September 3, 2013—Santo Torcivia, the Economist with Market Insights LLC, and Kemp Harr, discuss the U.S. Census data which reported that the number of floorcovering stores in the U.S. dropped from 14,592 in 2006 to 11,858 in 2011. Listen to the interview to hear Santo discuss what this data tells us and where the threats are today for the independent floorcovering retailer.
August 28, 2012—Scott Alwine, Marketing Manager for Tate, and Kemp Harr, discuss the benefits of raised access panel flooring and the news last week that Tate is now working with Interface as a supplier for its PosiTile carpet. Listen to the interview for more details on both topics.
August 26, 2013—John Baugh, Managing Director with Stifel Nicolaus, and Kemp Harr, discuss the current performance of the publicly traded flooring companies. Listen to the interview to hear more details about Mohawk, Armstrong, and Interface as well as John's outlook on what factors to keep an eye on to gauge how the 3rd and 4th quarters could end up for the flooring business.
August 22, 2013—Jim Walker, Founder and CEO of Certified Floorcovering Installers (CFI), and Kemp Harr,discuss today's kick-off of the CFI's 20th annual meeting in Baltimore. Listen to the interview to hear Jim talk about some of the manpower issues the industry is facing as floorcovering sales are ramping back up.
August 21, 2013—Jeff Carrier, Director of Regulatory Issues with the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), and Kemp Harr, discuss the recently revised Model Specification for Commercial Carpet. This document was designed to be used as a tool for architects, designers and end users as they specify carpet in commercial areas. Listen to the interview to hear how the document has changed in revision.
August 16, 2013—Lew Migliore, Principal with LGM and Associates, and Kemp Harr, discuss the improvements that have been made to polyester carpet since its first introduction in the 1970s. Listen to the interview to hear Lew talk about its performance properties and where it fits in the residential carpet market.
August 14, 2013—Dan Natkin, Director of Hardwood and Laminate for Mannington Mills, and Kemp Harr, discuss the latest activity on the anti-dumping tariffs for engineered hardwood manufactured in China. Listen to the interview to hear Dan talk about what will be decided in the next 45 days and how the tariffs have impacted the marketplace.
August 13, 2013—Ed Keller, Executive VP with Bob's Carpet Mart, and Kemp Harr, discuss Bob's 15 store retail operation based out of Tampa Bay, Florida. Listen to the interview to hear Ed talk about how the business is doing this year and about the Smart Solutions hard surface program that Mohawk is offering the NFA members.
August 12, 2013—Cathy Buchanan, Operations Manager with Independent Carpet One in Westland, Michigan, and Kemp Harr, discuss why her business has experienced double digit growth in 2013. Listen to the interview to hear about what's selling, who's buying, how she builds store traffic and more details about the independent flooring retailer's rapid growth.
August 8, 2013—Eileen Shapiro, Sr. VP of Operations for Carpet One, and Kemp Harr, discuss Eileen's 22-year history with Carpet One and her decision to retire. Listen to the interview to hear how her career evolved as Carpet One grew from 130 members to 900.