May 16, 2011—Chris Abbate, President of Novita Communications, and Kemp Harr discuss the annual ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) held this week at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. This show is the U.S. version of the Milan Furniture Show held in Italy in April. Listen to the interview to hear about the improved tone and traffic and other highlights.
May 12, 2011—Bruce Odette, Owner of Carpet Exchange in Denver, and Kemp Harr discuss his decision to support Shaw's HGTV licensed flooring products in all 19 of his retail stores. Listen to the interview to hear Bruce talk about market conditions and the benefits of this new program with Shaw Industries and HGTV.
May 11, 2011—Gianni Mattioli, President and CEO of Marazzi USA, and Kemp Harr discuss Marazzi's recent gift to the North Alabama Red Cross to help victims of the recent tornados in the area around their plant in Florence Alabama. Listen to the interview to hear more about this and about current market conditions in the U.S. ceramic/porcelain flooring market.
May 6, 2011—Steve Merrick, Owner, President and CEO of Somerset Hardwood, and Kemp Harr discuss Somerset's decision to expand its U.S. based production by building an engineered hardwood plant in Crossville, Tennessee. Listen to the interview to hear more details about Somerset and its expansion.
May 5, 2011—Santo Torcivia, an economist who focuses on the floorcovering industry, and Kemp Harr discuss his projections for the growth of the hardwood market in the U.S. Listen to the interview to hear Santo discuss the role Lumber Liquidators and the home centers play in this market and other details that affect this market.
May 4, 2011—Georgina Sikorski, Executive Director with CARE, and Kemp Harr discuss the Carpet America Recovery Effort's annual report which was released at last week's annual CARE convention. Listen to the interview to hear a quick review of how CARE is doing on its mission to divert post-consumer carpet from landfills.
May 3, 2011—Bill Kilbride and Jenny Cross, the leaders of Mohawk's sustainability initiatives, discuss Mohawk's top 5 ranking in the GreenBusiness Works Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings. Listen to the interview to hear details of how Mohawk was picked for this honor and where sustainability fits in Mohawk's strategic plan.
May 2, 2011—Don Finkell, CEO with Shaw's Hardwood Business, and Kemp Harr discuss hardwood flooring trends from Don's vantage point. Listen to this interview which was recorded last week at the NWFA show in San Diego to hear Don talk about business conditions and the consumers preference for hardwood flooring.
April 29, 2011—Ed Korczak, Executive Director and CEO of the National Wood Flooring Association, and Kemp Harr discuss the hardwood flooring market and this week's annual hardwood show. Listen to the interview to hear details about product trends, sales volumes and Ed's outlook for the future in this surface sector. Ed will be retiring at the end of this year.
April 28, 2011—Kermit Baker, a Harvard Economist with the Joint Center for Housing Studies, and Kemp Harr discuss the outlook for remodel activity for the remainer of 2011. Listen to the interview to hear Kermit's latest read on the housing market including his opinion of Bernanke's speech yesterday.