January 20, 2010—Jim Dion, President of Dionco, an expert in consumer buying habits, and Kemp Harr discuss the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts and what effect, if any, that election might have on consumer confidence. Listen to the interview to hear Jim's thoughts on what 2010 will look like at retail.
January 19, 2010—Nicklas Hakansson, R&D Manager with Valinge, and Kemp Harr discuss Valinge's new paperless laminate flooring system (Wood Power) that they will be launching at Surfaces this year. Listen to the interview from Domotex where Nicklas talks about the development and advantages vs. traditional laminate. Valinge spent two years and 20 million Euro developing this product.
January 18, 2010—Susanne Klaproth, Director of Domotex Germany, the largest international flooring show in the world, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of the show from Hannover, Germany. Listen to the interview to hear more about how the economy has affected this show and details about what the show has done to make the exhibitors and attendees get more from their visit here.
January 15, 2010—Jim Garner, one of the owners of Sergenian's Floor Coverings in Madison, Wis., and Kemp Harr, discuss Sergenian's sustainability story and the factors that contributed to the company being selected as Mohawk's Greenworks Dealer of the Year. Listen to the interview to find out how Sergenian's has met its promise, since 2007, to keep every scrap of old carpet out of the landfill, as well as other initiatives related to energy savings.
January 14, 2010—Howard Brodsky, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of CCA Global, and Kemp Harr review the highlights of CCA Glabal's 25 years of Success. Listen to the interview to hear Howard talk about how the business has changed, the challenges retailers face today and his outlook for the near future.
January 13, 2010—Nia Evans, Flooring Marketing Manager for GE Money, and Kemp Harr discuss how the new CARD act of 2009 (which goes into effect next month) will alter the way flooring retailers can offer their consumers credit. Listen to the interview to learn that retailers can no longer offer 6 month or "no pays" credit promotions to consumers.
January 12, 2010—Eric Demaree, President of Carpet One, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of last weeks Winter Convention in Washington D.C. Listen to the interview to hear the details about Carpet One's new offense strategy, how they plan to beat out their competition and their expectations for 2010.
January 11, 2010—Charlie Dilks with CCA Global and Paul Murfin with Armstrong discuss the details around their decision to establish a "direct" channel relationship in 2010. Listen to the interview with Kemp Harr to hear what both entities stand to gain and the role Armstrong's distributors will continue to play.
January 8, 2010—Danny Girton with the Guinness Book of World Records, who was on hand to judge the Shaw Anso Pie Fight, tells Kemp Harr what he was looking for as Shaw set out to set a world record for pie fights. The previous record of 269 people was set last September. The Shaw promotion was designed to show that Anso could withstand soiling from chocolate, apple, and cherry pies.
January 6, 2010—Rita Dommermuth, VP of Sales for Domotex, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights for the worlds largest global flooring expo which will be held in Hanover Germany from January 16 to 19. Listen to the interview to hear more details about the anticipated attendance, U.S. participation, Contract World, a bus tour of German retailers, and more about the weather forecast.