December 13, 2012—Werner Braun, President of the Carpet and Rug Institute, and Kemp Harr, discuss a pending ban in the state of California on nylon carpet based on the state's interpretation of the acceptable exposure levels of caprolactam. Caprolactam is an organic compound used to produce nylon 6. Listen to the interview to hear more details about where this issue stands.
December 12, 2012—Vinnie Virga, a New England Floorcovering retailer with two new stores in Massachusetts, and Kemp Harr Publisher of Floor Focus Magazine, discuss what it takes to be successful in the retail business today. Listen to the interview to hear Vinnie talk about picking store locations, building consumer traffic, technology and commitment.
December 11, 2012—Jeff Trapp, Director of Sales with Creative Touch Interiors, and Kemp Harr, Publisher of Floor Focus Magazine, discuss CTI's focus on supplying floorcovering to the builder market. Listen to the interview to hear more on their ownership, size and scope and outlook for the future.
December 10, 2012—Michelle Miller, Executive VP with the North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD), and Kemp Harr, discuss the highlights of their annual meeting held recently in Orlando. Listen to the interview to hear feedback on the new trade show format, highlights from economist Alan Beaulieu's talk and the ongoing challenges that the flooring distributors face.
December 6, 2012—Lauren Voit, General Manager at Great Western Flooring Company, and Kemp Harr, discuss Great Western's three store retail flooring business in the suburbs of Chicago and Lauren's perspective of the annual Mohawk's Floorscapes meeting. Listen to the interview for more details.
December 5, 2012—Peter Greene, VP of Marketing with Interface, and Kemp Harr, discuss the highlights of last week's Best of Year awards in the interior furnishings business held in New York. Listen to the interview to hear an overview of the event and also about the two awards that Interface won.
December 4, 2012—Maryanne Adams, President and CEO for Avalon Carpet Tile & Flooring, and Kemp Harr, Publisher of Floor Focus Magazine, discuss current business conditions and her outlook for next year. Avalon has 14 stores in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware region, one of which was temporarily closed due to hurricane Sandy. Listen to the interview to hear Maryanne's perspective on the highlights of the Mohawk Floorscapes meeting.
December 3, 2012—David Duncan, VP of Marketing for Mohawk, and Kemp Harr, discuss last week's "Solutions" aligned dealer meeting held in Orlando, Florida. Listen to the interview to hear details about the retailers that attended, the outlook for 2013 and a few highlights about Mohawk's new products for this channel of the market.
November 30, 2012—John Baugh, Managing Director with Stifel Nicolaus, and Kemp Harr, discuss the third quarter results and what is going on with publicly traded flooring companies Interface, Armstrong and Mohawk. Listen to the interview to hear John's summary of today's economic indicators and his optimistic outlook for 2013.
November 29, 2012—Scott Sandlin, Vice President of Shaw Hard Surface Business, and Kemp Harr, discuss Shaw's growth strategy in the hard surface business segment. Listen to the interview to hear more about how Shaw is positioning itself in this growing market.