoppers closer to a purchase by ultimately helping them decide what they don’t like, in order to find what resonates with them.

“You get a little more targeted, and you give them the ability to opt this direction or this direction and deselect,” Widdifield explained during the consumer trends session. “That helps them narrow their scope, and then based on that, they can start to go in and pick between a limited number of choices.”

AI and AR (augmented reality) can aid in this process, efficiently sorting through large sets of data and helping consumers literally see the possibilities curated for them-something Mohawk’s partners simplify for retailers, Biasetti McDonald noted.

One overarching trend among younger consumers is that sustainability matters to them, Priem said. She reported that Google searches for eco-friendly products have risen by 117% in the last five years, adding that 67% of Millennials actively pursue sustainable living and 73% are willing to pay more for sustainable products.

Successfully targeting consumers is a delicate balance that must feel intentional and helpful versus self-serving and overbearing, Priem stressed. She suggested content such as education around what to expect after a customer has purchased flooring or what it’s like to do business with you or work in your store.

Widdifield also suggested retargeting past customers with follow-up emails down the road, perhaps to suggest a complementary project with curated product suggestions or to note a sale, such as Pergo’s new annual summer campaign, and suggest products that fit their aesthetic.

“They appreciate the fact that, ‘Hey, I remember you. We did this business, we had this great experience. Come on back, because we have an opportunity or an offer for you,’” she said. “So, you’ve crafted that offer very specifically to what they’re looking for, and you said something that would be valuable and not creepy.”

Copyright 2025 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:National Flooring Alliance (NFA), Mohawk Industries, Karastan