August 11, 2017—John Baugh, Managing Director with Stifel Nicolaus, and Kemp Harr discuss the second quarter results of the publicly traded flooring companies. Listen to the interview to hear more details about Mohawk, Armstrong, Interface and a few brief comments about Lumber Liquidators and the Tile Shop.
August 10, 2017—Eric Demaree, President of Carpet One, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of Carpet One's summer convention in Salt Lake City. Listen to the interview to hear what the co-op is doing to improve the success of its member's retail flooring businesses.
August 9, 2017—Keith Spano, President of Flooring America, International Design Guild and Floor Trader, and Kemp Harr discuss the focus of this group's summer meeting in Salt Lake City Utah. Listen to the interview to hear more details on sales momentum, digital marketing, product diversity and new product introductions.
August 3, 2017—Rodney Mauter, EVP Residential Business with Lexmark, and Kemp Harr discuss Lexmark's additional investments in tufting capacity to satisfy increasing demand for patterned carpet. Listen to the interview for more details plus additional information on the firm's marketing and channel strategy.
August 2, 2017—Mike DeGrace, President and part owner of Foss Floors, and Kemp Harr discuss the firm's new focus in floorcovering after its divestiture from the automotive sector last week. Listen to the interview to hear how the company has reinvented itself and now focuses on needle punch PET products made primarily from recycled water bottles. Now with three manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company has grown to become the market share leader in non woven carpet here in the U.S.
July 28, 2017—Michel Giannuzzi, CEO with Tarkett, and Kemp Harr discuss Tarkett's recent global business results and the positive changes that have occurred within the company during Michel's 10 years at the helm. Listen to the interview to hear more about the company overall and more specifically, changes in the North American division. Michel steps down as CEO of Tarkett in early September and steps into the leadership role at Veralla Packaging—one of the top 3 glass bottle companies in the world.
July 26, 2017—Neil Poland, President of Mullican Flooring, and Kemp Harr discuss the August issue of Consumer Reports and its recommendations for which flooring is best for different rooms in a typical home. Listen to the interview to hear Mullican's strong ranking in comparison to the other major producers, whether that makes a difference in sales, plus hear Neil take exception with their kitchen and basement recommendation.
July 25, 2017—Rick Myers, Co-owner of Myers Carpet and Flooring, with retail stores in Atlanta, Dalton and Nashville, and Kemp Harr discuss this independent retailer's 60th anniversary. Listen to the interview to hear Rick talk about the past and his current position as one of the largest wool carpet dealers in the Southeast. Myers has never been part of a buying group and their business has evolved over the years and now includes selling flooring to the Georgia movie making industry.
July 24, 2017—Dan Frierson, Chairman of the Dixie Group, and Kemp Harr discuss Dixie's acquisition of Royalty's yarn processing facility in Porterville, California. Listen to the interview to hear more about Dixie's plans with this facility, Dixie's reaction to Royalty Mills' closing plus current business conditions.
July 20, 2017—Kermit Baker, a Harvard Economist, and Kemp Harr discuss the June Architectural Billing Index which was 54.2 and has been over 50 for the last 5 months. Based on the backlog of work, Kermit predicts the index will continue to be strong for the remainder of the year. Kermit also discusses household remodeling activity where spending is predicted to increase 6% on an annual basis well into 2018.