August 5, 2014—Dan Frierson, Chairman of The Dixie Group, and Kemp Harr discuss the firm's performance in relationship to the market numbers. Listen to the interview to hear Dan talk about Dixie's sweet spot and challenges, his outlook moving forward and hear a brief discussion about Bob Shaw's news yesterday that he's building a carpet tile plant.
July 31, 2015—Jim Curtain, VP of Sales, National Accounts for Surya Rug, and Kemp Harr, discuss Surya's presence at the Atlanta Rug Market, Surya's growth, trends in the rug market and how independent floorcovering retailers should approach the area rug business.
July 30—Kermit Baker, a Harvard Economist that tracks the housing and commercial building markets, and Kemp Harr, discuss June's stellar Architectural Billing Index and the slow but steady growth in the housing market. Listen to the interview to hear Kermit forecast that we'll see a 15% increase in the housing market for 2015 plus other factors effecting the economy.
July 29, 2015—Harlan Stone and Russ Rogg, CEO and President with Halstead and Metroflor (respectively), and Kemp Harr, discuss this week's ribbon cutting on the firm's new design center in Calhoun, Georgia. Listen to the interview to hear more about the investments that Metroflor is making to capture a leadership role in the global LVT flooring business - currently the fastest growing category in the flooring business.
July 28, 2015—John Bowes, President of Xpress Global Systems, Inc., and Kemp Harr, discuss the recent ownership change and services offered by XGS. For the past 30 years, XGS has been a division of U.S. Xpress and is now a standalone company. Listen to the interview to hear John talk about the specialized services and magnitude of this freight logistics company that focuses solely on the distribution of floorcovering products.
July 27, 2015—Lew Migliore, Principal of LGM and Associates, and Kemp Harr, Publisher of Floor Focus Magazine, discuss 6 key areas that determine if a floorcovering installer is an independent contractor or an installer. Listen to the interview to hear Lew talk through the Department of Labor list which can be found here.
July 24, 2015—Aaron Pirner, President and CEO of Cap Carpets, and Kemp Harr discuss Aaron's multi-brand flooring store strategy in the mid West. Cap Carpets operates stores under the Carpet One, Prosource, The Flooring Project and Cap Carpets brands. Aaron also provides an update on the expansion of his white oak carpet manufacturing operation in Spindale, North Carolina. Listen to the interview for more details.
July 21, 2015—Keith Spano, President of Flooring America/Canada, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of last week's Summer ConneXtion meeting. Listen to the interview to hear about the group's growth and focus on product diversification and digital marketing. Also hear Keith talk about the firm's upcoming Building Buzz conference on digital marketing and social media which will be in Tampa in September.
July 17, 2015—Paul Murray, VP of Sustainability with Shaw Industries, and Kemp Harr discuss Shaw's evolving Evergreen recycling program as they shift from operations in Augusta to a repurposed facility in Ringgold, Georgia. Listen to the interview for more details on why Shaw is shutting down its depolymerization plant in Augusta and expanding the types of yarns it can recycle in Ringgold.
July 16, 2015—Eric Demaree, President of Carpet One Floor and Home, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of the Summer Convention and the key ingredients for success with independent floorcovering retailers. Listen to the interview for more details.