Armstrong Launching Aggressive Product and Marketi

Lancaster, PA, March 23--Armstrong hasn’t let the recent setback to its Chapter 11 reorganization plan stop it from investing in its future. The company is embarking on an ambitious "refocusing and reinvestment" strategy in 2005, building on its well-recognized brand name through an aggressive product development, marketing and e-tools effort. Much of its efforts will center around its hardwood business. The company has renamed the Hartco line Armstrong Hardwood Flooring by Hartco and will launch more than 128 new choices across 11 collections by mid-2005, including selections in red oak, ash, maple, hickory and new exotic hardwood species. Bruce Hardwood Flooring will add 59 new choices across eight lines in 2005, including a new Distressed Oak collection, the broadest product expansion in the 118-year history of the Bruce brand. Armstrong is also introducing new stone, ceramic and hardwood visuals in laminate flooring. The existing Nature's Gallery line will add seven new products in a variety of collections, including a pine addition to American Duet, Armstrong's first collection of Exotics wood laminates and Rustics color and line extensions. Companywide, Armstrong is boosting its existing multi-million print advertising budget by more than 100 percent in 2005, with ads in more than 60 mass circulation magazines, many targeting the Black and Hispanic communities, and younger buyers. The consumer advertising campaign will reach 84% of homeowners between 25-54 years old to increase awareness of Armstrong with the focus on wood and laminate. The company is also launching a redesigned website. Beginning in May, retailers can feature Armstrong web tools on their own store websites by simply including a link. They can offer the Floor Selector, a complete Armstrong floor product catalog and selection center, or Design a Room, a tool that lets customers see Armstrong floors in a variety of rooms. Retailers that offer certified installation receive preferred listings on a new Store Locator page that also features more store information and links. Armstrong's Design my Room interactive room makeover tool, previously available only at www.armstrong.com, is now being sold in a CD version through retailers. Shoppers can load a digital photo of the room, choose products that match their taste and budget, and immediately see how their actual room looks with the selected flooring.

Related Topics:AHF Products, Armstrong Flooring

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