Mohawk Moves To Increase Share in Down Market

Dalton, GA, Oct. 15, 2008--It's a lean time for the flooring industry, but for Mohawk Industries and its high-end Karastan brand, that means it's time to try and increase its share, according to a story in Marketing Daily.

"When the economy takes a turn for the worse, all our competitors pull back," says David Duncan, vice president of marketing for Mohawk.

"From our perspective, it's very important to maintain our brand-marketing position, and really try to increase our share of voice." It will put the brand in good position once the housing market turns around.

Duncan told that magazine that while there will still be spending on TV and print buys, Mohawk is shifting a lot of those dollars into web advertising.

"Our research shows that every time a consumer shops for flooring, it's like the first time,' Duncan said. "Even if they've made a significant flooring purchase in the last five years, they need to learn about it all over again. And the place they want to do that is on the Web."

The story cited a new study from Unity Marketing, fielded just after the recent stock-market decline, that found that the majority of affluent shoppers (those in the top 20% of earners, with an average income of just over $209,000) are changing the way they shop--shopping less often, buying more strategically, and doing more research before they venture into a store.

Duncan believes the brand's positioning as an investment is still on target, although 2009 will be a no-growth year. "But we believe in the brand. The first reaction with any company is to completely pull back the advertising. We don't want to do that, because we believe we have a competitive advantage."

Related Topics:Karastan, Mohawk Industries