September 22, 2008—Sam Roberts of Roberts' Carpet & Fine Floors, an 8-store retail chain headquartered in Houston, Texas, and Kemp Harr discuss Roberts' damage and recovery after hurricane Ike. Listen to the interview to hear details about business conditions one week after the hurricane and the affect the tightened national credit situation could have on Houston's recovery.
September 19, 2008—John Baugh, with Steffil Nickolaus, and Kemp Harr discuss the effect the current credit is having on the flooring market. Listen to the interview to hear John's words of wisdom about where we are now and what it will take bring the market back to a level of normalcy.
September 18, 2008—Specialty Flooring Retailer, Harry Schillings and Kemp Harr discuss the state of Harry's retail flooring business, Spring Carpets, less than one week after Hurricane Ike. Listen to the brief interview to hear what Ike did to Harry's business and what the current conditions are in Houston, Texas.
September 12, 2008—Lou Morano, owner of Capital Carpet and Tile in Palm Beach, Florida, and Kemp Harr discuss his company's retail and commercial business. Listen to the interview to hear more about Lou's business strategy and where he has found success despite the current economic situation in Florida.
September 11, 2008—Summer Turner, owner of two specialty flooring stores in the greater Nashville market, and Kemp Harr discuss the areas she focuses on for success during this current economic slowdown. Listen to the interview to hear more about her two stores and her focus on customer satisfaction, Home Show promotion and show room merchandising.
September 10, 2008—Now that CRI consumer research results are in, Werner Braun and Kemp Harr discuss what consumers think of carpet versus other flooring products. Listen to the interview to hear that carpet is still preferred for its value, comfort underfoot and acoustical benefits but has major misperceptions in the area of maintenance and health issues (dust and allergies). As part of the interview, Werner lays out CRI's plans as a result of these findings.
September 8, 2008—John Woolsey, VP of Marketing with Anderson Hardwood, and Kemp Harr discuss Anderson's recently announced Minimum Pricing Policy. Listen to the interview to hear the motivation behind this policy and to also get an update on Anderson's business since their acquisition by Shaw this time last year.
September 5, 2008—Tom Arrington, a Richmond, Virginia based contract dealer, and Kemp Harr discuss his current level of business based on the current economic situation. Listen to the interview to hear more about how he has structured his relationship with his installers and the product trends he's seeing in the Commonwealth area of Virginia.
September 4, 2008—Lew Migliore and Kemp Harr discuss Nylon's loss of share to polyester and wool. Listen to the interview to hear Lew talk about improvements in performance with polyester fiber and variations in performance with wool fiber. (11 minutes)
September 3, 2008—Christine Whittemore and Kemp Harr discuss her new carpetology blog and the feedback she gets on the type of carpet information that consumers are seeking on the Internet. Listen to the interview to hear that fashion and maintenance are two of the key areas of interest.