Flooring Podcast

Anthony Minite Discusses Bentley Prince Street's Recent Couture Design Promotion

September 2, 2011—Anthony Minite, President of Bentley Prince Street, and Kemp Harr discuss Bentley's Couture Design promotion where students at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising collaborated with Anthony's staff to create striking ladies dresses made out of carpet. Listen to the interview to hear the strategy behind this Los Angeles themed fashion promotion and go to this link to see the dresses being worn by models in a recent TV news program.

Peter Spirer Discusses Max Windsor's Entry into the Luxury Vinyl Market

September 1, 2011—Peter Spirer, Marketing Director with Max Windsor, and Kemp Harr discuss Max Windsor's move into the vinyl flooring sector with a new LVP (luxury vinyl plank) collection. Up to now, Max Windsor has focused only on the engineered wood category. Listen to the interview to hear Peter talk about the strategy behind this decision. And for those listeners who have been in this business for a while, this is the same Peter Spirer who was formerly CEO of Horizon Carpet.

Richard Longwill with Airbase Discusses Business Conditions After Irene

August 31, 2011—Richard Longwill, with Airbase Carpet Mart, a 12-store retail chain in the Delaware/Pennsylvania region, and Kemp Harr discuss business conditions overall but especially as a result of Hurricane Irene. Listen to the interview to hear more details and also how Airbase competes with the national home centers.

Thomas Trissl Discusses Centiva's Rapid Growth and Environmental Initiatives

August 26, 2011—Thomas Trissl, President of Centiva, and Kemp Harr discuss the strategy behind Centiva's rapid growth and details around its sustainability initiatives. Listen to the interview to hear how this American based commercial LVT producer is doing now that it's part of the Tarkett family.

Jim Walker Discusses the Current State of the Flooring Installer Trade

August 25, 2011—Jim Walker, CEO with Certified Floorcovering Installer, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights from last weeks CFI Convention, how the prolonged recession has affected the installer trade and the promising outlook that the new S600 ANSI standard for installation could require qualified installation as a pre-requisite for warranty coverage. Listen to the interview for more details.

Cathy Buchanan Discusses Carpet One's Healthy Living Installation Program

August 24, 2011—Cathy Buchanan, Showroom Manager at Independent Carpet One in Westland, Michigan, and Kemp Harr discuss the Carpet One Healthy Living installation program. Healthy Living was rolled out last summer as a value added differentiation program to help separate the Carpet One installation experience from other retailers and big box stores. Listen to the interview to hear Cathy give more details and also talk about current market conditions in her market.

Chris Abbate Discusses the Highlights for Next Month's Cersaie Show in Italy

August 22, 2011—Chris Abbate with Novita Communications, and Kemp Harr discuss some of the highlights upcoming Cersaie show in Bologna, Italy. Listen to the interview to hear more about the show and some of the noteworthy global design speakers.

Kermit Baker Discusses the Architectural Billing Index and the Housing Market

August 19, 2011—Kermit Baker, the chief economist with the American Institute of Architecture, and Kemp Harr provide an update on the latest AIA billing index and what it tells us about where we are in the economic recovery. Listen to the interview to hear Kermit provide more details about the commercial interiors market and also the residential housing market in his role with Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Werner Braun Discusses the Reorganization of the Carpet and Rug Institute

August 18, 2011—Werner Braun, President of the CRI, and Kemp Harr discuss the recent decision to reorganize the Carpet and Rug Institute. Listen to the interview to hear Werner discuss the elimination of the ten committees and issue teams which will be replaced by one leadership council and three panels. Through this decision, the CRI hopes to streamline its ability to be effective in achieving its goal of removing the barriers that hinder the growth and profitability of its membership.

Dean Thompson Provides an Update on the NSF 332 Environmental Standard for Resilient Products

August 18, 2011—Dean Thompson, President of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, and Kemp Harr discuss the status of the NSF 332 environmental standard for resilient products. Listen to the interview to hear what products this standard covers, what attributes it evaluates, how many levels of compliance there are and what individual producers are doing to get certified.