October 18, 2010—Gary Cissell, Director of Flooring for Nebraska Furniture Mart, and Kemp Harr discuss retail business conditions in his flooring department. Listen to the interview to hear Gary talk about today's consumer and also announce the National Floorcovering Alliance's new president.
October 15, 2010—Phil Koufidakis, owner of Phoenix-based Baker Bros., and Kemp Harr, discuss how Baker Bros. uses the Web to drive business to the company's eight locations. Listen as Koufidakis describes the importance of having a vibrant website, and how he has eliminated paid yellow pages advertising as a result. He also talks about the benefits of having a "virtual room designer" on the Baker website and the growing importance of social media like Twitter to his retail business.
October 14, 2010—Jeff Macco, President of the National Floorcovering Alliance and a Wisconsin Flooring Dealer, and Kemp Harr discuss the tone of the members at their fall meeting in Puerto Rico. Listen to the interview to hear more about what the membership is doing to increase their business in this economy and more specifically how Jeff's business is doing in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
October 13, 2010—Keith Campbell, Chairman of Mannington Mills, and Kemp Harr discuss Keith's view of the economy based on his position as a member of the Federal Reserve Board. Listen to the interview to hear how the recovery of this economy is shaping up to be different than prior recoveries.
October 12, 2010—Glenn Marino, CEO with GE Money's Sales Finance business, and Kemp Harr discuss GE's recent acquisition of Citi Bank's sales finance portfolios -- many of which are tied to flooring retailers. Listen to the interview to hear more about GE's focus on the flooring market and the benefits their programs bring to retailers.
October 11, 2010—Chip Wade with HGTV and Kemp Harr discuss flooring trends and the new SmartStrand Challenge at the Dallas Zoo. Listen to the interview to hear Chip give more details about this new zoo challenge and why it's tougher than last year's test.
October 6, 2010—Jonathan Cohen, COO of Stanton Carpet, and Kemp Harr, discuss Stanton's recent purchase of the F. Schumacher & Co. carpet wholesale dealer distribution business. Listen as Cohen describes the relationship the two companies have had over the years, how Schumacher's high-end, high-style carpet complements Stanton's medium to high range offerings, and how Stanton will be selling Schumacher styles under the Rosecore brand.
October 5, 2010—Dennis Darragh, Forbo's General Manager for North America and Asia Pacific, and Kemp Harr discuss the global linoleum flooring market and Forbo's ongoing expansion at its manufacturing facility in Scotland.
October 4, 2010—Darius Helm, Senior Editor for Floor Focus Magazine, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights from last week's Cersaie show in Bologna, Italy. Listen to the interview to hear about the show and the latest tile trends from the world's largest tile show.
September 30, 2010—Katie Jones, interior designer with BLDD Architects and Kemp Harr discuss the key influences in her decisions when she specifies flooring. Katie participated in Floor Focus' Top 250 Design Survey and she was the recipient of the $500 honorarium sponsored by Aquafil USA. Listen to the interview to hear more about BLDD and specification process.